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Business is Boomin

by Krushnazag

Chapters

Opening Day

I'd just like to say that this is my first attempt at writing a fanfic. All reviews are welcome and I would appreciate it if everyone who reads this reviews it. That being said enjoy the (admittedly slow building) Cupcakes sequel!

Edit: For those joining us later in the game, I know the first couple of chapters kinda stink but I'm too lazy to redo them. I can promise you though that this gets exponentially better as you go in, so many wists and turns, and the writing itself grows as I become used to the fanfic world I've created. So push through, it's worth it. Also, watch out cuz my AN are always really long at the end.

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Morning dawned in Ponyville as the weather team was busy filling the sky with clouds for the scheduled rain that would come later that evening. Twilight Sparkle yawned as she sat up and rubbed her deep purple eyes. Looking around, she noticed Spike, her young dragon assistant, staring out the window, looking sadly at the drifting clouds.

"Still thinking about her?" asked Twilight, walking over to stand next to him.

"Yeah," Spike said sadly, still watching the growing number of clouds. "I still can't believe that Rainbow Dash would leave so suddenly without telling anypony. I mean, did she think we'd be angry if we found out she was leaving?"

"I don't know," said Twilight. Trying to comfort him a little, she gave her small friend a hug, but only succeeded in bringing their two sorrows closer. "She left a note saying she had to leave and that she probably wouldn't be coming back but-" Twilight was interrupted as somepony began knocking on the door. "Come on," said Twilight, heading down the stairs, maybe when the Princess sends her letter it will have news on Rainbow Dash."

As Twilight walked towards the front door, the knocking grew more and more frantic until, suddenly, it stopped. Confused, Twilight pulled the curtains aside and tried to see who had been knocking, but nopony was anywhere near the library. "Well that's odd," she said, turning around.

As she turned to face Spike a large fluffy mass of Pink covered her face. "GOOD MOOOORNING TWILIGHT!" Pinkie yelled as she gave her friend an enormous bear hug.

"Hi- Pinkie" Twilight managed to gasp out.

"Sorry about letting myself in but my tail was twitchy and we ALL know what that means."

"It's okay Pinkie, but…" Twilight began.

"Buuuuuuuuut?" Pinkie asked tilting her head almost completely upside down.

"How did you get in here?" Looking around, Twilight saw that all of the windows were still closed and shuttered against the cold wind from the night before.

"Silly," giggled Pinkie, "I came in through the roof!"

"Through the…" Twilight looked up, confused, and saw a hole in the ceiling that was strangely Pinkie Pie shaped. "Pinkie," Twilight groaned, "why couldn't you just wait for the door?"

"I told you, silly," Pinkie said, shaking her tail back and forth, "I had a twitchy tail and I didn't want to be the one that I fell on."

"Whatever Pinkie," Twilight sighed as she began moving branches around to fill the hole in the roof against the coming rain. Thinking of the rain made Twilight stop for a moment and remember her friend Rainbow Dash and how she'd once tried bribing Twilight by keeping a small area free of rainclouds.

"What's the matter?" Pinkie asked, her mane straightening out a bit at her friends sadness, "still thinking about that meanie mean-meanie-pants Rainbow Dash and how she left so quickly?"

Twilight realized that this was the first time she had actually seen Pinkie upset about Rainbow Dash leaving. She had been expecting Pinkie to be devastated at the loss of her pranking buddy.

Pinkie suddenly started twitching causing Twilight to lose focus on her magic. As Twilight stopped the branches from making a bigger hole in the ceiling, Pinkie began calling out her twitches. "ear-flop…. eye-flutter….. knee-twitch! Oh no! Where's Spike?"

Turning suddenly, Twilight accidently sends a branch flying into a nearby door, causing it to slam open. Inside is a small room lit by candles. Spike is leaning in close to a picture of Rarity, a unicorn whom he'd had a crush on for a long time. The picture was propped up next to a small bowl of sapphires, Spike's favorite food. The smell of cologne drifted out of the doorway and a small mustache had been drawn on Spike's face with a marker.

Spike sat there, stunned, looking frantically between Pinkie and Twilight until he suddenly passed out.

"OMIGOSH!" Pinkie yelled suddenly growing excited and hopping in a circle, "'itsneverbeenlikethatbefore!"

"You know Pinkie," Twilight said, "we really should close the door and pretend like this never happened"

"Buuuuuuuuuuut?" Pinkie asked, once again turning her head upside down.

"Remember the poison joke?" Grinning evilly Twilight froze Spike in place magically and began taking pictures of the scene. "Hey Pinkie," Twilight said as she set the camera down, "remind me to invite Rarity over later, would you?"

"Okie-dokie-lokie!" Pinkie giggled as she continued hopping in a circle. "But don't forget that you were going to come over later to see me bake!"

"That's right," Twilight said, closing the door, "I wanted to see why your cupcakes always taste so much better than everypony else's."

"Usually I'd say it's a secret," Pinkie said, "but since we're friends I guess I can show you." "In fact," Pinkie said, a shadow seeming to come over her face, "I'll let you see up close why they taste so different. Just make sure that you don't tell anyone. Evuuuuur!"

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Okay, first scene is done. Please review and tell me if I need to fix anything or if there is stuff that you like and you want more of. This is probably going to be a long story with lots of chapters and plenty of grimdark coming up. Twilight's will involve a car battery, copper wire, termites and string :)

TWANSITION!!

As Twilight Sparkle put the finishing touches on a letter to Princess Celestia, she added in a few pictures of Spike's… situation. She sealed the letter so that only the Princess could open it and left it on a note telling Spike to send it to her as soon as he could.

"Well," said Twilight, "I guess I'd better head over to Pinkie's now. I can just leave a not for Rarity as I walk past her house." As she left, Twilight placed a tripwire spell that would open the door Spike was behind as soon as somepony walked past; it would also unfreeze him and wake him up. Still feeling evil, Twilight left for the Sugarcube Corner.

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Yep, this isn't exactly anything…. At all. It didn't really seem to go with chapter one or the part after this so it's separate .It also didn't help that I actually cut out a bit of this because it seemed rough. However, I'm either working on the next part or have already posted it as you're reading this (it's already written I just need to type it). Thanks for reading and stay Brony. /]*[\

Investments

Twilight knocked on the door of the Sugarcube Corner. 'I wonder why Pinkie put the closed sign up,' she wondered as she waited, 'Pinkie never closes, especially not on Fridays when everypony wants some delicious treats.'

As Twilight sat there waiting for her friend to answer the door, a voice suddenly yelled in her ear, "Gotcha now!" Twilight shrieked and began to turn but was suddenly whipped off of the ground as a rope tightened around her feet, quickly pulling her up to be level with the top of the roof.

"PINKIE!" yelled Twilight, "Why in the name of Celestia did you set a snare on our front porch?" Twilight's face darkened as she slowly began rotating due to her frantic movements during her assent. She continued to glare as she revolved to once again face the Pink mare sitting on the roof, now swaying a bit due to the breeze.

"Oh," giggled Pinkie, "sorry Twilight." As Pinkie spoke she jumped onto Twilight and began climbing down her friend like a tree. As she approached Twilight's head she turned upside-down to look into her eyes. Leaning in uncomfortably close Pinkie whispered, "I was expecting somepony else." Looking around to see if anyone was watching, Pinkie continued, "it's a good thing you didn't try the back door. That's where Gummi is guarding and he takes his job very seriously."

Thinking about the toothless alligator made Twilight shudder. She liked Pinkie and could appreciate her taste in pets, but sometimes that toothless lizard just creeped her out.

Twilight was suddenly aware of the fact that Pinkie's tail was twitching. Beginning to turn herself back around Pinkie giggled and said, "well that can't be good." A flash of green darted across the roof.

Angling her head showed Twilight that Gummi was now standing near a pile of bricks holding up the rope she was tied to. As Pinkie righted herself, her tail continued twitching, now hitting Twilight in the face. Growing extremely frustrated, Twilight thought, 'speak of the devil.'

With a sudden flick of his tongue, Gummi caught the rope in his mouth and began pulling the two mares up a little higher. This put a little more slack into the rope allowing Gummi to begin digging his claws into the gaps in the bricks and start pulling them away.

"P-pinkie," Twilight stammered, "what is he doing" Gummi began quickly clawing away at the pile of bricks causing the rope to shake violently and small chunks of hardened clay to rain down on the tied pony and her passenger. "PINKIE!" Twilight shrieked, "we're four stories in the air above paved streets! Make him quit!"

"Quiet silly-filly," laughed Pinkie, her voice vibrating with her, "this is the best part! Even you sound funny right now!" After a few seconds of this, Gummi tore away the last of the bricks and the rope was left supported only by Gummi's freakish jaw strength.

"Have him put us down!" Twilight yelled, completely terrified at this point.

"Well you're not going to be much fun today are you then?" Pinkie asked, her hair seeming to darken a shade. "Fine, Gummi!" she called. Gummi stared, his eyes occasionally blinking several seconds apart in his usual way. "Mommy says stop now Gummi." He seemed to nod in agreement before suddenly snapping his mouth open leaving the two mares to fall dozens of feet to the streets below.

Somewhere in the back of Twilight's mind she thought as she fell, screaming, 'of course Pinkie will laugh the whole way down.'

When they hit the ground there was a loud snapping noise, as if a small apple tree had been bucked too hard and split down the middle. "Oh no," moaned Twilight, my horn is almost completely shattered." Trying to pull her horn out of the ground she continued, "I can't use magic like this, but I can't fix it unless I use magic."

Pinkie came over and twisted Twilight slightly, causing her horn to slide out of the broken cobblestones. "You'll just have to come inside then and have a snack while we see what we can do about it." As they approached the door, Twilight moved slowly, trying to keep the shattered pieces of horn from completely breaking apart while she moved. Pinkie hopped up to the door and, rather than slowing down and turning the handle, she continued at full speed and jumped through the door. Twilight was about to question this weird behavior until, exasperated, she remembered a rule she had learned at a painful cost long before: don't question Pinkie or you may end up running from a hydra in a swamp.

As Twilight picked her way carefully through the large pieces of door she thought, 'amazing how even like that the hole she made still is a perfect outline of her'. Pinkie suddenly stopped Twilight and told her to close her eyes.

"Why," Twilight asked, though now slightly dizzy from the pain coming from her forehead.

"Because I told you to, duh," Pinkie said, seeming to become angry. Quickly softening up she said, "I made a new secret recipe and I want you to try it and tell me what you think without anything giving you hints to it."

"Okay," Twilight said, too dazed to come up with a reasonable argument as to why she shouldn't try the latest in a long line of fantastic recipes by her pastel friend. She closed her eyes and allowed a small piece of cupcake to be pushed into her mouth. It seemed sweeter than usual and tasted like the smell of morning dew and clovers. As she chewed, she smelled the cupcake and it seemed very familiar. 'Where do I know this from?' she thought as she chewed, savoring the sweet morsel. Suddenly it hit her, the smell, it made her think of something form the rainbow factory in Cloudsdale as well as the slightly ozone-y smell you get from teleporting. The cupcake smelled like Rainbow Dash.

"Wow Pinkie," Twilight said as she opened her eyes, now watering a bit from the sudden blast of memories of the cyan mare, "that was really good, but it seemed very familiar."

"Well it should," Pinkie said, "look." She held out a plate of cupcakes, one missing a small piece. They were all frosted with sky-blue frosting. Those in the middle had a layer of frosting added on to perfectly replicate Dash's cutie mark, a cloud with a rainbow colored lightning bolt coming out of it.

"Oh," said Twilight, both saddened by her friend's departure but also cheered by the site of Pinkie Pie finally seeming to show that she missed Dashie as much as everpony else, "you made Rainbow Dash cupcakes. That's really sweet of you Pinkie."

"How'd you know that?" Pinkie asked seeming frightened, angry and paranoid all at once.

"The smell mostly," Twilight explained, not noticing Pinkie's fright, "it smelled like Rainbow Dash when she got done flying and, while I've never tasted her, I'm sure that she would taste something like those do." Pinkie's eye's flashed with a red gleam at these words. Oblivious, Twilight continued on, "plus she's the only pony that I know who has coloring like that."

As Twilight spoke she began weaving from side to side and her vision began blurring. "Whoa," she exclaimed as she ran into the counter, "Pinkie, can I sit down for a minute, I think this horn thing might be worse than it looks."

"Go right ahead," Pinkie said, motioning to an odd but comfortable looking chair near the basement door, "you can sit riiiiiiight here. Would you like some more cupcakes?"

"Yes please," Twilight said as she collapsed into the chair, "and some tea as well if you could. I'm going to try and remember the medical charts I was looking at the other day and see if there was anything that could be seriously damaged by an injury like this."

"Ooh-ooh! I know, your horn!" Pinkie exclaimed, "What do I win?"

Twilight, her balance seeming to fade with every word, said, "other than that of course."

Pinkie came out of the kitchen with a small tray of blue cupcakes with small rainbow sprinkles and a teapot. "This is a special tea that I drink every time I get hurt, it will take away all the pain and help you feel better quickly," she said, pouring a cup of clear tea for Twilight.

Smelling it cleared Twilight's head a little and allowed her to place the smell, it made her think of poppy seed muffins. "Thank you so much Pinkie," she said as she gulped down the warm, but not scalding, tea. Taking a few cupcakes Twilight said, "I really think it's great that you made something like this for Rainbow Dash even after she left so suddenly like that."

"You know Twilight, you scared me for a bit earlier," Pinkie said, setting down the tray and sitting on a nearby footrest.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, her head becoming less and less clear as she drank Pinkie's special tea and ate the cupcakes, each mouthful seeming to make things blurrier.

"I thought maybe you knew about the cupcakes," Pinkie said, setting her head on her front hooves and staring at Twilight, "but you just thought I was making something to remember her by,"

"Wait, what do you mean?" Twilight asked, staring at the cupcake in her hoof. She was now in serious danger of falling over just by trying to sit up.

"No time," Pinkie sang, "you have to take a nap."

"What are-" Twilight began.

"Night-night" Pinkie giggled. As she said this Twilight's eyes closed and she fell forward out of the chair, hitting the floor and shattering her already devastated horn.

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Passersby saw Pinkie running frantically around locking windows and closing shutters. Applejack walked by, pulling her cart of apples to the market, as Pinkie was refitting the door in its frame and filling in a large pony-shaped hole with what appeared to be pieces of chairs. "Ah wonder what's gotten her all riled up," she said to herself, "this is weird even for Pinkie." Applejack just shrugged and continued on, "Ah'll see about dropping by tommorra afternoon and see if she's okay."

Minutes later, Rarity hurried towards the library on the other side of the bakery. Unwatched, Pinkie stared through a window with the curtains slightly drawn. Oblivious to her friend staring at her like a dragon at a plate of gems, Rarity hurried as fast as she could without disturbing her carefully styled mane. 'Whatever could Twilight want so badly?' Rarity thought as she trotted along. 'She usually comes to see moi rather than 'urgently requesting my presence'. Oh I do hope everything is all right.'

As she arrived at the library, Rarity knocked a hoof against the door, careful not to disturb her fine manicure. "Twilight, dear," she called, "it's me, Rarity, is everything all right?" Receiving no answer, she pushed the door open and peered around. "Twilight?" she asked, "are you here?"

She walked down the hallway growing strangely disturbed though she couldn't say why. Just as she was about to decide that Twilight wasn't here, a door slammed open nearby causing her to jump and scream in terror. She turned quickly to see what had happened, ready to run at the slightest bit of trouble.

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Awwwwwwwwwww, sad face. You guys don't get to see her find Spike yet. I think I may stop here for a few days and let it stew :) As I'm sure you can tell, the next chapter is almost guaranteed to have what I'm sure many are waiting for after seeing 'yes this is a cupcakes sequel' in the description. Stay tuned and enjoy. Remember: It won't be the same without out you so we hope that you say yes. So please oh please RSVP and come to be our guest!

Preparations

Here it is, it took a little longer than I wanted it to but there were family plans that I didn't know about… not as bad as surprise dentist appointments but wutevs. Anyways, the NEW chapter! Twilight isn't expected to be finished for a while but there should be time for some…. Fuuuuuun. MWA-HAHAHAHAHAHAHA (btw, for those who didn't get it in the last chapter, the clear tea that smelled like poppy-seed muffins contained morphine…. The poppy-seeds. Yup. The cupcakes had some too; Twilight probably would've overdosed if she drank all of her tea.)

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Twilight awoke in complete darkness. Her head was still swimming and there was a dull ache in the back of her eyes. "Ohhhh," she groaned, "what happened?" She felt worse than the time Applejack had invited everypony over to try an old cask of cider she found at the back of the cellar. She tried to reach up and cradle her aching head in her hooves but was startled by the lack of movement. "What the heck?" she murmured, straining to lift her legs. No matter how much she struggled she couldn't even so much as shift her tail to the side. She tried squinting to see what had trapped her when a light giggling floated out of the darkness to her left.

"Pinkie Pie?" she called, growing more and more terrified with each passing second, "are you there? What's happening? Where are we?" The silence continued, broken only by Twilight's gasping as she continued trying to sit up.

"Calm down silly," a voice floated out of the darkness. "Yeah, wouldn't want you to hurt yourself, would we?" this time the voice seemed to come from her right.

Still trying to look around, regardless of the darkness, Twilight began shivering from fear. As she frantically looked around as far as her head could go, a voice suddenly yelled in her ear, "OM- NOM-NOM- NOM-NOM- NOM-NOM!"

Twilight whipped her head around to see what it was. Several tendons popped and she swore she could feel a vertebra actually crack. Recoiling from the sudden whiplash, Twilight cried out in pain.

Her heart pounding Twilight yelled, "Who's there? Somepony, anypony! Please help me!"

"Don't be such a baby," taunted the still unknown yet familiar voice. Intense lights flashed on from every angle, blinding the purple mare on the table.

As the glare died down, Twilight realized she was indeed strapped onto a table with what appeared to be strong, yet soft, pastel colored ropes. "You dweeb," said the voice with an air of condescension.

"Gilda?" asked Twilight, her eyes slits against the onslaught of light, "is that you?" She could now make out the somewhat familiar face of the griffon as she walked towards the trapped unicorn. "Rainbow Dash said you left to explore the jungles. When did you get back in Ponyville? Do you know where Rainbow Dash could be? "

The griffin sat stoically, albeit with a sneer of distaste set in her beak. "You're right," said Twilight, misreading the Griffon's silence, "no time. Quick, you have to let me up, I have no idea what's going on here, but I really don't want to find out."

"Gotcha!" yelled Pinkie Pie as she ripped off the griffon costume with a flourish. As it fell to the floor Twilight could see a tangle of thin cords holding it together. Now that it was off, she was surprised she had mistaken it for the real Gilda; many parts were baggy or didn't fit how a real griffon looked. "Here's Pinkie Pie!" she continued, ignoring Twilight's distraught look.

"Pinkie Pie" Twilight nearly screamed, "what's going on! Why am I tied down and why were you wearing a costume that looked like Gilda?"

"Silly willy head," Pinkie crooned, rubbing her nose against Twilight's cheek. "That's not a costume made to LOOK like Gilda."

"You mean-", Twilight began.

"It IS Gilda," Pinkie hugged herself as she cheerily said this.

"But- but, how?" Twilight stammered, now noticing slight deformities that could only happen if the feathers had been used for flying.

"You remember when Gilda stormed out of my party after me and Dashie played all of those tricks on her, well I caught up to her and, when she wouldn't come back here with me, I stuck a GREEEEAT big needle in her eye and she went sleepy just like you did. She took a lot more than you though." Pinkie began busily picking up the discarded griffon pelt and straightened out the feathers as she spoke. "Do you remember those extra spicy cookies I was selling for a while, those were griffon flavored."

Twilight looked on in disbelief as Pinkie folded the skin and walked away, leaving Twilight to be blinded by the spotlight Pinkie had been sitting in front of. "Then does that mean that Rainbow Dash-"

"Yup!"

"And you-"

"I sure diddly-did!"

"HOW COULD YOU PINKIE?" Twilight yelled as she strained once more against her bonds, tears flowing from her eyes, "how could you kill your friend and bake her into snacks."

"Well, if you wanna get all angry about it," Pinkie said, seeming irritated, now coming back to where Twilight could see, "then you should only blame yourself and every other pony who has ever eaten my treats. You never complained any of the other times."

The news stunned Twilight. Seeing her eyes widen, Pinkie giggled and said, "look!"

The harsh lights dimmed as Pinkie pulled on a nearby high voltage switch. As the lights around her lessoned to where she could see, albeit now with a strange greenish tint, Twilight noticed that other lights were slowly coming on revealing one section of the room after the other. Twilight wished they hadn't.

Seeing the room full of horrors caused Twilight to vomit and nearly pass out. She was on a cold metal table with a covered cart nearby. Ranged around the room were various tables and chairs that appeared to be crafted from bones with raw hides as the actual surfaces, some still dripping a thick red liquid every few seconds. The room had been completely decorated in a twisted macabre version of the usual Pinkie Pie way. The walls were painted in various dark shades of red, as though a red liquid had been randomly thrown on portions of the walls and allowed to dry before more was splashed on.

On a nearby table was a large glass punchbowl filled with a deep crimson that Twilight was willing to bet wasn't strawberry flavored. Sticking out of the punchbowl was a large ladle that had been cobbled together out of several different hooves. This matched the cups ranged around the tables; each one was carved out of a hoof and was sealed with a strange gray material.

Placed around the various articles of furniture were skulls of every shape and size, including several that appeared to be dragon; they were all painted with clown faces, though many still had flesh on them. Continuing to look around in terror, Twilight saw that there was a chair near here with a small stack of foals' heads. They were covered with leathery mummified pony skin that exactly matched the material that made up their party hats. Their faces had been stitched into permanent grins and various candy treats spilled out of their eye sockets.

Tied to the chairs were various shapes of 'balloons' painted bright colors. Some were still easy to identify: hearts, stomachs, kidneys, even string of eyeballs each painted different colors. Others were just shapeless masses of helium filled flesh that bounced off of the ceiling. Hanging from the ceiling were intestines dyed to match the balloons on Pinkie's cutie mark.

Completing this mad, twisted scene was a huge banner stitched together out of various pony hides. It had been painted with a runny maroon colored substance to say: Life is a party. Tiny foal skulls hung from random places on the banner to resemble twisted party favors.

As the grim scene unfolded itself to Twilight in a matter of seconds, her eyes began to flutter and her head hit her chest. Noticing this, Pinkie quickly slammed her hoof into Twilight's face, waking her up.

"Behold!" she cried laughing madly, "my eternal party; one that never has to end because ponies are 'tired' or they 'have to work' or because they're great big meanie-mean meanie pants who don't like to have fun." Pinkie turned towards Twilight with a crimson light flashing across her eyes. "Every pony deserves a party and now everypony can have one; one with all of their friends for the rest of time."

Twilight's face began to swell up around the dark hoof mark that Pinkie had left. "Pinkie, I-"

"Twilight," Pinkie asked softly, "do you remember how I said I would show you the secret ingredient in my cupcakes up close?"

Horror dawned on Twilight as she finally pieced together everything that had happened. Pinkie continued, ignoring her friend's terrified look, "I think t's funny how your number came up the same day that you asked to see the ingredient."

"Pinkie," Twilight said looking up, her face discolored from the days abuse and streaked with tears, "why? Why are you doing this?"

Turning, Pinkie answered, "because all ponies hafta eat and they all hafta die at some point. This kills two foals with one stone. I don't make the rules, I just follow them. " The twisting of the saying caused Twilight's stomach to clench even tighter.

Twilight lay there, trying to think of a way out when she realized that Pinkie was standing over her with a cup of 'punch' from the nearby table. "Drink up," Pinkie said, moving the cup closer to Twilight's mouth, "you can't be thirsty for the fun we have planned."

Twilight clenched her jaw, refusing to even taste the thick copper smelling liquid. Pinkie frowned and grabbed a hammer from the covered cart nearby. With one swing she crushed Twilight's jaw, making it hang open. She poured the liquid down Twilight's throat and went to refill it. After the fourth cup, Twilight tried to vomit of the blood. Pinkie grabbed a mop and cleaned up the mess. She then squeezed the mop out into Twilight's mouth and held it closed until she swallowed.

"We'll make enough messes in here later, thank you very much," Pinkie pouted, "I don't want you making extra work for me. Just try to enjoy this time we have together. Maybe we can have more fun that Rainbow Dash could take." Saying this, Pinkie pulled aside a curtain near the back of the room. Sitting on a pedestal like some kind of demented idol was the corpse of a cyan pegasus. Rainbow Dash had been stitched together with thick, clumsy stiches and had wheels stuck to her feet. Handles came out of the back of her neck and it looked as though there were light bulbs in place of her eyes.

"She didn't give me very much time to spend with her, but she did give me the idea that when my friends' numbers came up, I could do something special with each one. Now Rainbow Dash can always go faster than anypony else."

The shock of the revelation combined with the excruciating pain in her head caused Twilight to pass into blackness as Pinkie spoke.

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This is your singing telegram I hope it finds you well.

You're invited to a party 'cuz we think you're really swell.

Gummi's turning one year old now help us celebrate,

The cake will be delicious! the festivities first rate.

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Meanwhile, back at the library, Rarity was staring at a rather disturbing sight in the broom closet. She had come to see what Twilight wanted and found the library deserted. As she decided to leave, however, the door flew open, revealing Spike apparently on a date with a picture of her.

The two of them, having somewhat gotten over the shock of the unusual situation sat near each other on the floor. The candles had been extinguished and Spike had spirited away the picture and gems. He now sat there trying to avoid Rarity's face, part of the mustache was still drawn on and the smell of cologne still seeped out from the now vacant closet.

Rarity tried breaking the awkward silence, "sooo, Spike. How was your little, err, swaray going?"

Spike looked down at his feet, his cheeks darkening as blood rushed to his face. "Uum… well, I…" he mumbled something that Rarity couldn't make out.

"I'm sorry darling, what?" she asked, pausing when she saw the embarrassment on her small friend's face. "Oh never mind, I'm sure you were a perfect little gentlecolt- err dragon."

Unsure as to whether he should cheer up at this or continue staring at his feet, Spike opted for the latter, trying to sink down into the floor as he did it; his purple scales now almost black.

'He really is kinda cute,' Rarity thought as she watched him, 'and he is very sweet.' Seeing a way to, hopefully, fix things, Rarity began leaning in towards Spike who unconsciously mimicked her. "I guess the only way to know for sure is to see for myself," she said in his ear.

He lept up so quickly that he smashed into a nearby bookshelf, causing dozens of thick tomes to come crashing down on and around him. Levitating a few books out of her way, Rarity walked over to the stunned dragon. She kissed him on the top of his head and began to walk away. "I should go," she said, "before you put yourself in the hospital." As she walked out the door, she said without looking back, "I'll see you at eight then. Make sure you don't keep a girl waiting." She then paused for a moment, turned around and batted her eyelashes, the door slowly closing to hide her lustrous white fur.

Spike sighed contentedly, accidently sending multiple books to Princess Celestia. "A date with Rarity?" he said softly, listening to the sound of it, "that's what I've always wanted!" Spike lay on the floor amidst the fallen books, hearts seeming to dance in his eyes.

Rarity was quite pleased with herself as she walked home. "I wonder what one should wear to something like this. Oh I have so many options." As she walked she continued to think aloud, "he really is quite darling. I just hope Twilight doesn't mind, I'd hate to lose her as a friend." She continued home, already laying plans for a flawless evening with Spike.

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There will be games and dancing,

Bob for apples, cut a rug.

And when the party's over we'll gather 'round for a group hug!

No need to bring a gift, being there will be enough.

Birthdays mean having fun with friends not getting lots of stuff.

It won't be the same without you so we hope that you say yes.

So please, oh please, RSVP and come and be our guest!

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"C'mon wakey wakey," Pinkie called softly as she repeatedly touched the shattered stump of Twilight's horn with a super charged taser. Each jolt brought Twilight a little closer to consciousness before suddenly slamming her away again. "C'mon," Pinkie coaxed, "you can do it sleepy head. It's time to wake up."

As Twilight's eyes opened, blackened a bit from the electricity shooting straight into her brain, helped along by the large amount of tears covering her face, she saw Pinkie standing over her, the look of motherhood, other than the overly large taser in her hoof. Smiling at the sight of her friend waking up with minimal assistance, Pinkie began to pull away. She paused for a minute, then slowly lowered the taser back onto Twilight's horn and held it there for several seconds.

"There," she said, finally setting the now smoking object down, "now you'll stay awake for quite a while and we can have fun!" Looking into Twilight's pain filled eyes she said, "I really hope you don't fall asleep anymore, Rainbow Dash kept falling asleep so we didn't get to have much fun before she left forever. I really want to have a good time with you before we have to say good-bye."

Pinkie walked over to the nearby cart and shook the covering off with a flourish. Ranged across several shelves were various instruments: barbed wire, a slightly bloody hammer, wire clamps, a hack saw, a hatchet, several car batteries, a jar of long, twisted nails more rust than iron, a nutcracker and several large coils of thin wire. Hanging on the side were several larger instruments, the one that caught Twilight's attention the most was a large twisted pair of bloodstained hedge clippers.

"Look at all of these fun toys we get to play with," Pinkie gushed excitedly, "and look at this!" Reaching in to a pouch hanging near a cordless power drill, Pinkie began pulling out various objects, a jar of parasprites, a gilded lighter and various small objects that Twilight couldn't quite make out through the haze of smoke coming from her forehead.

Pinkie grabbed a small leather knife belt from the bottom shelf. Sticking out of the slits in it was a selection of scalpels, all different shapes and sizes. Pinkie grabbed a crescent shaped one with a blade about a half of an inch deep. She grabbed a rag from the floor by the table and stuck it in Twilight's mouth, "I can't have you yelling and throwing off my concentration." Turning towards Twilight with the scalpel she explained, "this is one of the most important parts. I have to see just how thick your skin is and how difficult it is to cut. I've gotten pretty good at judging this, but I still make mistakes so I warm up first."

Reaching down to Twilight's flank she pressed the icy cold wedge of metal to the skin near Twilight's cutie mark and began sliding it along. Twilight winced as the blade suddenly felt white-hot as it slid through her flesh. Yet, strangely, she didn't bleed very much. "Don't worry," Pinkie said, "I'm careful to cut around most of the blood vessels; can't have you losing too much blood." "I also have to test your pain tolerance," she continued as she moved on to a slightly larger scalpel, testing its cuts like a painter testing brush effects, "if I give you too much medicine or too little, we won't be able to play for very long. I rushed this with Rainbow Dash and she had to leave too quickly."

Finishing a circular cut around the diamonds colored on Twilight's flank, Pinkie grabbed a spatula and began pushing it under the edge of skin. Twilight tried to scream around the gag but couldn't even get a slight sound to come out.

"And there we g- woopsies," Pinkie exclaimed as the cutie mark suddenly ripped free of Twilight's flank and flew through the air. It struck one of the hanging foal skulls and slowly sagged downward leaving a sluggish red trail behind it. "I think I pulled a little too hard."

Pinkie moved over to Twilight's other side and began making a mirror cut of the first. "Wow Twilight," she said, "your skin isn't very strong compared to other ponies. You should go outside more. Now I hafta be extra careful not to rip you later." As the blade began splitting the skin on her right flank, Twilight's body gave a huge jarring shudder completely shaking her despite the tight bonds. Pinkie's hoof was thrown off and the scalpel made a long deep cut that ran most of the way to her tail. "See why I warm up first?" Pinkie asked as she reset the scalpel, "it wouldn't be good if that happened during one of the more delicate games we'll be playing."

Twilight's flank was now numb to the pain, feeling only the pressure of the scalpel as it moved in repeating circles. She fell back against the table, sobbing. As Pinkie finished the cut, the scalpel scraped against Twilight's bone. Pinkie pushed the spatula under the cutie mark and Twilight felt a spreading warmth between her legs. Her vision began to blur and everything took on a dreamlike quality as the colors and sounds began to fade.

Moments later, Twilight was aware of a large needle sticking out of her chest. Pinkie was leaning over her. "Wow," she said, "you're taking this much better than Dashie did. I haven't even had to give you any adrenaline yet." As she spoke the feeling in Twilight's lower body bled out.

"Why Pinkie," Twilight asked, no longer crying. She felt as though she could never again show any real emotion or escape the pain. "Why are you doing this to your friends?"

"I told you," pinkie said as she yanked the needle out with an audible pop, "I don't make the rules. Your number came up and that was that. I can't choose what rules to follow, only what flavor to make the cupcakes." Pinkie turned and began busying herself with something on the cart. Continuing while she fiddled with the unknown object, "and let's face it, if I don't make the cupcakes, who will? They don't just appear like magic."

'That's it, magic!' Twilight thought as Pinkie continued talking. 'Maybe my horn isn't too damaged to use a simple spell and get some help. She strained herself, trying to cast an attraction spell that would draw in all the animals for miles around. Pinkie turned around looking somewhat disappointed.

"Really Twilight, did you think I hadn't thought about that? I'm not an idiot you know." Twilight saw what the object in Pinkie's hand was. It was a beaten gold tiara that resembled the one containing Twilight's Element of Harmony, the element of magic. It was studded with small shiny pieces of a strange purple material.

"Is that bone?" Twilight asked, squinting. "No, not bone," she realized with a shudder, "horn. MY horn." Looking up she saw a small shattered chunk of purple coming from where her horn had always been. It was now slightly blackened from electrical exposure but she knew it must have shattered while she was unconscious at some point.

"Isn't it simply fabulous?" Pinkie asked in a flawless imitation of Rarity, "what, this old thing?" Slowly turning back to her normal voice Pinkie said, "It isn't even done yet. But it will be soon. Speaking of which, we should be having more friends over soon so be on your best behavior."

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Whew, long chapter. This more than doubled the story length. Like I said, Twilight isn't going anywhere soon; we still have lots of fun ahead. As for Spike and Rarity, I'm thinking of going somewhere with them, but not sure if I will. The date will definitely be there but that's all that's guaranteed at this point. I actually doubled the length of what I had written when I typed this so a lot was improvised as I went, so if anything seems better or worse than the other chapters (writing-wise) that's probably why. Also, this is the end of what I had written; the rest is mostly planned out in my head but should take longer to write. I can't wait to see where Pinkie will take us next, but I hope that you come along for the ride.

Just wanna say it's too bad that Seargent Sprinkles already used RD, I couldn't done a "Rainbow Factory" thing if she was still around. Oh well. Also, I plan on incorporating Derpy in the rest of the chapters, not as a cupcake (I could never do that to Derpy) but she should be there, so keep an eye out.

Spike and Rarity

Okay new chapter, keep your Derp-detector handy…. Some of these are embarrassingly obvious but I can't just slip her in, there aren't any pictures :(

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Spike looked at the clock. "Seven Fifty-four, good I should have plenty of time to get Rarity." Spike had just taken a bath and wash finishing polishing his scales. He scrubbed each one with a special polish that Rarity had found during a trip to Phillydelphia.

He finished polishing and set the rag he used back under the sink with the polish. He paused for a moment and looked in the mirror. Flexing his arms he said, "Lookin' good Spike, lookin' good."

'It's too bad Twilight isn't here today,' he thought as he stepped out onto the street, 'I could've asked her to spiff me up a bit with her magic.' He began walking over to the boutique. He paused for a moment, seeing Daisy nearby with her flower cart. "Hey Daisy," he called, "can I have a few of those yellow ones please?"

"Sure Spike," she said handing him three small blooms.

As Spike reached out to take them he was suddenly thrown to the ground. "Whoops, sorry Spike," Derpy yelled as she picked herself up and started flying away, one eye still watching Spike.

Rubbing his head, Spike said, "Something is seriously wrong with that pony."

"Spike! What did I tell you about keeping a girl waiting?"

"Sorry Rarity, I stopped to get you these," Spike held out the flowers. He noticed that there was a digital clock nearby; it said 8:00:37.

Rarity was standing just inside the door. She was wearing a gown similar to the one she had made for the Gala, only this one was blue with silver lining. She had a small tiara one her head made of intricately molded silver and sapphires which matched her eyes perfectly. Spike saw that she had also worked small strings of amethysts into her mane which caused it to sparkle brilliantly without actually disturbing the color.

"Oh my," she said taking the flowers, "you are a little gentlecolt." She levitated a small vase over and set the flowers in it before returning it to its former position.

"Well Spike," Rarity said, flashing a dazzling smile, "are we going now?"

For a few moments, Spike couldn't talk, all he saw was Rarity's face with the lights sending little purple flashes out of her mane as she moved.

"Spike, are you all right?"

"Oh, umm, yeah. I mean yes, I am." Spike held out his arm and said, "Shall we go now milady?"

"Oh, you're so sweet." Rarity said, closing the door and allowing Spike to wrap his arm around her front leg. "Oh, by the way, have you seen Twilight Sparkle? She asked me to come over earlier and it seemed important, but she wasn't there. I nearly forgot after all the…. commotion."

"Oh, yeah," Spike blushed. "I think she was supposed to spend time with Pinkie today. They kinda saw me. I don't know what happened after that though. All I know is that I woke up when the door opened and you screamed."

"Oh, all right." Rarity said, steering Spike towards a nearby carriage. "I managed to get us reservations at La Hoof!"

"How'd you manage to get us in there?" Spike was amazed. Nopony could ever get into La Hoof. One meal cost as much as Twilight got from the Princess for a month.

"Oh it's quite easy. After Fancy Pants saw my work, everyone wanted an authentic Rarity design. I made the curtains and uniforms for them. They're actually still paying, so there letting us in for free." Talking about her recent success excited Rarity. She nearly began jumping around as she spoke of it, except she didn't want to scuff her shoes.

"Wow Rarity that's awesome!" Spike was genuinely happy for his friend. She may be a lot busier now, but she got to do what she loved and have everyone appreciate it. "I had no idea you got that much publicity for it."

"Excuse me mam," interrupted the stallion pulling the carriage, "but we've arrived."

"Oh thank you so much," Rarity said as she stepped out of the carriage.

Spike flipped him a few bits. "Here, a little something for yourself."

As the stallion trotted off looking for more fares, Rarity and Spike headed into the large expensively decorated restaurant. The hostess, a purple pegasus with a plum mane, approached them. "What name is your reservation under?" she asked, opening a large book on a nearby lectern.

"Rarity, darling."

"Ah, Mrs. Rarity; I heard we could be expecting you tonight. The new uniforms are simply divine." The hostess waved a hoof at the gem studded black evening gown she was wearing. "I had no idea that such fine cloth could be woven by pony hooves."

"Oh it's nothing really," Rarity said as they were seated in a private booth near the entertainer, a brown stallion playing soft music on a large piano. "I simply could not stand to see such a fine establishment go on with such awful attire."

Once the hostess had left, Rarity sat down next to Spike. "So, how is your evening so far?" she asked, a smile still playing across her face from the compliments on her style; all the serving ponies kept coming over to personally thank her for their different outfits.

"It's amazing," Spike answered, placing a claw on the table near Rarity's hoof, "I'm so happy that you're doing this with me."

"Well you are such a dear. I figured it couldn't hurt."

Just then the server came over, a white unicorn with his mane slicked back. He wore a monocle and a deep black velvet tuxedo. "May I interest you in our selections of wine and perhaps a plate of gems for the young sir?"

"Oh yes please," Spike said excitedly.

"No need for the wine selection though, Sebastian, you always know what suits everypony the best." Rarity said, glancing at the menus the fancy stallion had set down.

Spike glanced out the window and saw a grey pegasus fly by. She was dropping a lot of letters from her saddlebags and didn't seem to notice. He pulled away from the window and tugged the curtains closed a bit, trying to avoid the strange yellow eyes.

After they had ordered and Sebastian had left with the menus. A small white mare whose dress perfectly matched Sebastian's tuxedo came over and poured two glasses of deep purple wine and set a plate of gemstones down in front of Spike. There were many different kinds and they had been arranged into a small rainbow of color.

Spike sighed sadly before picking apart the rainbow.

"What's the matter Spike? I thought you loved gems?"

"I do, it's the rainbow."

"Ah, you miss Rainbow Dash too don't you?"

"Yeah, it just stinks that she left like that without even telling anypony." Spike began chewing at a few emeralds.

"Well I'm sure that she had her reasons and wouldn't want anypony to be upset."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Spike stopped chewing on the large gem and looked at it for a second, an idea forming in his mind. He began nibbling at random places on it and then made little scratches with his claws.

"What's that you're making Spike?" Rarity asked, leaning in to look.

"Here," he held out the emerald. He had carved it into a perfect replica of a rose, complete with tiny thorns and small wrinkles in the petals.

"Oh my Spike," Rarity said, amazed. She had never seen anypony create such a detailed work so quickly, especially not out of a single gem. She placed the green sculpture in her mane just behind her ear as if it was a real flower. "It's beautiful!"

"Aw, shucks" he said, turning darker, "It's not much compared to you."

"Awww," Rarity cooed, her eyes moistening a bit. She levitated the embarrassed dragon up a little and kissed him on the forehead. "You are a little gentlecolt aren't you?"

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After they had eaten and left La Hoof, Rarity and Spike walked along in the nearby park.

"Thanks for such a wonderful time Spike," Rarity said, leaning in close to Spike as the stars twinkled overhead. "I don't think I've enjoyed myself that much for quite a while, especially not in that stuffy place."

"Thanks for going with me," Spike said, hugging Rarity around the neck. Pulling away he laughed, "I still remember the look on the chef's face when he uncovered the platter."

"I had no idea you get like that after a few glasses of wine," Rarity smiled, "I also didn't expect you to fit that entire watermelon in your mouth."

"Oh, ha, yeah," Spike said rubbing his head as they came to a stop near a bench, "usually dragons have a bigger resistance to stuff like that than most ponies; I can't even take medicine because for it to work I'd have to take the entire bottle and Twilight says that's dangerous."

"I'd imagine so."

"I think it has something to do with my size, usually dragons take everything so they get really big so they can keep it, but I share everything so I stay little."

Sitting down on the bench Rarity said, "Well, at least you're still cute, not like those horrible monsters that are usually flying around."

They sat there for a few minutes watching the stars. As they sat there, a star flew by.

"Make a wish," Rarity said, pulling Spike a little closer.

"It's already come true," Spike said looking into the white mare's eyes.

"Oh, you're so cheesy," Rarity said, poking his nose with a hoof. As he turned his face away she said, "But maybe I like it like that."

They sat there a little while longer. "You know what I think I like most about you Spike?" Rarity asked, still watching the twinkling stars.

"What?" he asked, hoping to find some advice to make this happen again.

"You aren't like the stallions I usually end up with. You aren't worried about just yourself and how you look. And you aren't just with me because of my body or connections."

"Wait, there are stallions who try use you like that?" Spike asked getting angry.

"Yes, they're commonly quite shallow, but I can usually weed out the worst offenders before we go out."

"You know what I like most about you Rarity," Spike said, feeling like he should say something after that, "you're more than just beautiful, you like to help everypony a lot too"

Rarity turned towards Spike. She leaned in and kissed him on the lips. For a second, Spike was unsure of what to do. Closing his eyes, he began running his hands through Rarity's mane. He could taste the sweet hay she'd had with her dinner. She broke away, Spike leaned forward and tried to start again.

Rarity pushed him back with a hoof, "don't be greedy Spike, too much sugar could ruin your appetite." She had a devious smile on her face. "Besides I think it's getting a little late and it I should be heading home."

Spike stood up, disappointed but still the happiest he'd ever been. As he and Rarity began walking towards the park entrance he saw a sliver of light coming up over the horizon and noticed that the stars were fading.

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The sun was rising when they got back to Rarity's house. "Good night Spike," she said, giving him a light peck on the lips, "or rather good morning. We have to do this again sometime."

Spike began trudging home, suddenly too tired to keep his eyes all the way opened. He heard Sweetie Belle's voice behind him yelling something. He turned to look and saw her in the window of the room she stayed in when she was with Rarity.

"Hi Spike!" she yelled, "where were you guys?"

"Oh, we were….." he paused uncomfortable at telling his little friend that he was dating her sister, "out."

"I know that but where?" Before Spike could answer she said loudly, "did you kiss?"

Spike began very embarrassed, a feeling that wasn't helped by Sweetie Belle giggling and making kissy faces at him.

He hurried home and closed the door quietly, knowing if Twilight was home she'd probably be exhausted from spending time with Pinkie for so much of the previous day. He left all the curtains closed and the lights off and climbed into his little bed. He fell asleep with memories of his night with Rarity playing through his head and listening to the morning birds sing.

Rarity climbed the stairs to her bedroom and heard her sister yelling to Spike below. 'That filly is going to be such a gossip someday,' she thought, hearing Sweetie ask if they kissed. She slipped a note down a small tube that she had made when they were younger so that they could send notes. It big letters, written in lipstick it said 'yes'.

As she took of her gown and climbed into bed she heard her sister giggle and saw Spike's scales darken through the window. 'Well, at least Sweetie is fine with it; I'd hate to make her angry by taking away her friend. I just hope Twilight will feel the same way about it.' Rarity fell asleep thinking of the magic of the previous night and listening to Opal purr as she curled up in Rarity's mane.

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Okay, this is very different from the previous chapter, I know. I wanted the thing with Spike and Rarity to go somewhere and for there to be more than just two ponies being shown as alive at one time. I hope the whole dating thing turned out okay, I've written stories before so I was fairly sure of my ability to write this fanfic, but I've never done love scenes of any type. Also, this probably isn't going to have any clopfic sections…. 98% sure of that.

Anyway, Twilight will be back in the next chapter. It'll probably take a while to write though, there's still so much Pinkie has to do. Also, Derpy sightings; not as many as I hoped, nor as subtle but it's harder than I thought to sneak a pony in while writing… and I dint think it would be easy.

One more thing, Nyancat was going in the background the entire time I wrote this /)^3^(\ I luvs

Rennovations

Whew, here comes a new chapter, I'm writing this before the chapter so I have less of an idea as to what will happen as some of you do….. I don't try to guess ahead because it ruins the surprise.

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Thread by thread

Stitching it together

Twilight's dress

Cutting the pattern snip by snip

Making sure the fabric folds nicely

It's the perfect color and so hip

Always got to keep in mind my pacing

Making sure the clothes correctly facing

I'm stitching Twilight's dress

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"Okay Twilight," Pinkie said, grabbing a glass jar. It was painted a strange glossy black so Twilight couldn't make out what was inside of it. "Time for our first game! Bug wranglin'." As she said the last part, Pinkie changed her voice to sound exactly like Applejack.

"Awl ya got ta do is git this here rope around one a' these here critters." Pinkie pulled out a small bundle of strings and dropped them on Twilight's stomach. She opened up the jar revealing that it wasn't painted, it had been crammed full of small bugs, many of them now dead from the lack of air and space.

Pinkie shook out a large hoof-full and tossed them in a small box. "Go git 'em Twalaight!" Twilight lay there on the table and watched as Pinkie stared at her with a terrifying grin on her face. "Well go ahead silly," she said, using her normal voice, "aren't you going to even try to catch one?"

"Pinkie," Twilight said, now able to think clearly after Pinkie had filled her with pain killers, "you strapped me to a table and turned off the nerves in my limbs. How in Equestria am I supposed to lasso a termite?"

"Well fine, be that way," Pinkie said dipping the end of each string in superglue and dropping the ends into the mass of termites. "But in a second you're gonna wish you picked out your own."

"What are you-"

"Quiet!" Pinkie yelled, slapping Twilight's face with her hoof. Twilight's jaw snapped out of place and hung down where it did after Pinkie hit Twilight with a hammer. "I'm getting tired of your questions." Getting louder to be heard over Twilight's sobs, "if you aren't going to play then you can't ask questions. Besides, I'm fishing."

Pinkie pulled several long strings of termites out of the black mass and placed an airtight cover on the box. "There, those should be gone in a few minutes." She began unraveling the strings before the superglue could dry them together. When she was finished, each strand had two termites side by side on the end of it. "These are very special termites," Pinkie said, pulling a chair covered in blue pony skin over to Twilight. "They're specially bred to chew through ponies instead of wood. I've found that they prefer to go just above the nerves, they like the energy from the brain signals. It helps them grow or something. They won't kill you, but they will cause lots of tiny tunnels."

Smiling, pinkie placed the strings of termites on the table near Twilight's rear hoofs. "I put two on each string to make sure we can use the tunnels," Pinkie explained as the insects seemed to sit up and sniff the air. As if on command, they all began running for Twilight's skinned flanks at the same time. The group of termites split perfectly down the middle to go to different sides.

As they began chewing their way in at remarkable speed Pinkie said, "I guess we have some time for girl talk. What's on your mind Twilight?" Pinkie sat as if expecting an answer. Instead, Twilight screamed and tried to squirm away but was held tight by her bonds.

"Ugh, come on Twilight, you know I forgot how to speak yeti."

Twilight lay on the table, her skin seeming to bubble as the termites wormed their way through her body. Her skin felt on fire and there was a deep itch everywhere, but all she could do was yell in pain as the termites ate their way along, somehow overriding the neurotoxin Pinkie had injected her with. Her discomfort only increased as the feeling returned to her entire body, far outstripping the snail pace of the burrowing parasites deep within her body. As feeling returned to her jaw Twilight's screams increased in volume; it now hung more than a hoof below its usual place having been dislocated twice now.

"Wow Twilight," Pinkie said running the tip of a hoof along the lines of depressions slowly making their way towards Twilight's head, "I've never had anypony stay awake for this before. You're so good at these games." She held up the translucent box containing the rest of the insects, "I had no idea the little poking of their feet could wake nerves back up. I wouldn't have wasted so many chemicals if I knew."

Twilight managed a scathing look at Pinkie before another wave of pain shot through her entire body, pinning her to the table more effectively than the bonds ever could.

"What," Pinkie asked, sounding slightly offended, "these things are expensive and really hard to make. I have to sneak into the hospital which means bribing guards so that nopony catches on to weekly deaths, then I hafta try and read doctor handwriting which is worse even than Scootaloo's. Then I need to get the right bottles, close down the bakery for like, two days so that nopony smells the fumes. Then I hafta actually make the right chemicals. It's so tiring!"

The tiny burrows had now reached nearly to Twilight's chest. "Well," said Pinkie, "looks like I need to get the bait so that they come out." She grabbed a nearby skull and shook out a grayish purple mush and spread it all over Twilight's neck. "Whoops," Pinkie laughed, "I almost forgot to let them smell it." She grabbed one of the nails form the jar on her cart and pushed it into Twilight's neck on each side. "There, now they'll come out for some yummy treats."

"Pee-ee, wa ih aaa?" Twilight managed.

"Just some day old brains."

Twilight was now able to smell the noxious goo on her neck and nearly vomited. All that stopped her was knowing that Pinkie would likely mop it up and force it back down her throat.

Pinkie noticed the slight movement as Twilight swallowed the bile before it could come out. "Oh goodie," she clapped, "you're learning." Pinkie turned around and busied herself at the cart, "Back in a sec."

When pinkie turned back around, the trails were just short of the nail holes; Pinkie saw them turn and begin climbing out of Twilight's neck to investigate the new treat. She slapped down the flypaper she had been opening, "Gotcha!" At least one of the bugs from every string was now caught on the squares of sticky yellow paper. She ripped the strings off of the small black forms, causing many to tear in half.

Pinkie wadded up the paper and threw it over her shoulder. It stuck to the ceiling covering part of one of the lights. The shadow formed covered part of Pinkie's face somehow making her look even more disturbed.

"Now for the tricky part," Pinkie said, "I practiced this so that I'd be ready for you, but it's very hard to do." Pinkie grabbed the spools of copper colored wire off of the cart and began unraveling a few. She tied the strings through tiny holes in the ends of the wires near where the termites had entered Twilight.

"We'll do this and then we can see about making some of those cupcakes," said Pinkie, her sinister grin stretching farther. "You're smart; see if you can figure out why I'm putting little wires along your nerves before I'm done."

Twilight actually caught herself trying to imagine all of the horrible things Pinkie could do. 'No,' she thought through a haze of pain, 'don't give in, that's all she wants.'

"You know," said Pinkie seeming to sense the little argument going on in Twilight's mind, "I was going to give you fresh painkillers if you guessed it, but if you don't try then I'll just wiggle the wires along and hope it does enough damage to kill the signals in your nerves without making them useless."

Twilight couldn't help an image of the thin wires tearing through her body from forming in her head. Shaking her head to clear away the worst of her tears, Twilight began seriously trying to figure out what Pinkie would do. She noticed that there was a small controller sitting on the cart. Next to it were several large batteries. An idea had begun to form when Twilight felt a frigid something begin sliding into the small holes in her legs. Pinkie was using the strings to slowly pull wires through the tunnels filling Twilight's body. Every few seconds Pinkie would snap the strings like reins making the wires jump and tear at Twilight's insides.

"Wow," pinkie said, seeming genuinely surprised, "I thought you would have thought of something by now. Maybe this will help." Every few words punctured by another snapping of the strings, "remember that frog experiment you did when you were studying medicine a few months back?" The wires continued slowly, yet unmercifully, through Twilight's body. The cold cutting sensation slowly filling up the many thin depressions that covered Twilight's torso.

"Yoo oh eea-" Twilight began, each attempt at a word punctuated by a flare of pain from her suspended jaw. It dangled comically, flapping each time she tried to talk. Occasionally, the blood coming from the tiny holes near the shattered bone would spray out, turning Pinkie an even darker shade of pink as it slowly trickled down her face.

"Oooh, watcha got?" Pinkie asked, dropping the strings for a moment. Twilight sighed as her tortured body was allowed a few seconds of respite. The alternating waves of cold and pain continued radiating off of the metal trails, but at least they weren't forcing their way ahead any longer. Twilight noticed with a sense of detachment that the cold was slowly disappearing as the strands were heated by the blood coursing through her.

"Ah ooh ahah aae-" Twilight tried to force out through her ruined mouth.

"Oh hush," Pinkie suddenly said, "I'm getting a headache trying to translate. It's nearly as bad as you actually talking." She sighed, "huuuh; here, try this." Pinkie twisted the broken bones and pushed in at the same time, causing Twilight's jaw to slam painfully back together in its usual spot, though still hanging at a slight angle.

"Aaaaaaaaah!" Twilight screamed as the pain exploded through her head. It faded quickly and left a small bit of comfort as her mouth could now move how and when it was supposed to. Spitting out the blood caught in her mouth Twilight continued. "Puppets?"

The one word seemed to send a shiver of excitement through Pinkie.

Her ears began flopping causing a look of discomfort to spread across her face. She turned around looking at a narrow staircase in the corner, now looking terrified her eyes rapidly opening and closing. She reached for an axe that was hanging from her cart and slowly moved towards the staircase; her knees jerking with every step. Then her tail began twitching and she turned back around, a smile played across her face.

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Yard by yard

Fussing on the details

Jewel neckline,

Don't you know a stitch in time saves nine?

Making her something perfect to inspire

Even though she hates formal attire

Gotta mind those intimate details

Even though she's more concerned with sales

It's Applejack's new dress

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Applejack began walking home from the market for lunch. As she passed the Sugarcube Corner she saw that the widows were all closed and the door was still blocked by random pieces of furniture.

"What coulda' happened to that crazy pony?" Applejack wondered aloud. "I hope she didn't get into anythin' too big for her ta handle."

She looked around trying to find somepony who could tell her what Pinkie had been doing lately. The streets were clear, everyone having headed home for lunch. The only pony in sight was a rapidly dwindling grey pegasus, her yellow mane flapping as she swerved to avoid a nearby house.

"Well tarnations," she said, flipping her hat off and rubbing her head, "Ah wish ah hadn't been so busy lately. Maybe then ah'd know what that mare was up ta." She shook her head, "that's what ah get for goin' an' slackin' off I guess."

Applejack locked the wheels of her cart in place and covered it with a sheet saying, 'Back in five minutes, thanks for stopping by!' and headed towards the Sugarcube Corner.

The orange cowpony walked up the steps trying to peer into the cracks of the shutters. "Pinkie," she called, knocking a hoof against the door, "are yall in here?" She pushed the door. It opened easily and silently despite the new layer of chair parts nailed into it.

"Pinkie?" she flipped the light switch and saw an overturned teacup by a blue cupcake covered in rainbow sprinkles. As she turned to investigate the kitchen, Applejack saw a note pinned to the wall near a strange looking smear on the wall. She walked over to investigate and saw that her name was written on the note. She picked it up and tore the envelope open with her mouth:

Applejack,

So nice of you to come and join our little party. I'm so happy that you're right on time. I realize it must have been difficult on such short notice, especially since I left your invitation here. Your number came up when I was a little… preoccupied. It's right here if you want to see it. Oh, and don't worry about nopony being here, me and Twilight are waiting for you. There are lots of fun games and ponies ready for you to get here.

The note had been signed with a strange symbol that Applejack didn't recognize. It sort of resembled two hoofs but she had no idea what it could mean. /]*[\

"Ah wonder what that thing is." Applejack stared at it for a second before realizing something, "how did Pinkie know that ah was gonna be comin here? Ah usually only come for pickups and deliveries on Mondays, not Saturday." She thought about it for a second. "Ah well," she said folding up the note and sticking it in her saddlebag, "she must have heard me talkin' ta mahself when she was fixin' that door."

"Somethin' still don't sit quite right with this though." Shrugging, Applejack remembered what the note had said about a number. She looked down and saw a blue scrap of furry material lying on the ground with a maroon 23 on it. She bent over to get it and realized what it was.

"This is ponyskin" she yelled alarmed; almost instantly she realized she knew who it was from, "this is Rainbow Dash's, ah'd recognize the feel of it anywhere! What happened to her?" Applejack looked back for a moment, remembering her friend. Countless afternoons spent exercising together had brought them very close; as close as Applejack was to Applebloom. "Ah thought somethin' seemed fishy about her leavin' like that. She didn't even hint at anything when we were makin' cider."

Applejack stood up furious, "ah always knew something was wrong with that pony, but this is too far, even fer Pinkie."

She was cut short as she felt a sharp prick in the back of her neck. All feeling fled from her legs and she looked up to see a slim pole extending from the wall with a hypodermic needle attached to it. Applejack now realized that the smear was a fresh layer of spackle.

Her vision began to blur and she was now lying completely flat on her side. She saw that there were actually several chinks in the rod for holding needles. She barely had time to winder where they could be when the floor opened up beneath her.

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Dressmaking's easy, for Pinkie Pie…

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Pinkie Pie picked up a remote and pushed a button. A section of the ceiling opened up and Twilight thought she saw two more panels open above it. Something orange streaked through the opening and hit the ground with a sickening crack.

"Whoops," Pinkie said, a slight hiccup in her voice from the scare moments earlier, "that'll be her leg."

Twilight saw something long and pale poking out of the orange pony's leg. A small red pool was forming around her and Twilight realized that the pony was a familiar shade of orange. She looked for a few moments, almost missing it under the glistening layer of blood. On the pony's flank were three apples almost forming a pyramid.

"Applejack," she said softly.

"I guess I'd better deal with her, sit tight for a moment Twilight." Pinkie pulled on one of the strange ropes holding Twilight and walked towards Applejack, humming.

After Pinkie had put a splint around Applejack's injured leg and strapped her to a table, she walked over to Twilight.

She pulled out another large needle, seemingly from nowhere. "Well, I promised I'd give this to you if you guessed what my plan was." She thrust the point of the needle deep into Twilight's abdomen, pausing when it encountered her spine. The needle was completely buried and the cylinder holding the pain killer was pushing her stomach back a little. She slowly depressed the plunger causing a rush of pressure in Twilight's back. This was quickly overtaken by complete nothingness that spread to the rest of her body, easing the pain from Pinkie's previous 'games'.

Pinkie quickly pulled the wires the rest of the way through Twilight's body, ignoring the moans coming from a nearby table where Applejack was tied. "There we go," Pinkie smiled as she broke off the rest of the strings. The spools holding the wires had now become level with the flesh of Twilight's thighs and a lot of wire stuck out from her neck.

Pinkie grabbed a set of pliers and busied herself with the ends of the wires. Twilight took advantage of the lack of attention from the demented mare and the absence of her pain to calm down a little and assess her situation. 'Okay, I have no magic and no chance of rescue unless Spike comes to ask Pinkie where I am.' Twilight remembered what had happened to Applejack, 'I hope he doesn't.' Twilight realized that at this point, she was doomed. No one knew where she was or that Pinkie was a psychotic maniac. 'Besides,' she thought, 'I'm sure Celestia herself would have trouble if she angered Pinkie.'

With these last thoughts, Twilight's hope faded away completely. She lay back and waited for Pinkie to finish and, hopefully, kill her. Twilight noticed that while she had been thinking, Pinkie had bandaged her flanks and neck and had put small cloth sacks around the ends of the wires.

"What are you doing?" she asked as Pinkie aimed a small motion detector at Applejack.

"Well, she isn't going to wake up for a while; I had to use quite a few syringes to ensure she wouldn't resist." Twilight saw several broken needles sticking out of Applejack's back and covering the floor near where she had fallen. "Plus I hafta wait for you to heal a little bit so that the wires don't come loose. O I'm gonna go clean up a bit so that nopony gets suspicious."

Pinkie turned off the lights and began climbing the stairs. "Try and get some sleep Twi, you're gonna need it for tomorrow." The door closed, leaving Twilight in complete darkness for the second time in as many days. She heard a slight shifting as Applejack unconsciously moved off of the syringes a bit. Twilight realized that, after the shock her body had been put through that day, she was completely exhausted. She closed her eyes and managed to fall into a nightmare filled sleep.

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Okay done. This took longer than I expected, but I remembered to look back through BEFORE submitting it this time… Microsoft's spellcheck and autocorrect suck.

I noticed something though, looking back through the chapters, it seems to be getting better as you go farther in. Anyway, there's likely to be more Spike and Rarity coming up soon.

I kinda' wish I had left 'The Art of the Dress' for Rarity's party, but it seemed to work here. Speaking of songs, 'Party with Pinkie' is the best song ever to listen to when writing about Pinkie, especially when it's on a loop with 'Pinkie's Telegram', both versions of 'Discord' and' Rainbow Factory' (both fun and otherwise).

Where Things Heat Up a Bit

Woo new chapter. To be completely honest idea what's going to happen in this chapter, nothing I think of seems workable so I'm just gonna type and see what happens…..you know, I haven't had Pinkie do anything fully Piknie-ish yet….. I'll see about checking that out.

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Spike woke up and saw that sun was already high in the sky. "Oh no," he said to himself, "how could I sleep in this late?" He jumped up and began cleaning up the library. 'Wow,' he thought, 'it's a good thing Owlicious is here, I'd never finish if I had to clean everything this late.'

Spike put the last book back onto the shelf and set his duster down on a nearby table. "There, done." He looked around and realized that he still hadn't seen Twilight or even a note saying where she was. "Well that's odd," Spike said, scratching his scales, "she usually at least leaves a note. Oh well I guess I'll go see how Rarity is doing." The small dragon thought about their date the night before. 'More like this morning,' Spike thought, remembering how bright out it had been when they got back.

He shrugged and continued on his way. As he passed Caramel's house he paused and smelled the flowers Caramel had been working on lately with Lyra. He bent over and sniffed the flowers, they were still small but he could easily smell the fragrant blossoms. He straightened out to continue on his way when a pair of hooves suddenly covered his eyes.

"Guess who?" he heard Rarity say behind him.

Thinking quickly, Spike shot his arms out behind him and spun the mare around to where he was leaning over her. He was about to kiss her when he realized that it wasn't Rarity he was holding.

"Well," Pinkie Pie giggled in her normal voice, "someone sure is a little frisky." She began rubbing a hoof up and down Spike's chest, "I heard you two had been on a date after me and Twi left you for Rarity to find."

"That was really mean of you two," Spike said, trying to ignore the warm feel of Pinkie's body against his. She held tight and wouldn't let go. 'She's so soft,' Spike thought despite his efforts, 'it's like holding a big warm puffball.'

"You know Spike," Pinkie said, holding on with one leg and rubbing his chest slowly with the other, "It would always be great to have such a big strong dragon around."

Spike managed to pry Pinkie off of him. "No Pinkie!" he said loudly, amazed at her behavior, "I'm with Rarity. What's gotten into you?"

"Oh nothing, silly," Pinkie said, rubbing her nose against Spike's face, "I was testing you. Just remember, if you break Rarity's heart, I'll break you." She bounced away giggling leaving Spike very confused.

He shook his head and continued walking, but he couldn't help a strange thought from popping into his head. He started a letter to Princess Celestia, 'Dear Princess, the worst things about having thumbs is that they can be broken.' He tried clearing his head and noticed that Pinkie had left a piece of paper stuck to him:

Spike,

Pinkie and I are going to be working together on a few projects for a while. Don't worry; we have it all under control. Consider this a little vacation.

-Twilight

P.S. I heard about you and Rarity. You sly little dragon you.

Spike felt his face flush as he finished reading the letter. "Does everypony know about that now?" he asked aloud, not really expecting a response.

"Know about what?" Fluttershy asked, coming around the corner with a small basket balanced between her wings.

"Oh hey Fluttershy," Spike waved and fell into step by the yellow pegasus, "it's nothing really."

"Oh, okay." Fluttershy said softly, "I was just going to pick up some more lettuce, we're nearly out and Angel isn't very happy about it."

"Where is he?" Spike asked, looking around to spot Fluttershy's usual companion.

"Oh, he's resting he threw a bit of a fit when I wouldn't give him any ice cream for breakfast and he hurt his foot."

"You know Fluttershy you really should stop letting him boss you around so much, isn't that why you went to see Iron Will?"

"Yeah, but Angel doesn't boss me around, he just makes sure that I do what I'm supposed to. Sometimes I get too nervous and I just leave without finishing my errands."

They continued walking and were nearing the marketplace when Fluttershy said, "So, ummm, Spike-"

"Yeah?" he said, wondering what the shy pegasus could be thinking about.

"Well, it's just that I heard that you and Rarity were, um," she leaned in very close, "that you two were dating." The last words were in a whisper almost too quiet for Spike to hear. He looked at his friend, confused. Fluttershy seemed to shrink back a bit. "I was just wondering if you-"

"Yeah?"

"Well, if you two really were."

"Well, me and Rarity did go out last night, so I think we are. I was just going over there right now."

`"Oh, okay Spike. See you later I guess." Fluttershy hurried off, looking slightly red.

"See you Fluttershy." Somehow, talking to Fluttershy about it made Spike feel more embarrassed than he was when Rarity had found him. 'What could that pony be thinking about?' Spike shrugged and continued towards the Carousel Boutique. As he waddled along he saw a grey blur as a pegasus shot by stuffing letters into random mailboxes.

Spike opened the door of the boutique and a light ringing sang out from the bell above the door. "Just a moment," Rarity called from deep within the shop. Spike peered into a nearby mirror and tried to straighten his scales out a little. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique," Rarity said coming out of a storeroom near the back, "where everything is-" She saw the purple dragon standing by the door. "Oh Spikey!" she interrupted herself actually jumping in joy.

"Hey Rarity," Spike said giving the fashionista a hug. "Whatcha workin' on?"

"Oh nothing," she said, "I was taking it easy today after such a late night." She fluttered her eyes, "you're such a little Romeo."

Spike blushed and looked down at his feet. Rarity didn't seem to notice; she walked away and began reorganizing some papers. "I was just reviewing my inventory and seeing if I needed to order anything."

"You know," Spike said, "I could help out around here for a while if you want. Twilight and Pinkie are doing some stuff together for a while so I'm freed up." He showed her the note that Pinkie had taped to him.

She scanned it quickly, 'oh good,' she thought, 'Twilight isn't upset about it.' "Well, I'm done with everything I was supposed to do today," she said frowning. Rarity sat for a moment, lost in thought. "Idea!" she suddenly yelled as her face lit up, "let's go on a picnic, we can take Sweetie Belle and her friends." She added in a quiet voice as they heard muffled cheers come from behind the door to the stairway, "they've been driving me crazy in here."

"Spike looked over and saw that the door was open a crack and he saw three sets of eyes watching them. They seemed to notice and quickly pulled away from the crack. "That sounds like a good idea." He stopped when he heard little kissing noises coming from the door. He saw the cutie mark crusaders all squished into the doorway, it was opened slightly more now, and they were all making kissy faces at Spike.

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"Wow," said Spike rubbing his stomach, "you're a great cook Rarity." They were sitting across from each other on a topaz lined blanket made to look like a patch of grass. The gems were all carved to resemble small flowers and Spike couldn't help but chew on one several times during the meal. The three fillies were running around trying to get their cutie marks.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADER SKY DIVERS!" they all yelled at once. Rarity looked around in alarm and saw Scootaloo jumping off a cloud.

Rarity looked down a little and shook her head as Scootaloo was caught by her friends. Turning towards Spike, "thank you. It's just like making clothes only you can eat them."

"Oh," Spike said, "I never thought of it like that." It made perfect sense to the dragon though and he began picking at another cucumber and tomato sandwich.

"Though I can think of some clothes that I could make that are edible too." Rarity leaned in towards Spike. He froze as he realized what she was talking about. His face was nearly black as blood rushed to it and he seemed to be paralyzed. Rarity started laughing and pushed Spike over.

When Rarity finally stopped laughing, several minutes had passed and her face was very red. Spike was still several shades darker than usual and was having trouble looking Rarity in the eyes. 'That's probably a good thing,' he thought as she burst into renewed laughter. 'She keeps laughing whenever I do.'

The Cutie Mark Crusaders had finally come over to see what all the fuss was about. Rarity managed to recount the story in between gasps as Spike sat fiddling with his tail.

"What? Ah don't get it," Applebloom complained looking confused. Scootaloo had started laughing almost as hard as Rarity and Sweetie Belle was staring at her sister in shock.

"Rarity!" she said, looking very stern, "that's not something we talk about outside of the house, remember?"

"Oh I know but look at Spike's face, it's too much!" Rarity and Scootaloo were now holding each other to stay up.

"What? What are you gals talkin' about?" Applebloom asked, seeming frustrated at being left out. Scootaloo came over and whispered a few words in her ear. Applebloom's face paled a little and her mouth fell open a few inches. "Rarity! You little pervert."

"What?" Rarity asked, finally able to stop laughing. She sniffed, "they're very popular amongst wealthier ponies." "Besides," she said," I wanted to see how much Spike knew. I really wasn't expecting him to grasp it so quickly."

Spike seemed even more uncomfortable at this. "I- uh that is I- I mean…"

"That's quite all right dear, just remember to keep your hands where I can see them from now on." Rarity gave Spike a little wink. She looked up and saw the sun was already setting; bright streaks of color filled the sky. She pointed this out to the others and they began cleaning up the picnic while watching the sky.

Bright pinks swirled out from the sun and mixed with pale lavender streaks. These slowly faded to roses and oranges as the sun set further, the rest of the sky now changing to match the mixing colors. It was as though a huge kaleidoscope had been broken and thrown across the sky. Turning around, they saw the moon slowly begin to rise, small tendrils of shadow seeming to radiate out from it as the sun's light left. For a few seconds, the western sky was filled with streaks of color that mixed perfectly into the star studded ebony of the eastern sky, the two seemed perfectly balanced.

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The four ponies and Spike cleaned up the picnic and stuffed it all back into the basket which Spike insisted on carrying. They arrived back at the boutique just as the sun was a sliver on the horizon.

"Did everypony remember to ask if they could stay over this time?" Rarity asked as she ushered everyone inside. "I don't want Applejack or Rainbow Dash showing up in the middle of the night looking for you again."

"I did," Scootaloo said as she ran inside, "Rainbow said as long as I don't try any stunts without asking first I can stay wherever."

"I asked too," Sweetie Belle said as she trotted through the door.

"No you didn't," Rarity said acting like she wouldn't let her in.

"Huuuuuuuh! Rarity, can I please stay at Rarity's house tonight?"

"I don't know, I think she seemed kind of busy," a little smile crossed Rarity's face as she teased her sister.

"Please?" Sweetie Belle's eyes grew twice as large as normal and her bottom lip was stuck out.

Rarity seemed to think it over for a minute before she said, "okay, but if I heard you messed up her work again you're going to be sleeping at Twilight's house. And you know the kind of stories she reads you."

All three of the crusaders shuddered as they remembered their sleepover at Twilight's house. She had forced them to listen to her read out of 'Fungi; the Decomposers of the Macroscopic World' for more than two hours before letting them go to bed.

"Ah couldn't find Applejack so ah left a note on her bed. Granny Smith said it was okay, but you know how she gets." Rarity nodded and let the yellow filly in.

"What about you Spike?" she asked, her eyes gleaming slightly, "aren't you going to stay over too?"

Spike shook his head, "I shouldn't Twilight could finish with Pinkie early and then she'd need my help." "Besides," he said, seeming slightly worried, "I haven't seen her since Friday morning. She didn't even sleep in her bed last night."

"But it gets so lonely here after the foals go to bed," Rarity had a slight whine in her voice, as though desperate for company.

"Well," Spike said coming in, "I suppose it couldn't hurt."

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Later that night after the three fillies had crashed in various places in the living room, Scootaloo covered in paint from an incident while playing 'Go Fish' earlier, Rarity walked over to Spike.

"So," she said, her voice seeming much smoother than usual, "did you have any plans for tonight?" Spike was at a loss for words when Rarity began walking into one of her storerooms. "I'll be right back," she said softly.

Spike waited for a moment, unsure of what he should do. He was on the verge of going to see what Rarity was doing when she came out of the room wearing a short black robe.

"Come upstairs," she said, "I've got something to show you."

Spike followed her up the stairs. He managed to catch a glimpse of the room Rarity had left, he saw rolls and rolls of a thin gauzy fabric, and several outfits that seemed only partly done, though prices were already one the tables by them.

As they reached Rarity's room, Spike thought he saw a glow around part of the robe and it twitched to the side for a second. He saw the same gauzy fabric from below, only there seemed to be less of it than there was on any of the other outfits. Just as quickly as it moved it closed again, cutting off Spike's view. He caught himself drooling as he approached the door.

They went into the room and Rarity closed the door softly, leaving them in the dark for a few moments. Spike felt something rub against his face and he squinted to see what. Rarity pulled him into a deep embrace and began kissing him. Spike's entire body went limp and he hung there in Rarity's hooves. He jerked in surprise when he felt her tongue slide across his, but soon came to like the feeling.

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Okay sorry it took so long. I really wanted this one done last night. Oh well, hopefully chapter eight will be done before I go to bed…. Though in retrospect I have been finishing these chapters quite quickly compared to the ponies whose fanfic I usually read.

I think I'm starting to like the pattern of Pinkie story then Spike and Rarity; I may keep that up for as long as I can unless you guys don't like it. From what I've seen though you guys do. Plus with separate chapters, it kind of keeps the two stories separate until they actually do mix.

OMG! In the scene when the CMC heard what Rarity had said to Spike I was trying to find a way to end the awkwardness. Clearly it couldn't be Twilight, Pinkie or Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy would probably just make things even more embarrassing. Then I thought, 'Oh Applejack could come by to pick up the girls.' *starts typing* "Wait a second…. APPLEJACK WAS CAUGHT BY PINKIE LAST CHAPTER!" . stupid fanfic

Also, if anypony wants, I could try and take the last scene a little further, idk. I didn't think going that far went very well with the rest of the story, though I'm sure you can tell what happens next. Plus I wasn't entirely sure how that scene would play out, so review and tell me what you think.

One last thing before I'm done talking, has anypony else had this problem? I've started hearing 'somepony' and 'anypony' whenever someone says 'someone' or 'anyone'…. It scared me the first time but I'm getting used to it.

Where I Run Out of Friggin Chapter Names

As I've said before, I have no idea what's going to happen in these chapters until I actually write them. All I know is that we get to see more Pinkie. I'd like to say that the chapters sort of overlap in time. For example, Twi gets captured by Pinkie in Chpt 3, everything that happens to Twi in Chpt 4 happened while Spike was out with Rarity. The day that Spike and Rarity end up sleeping through most of is the day Applejack gets captured. So this is happening during the last half of the last Chapter/ start of the chapter after this. (Though you all probably guessed this on your own.)

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Pinkie Pie time!

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When Applejack woke up she was in complete darkness. A sharp pain emanated from her right foreleg and her back felt on fire. She tried to sit up and look around but found she was held tight to a cold flat surface by soft yet surprisingly strong ropes.

"Wha- what happened?" she asked herself aloud. She tried remembering if she had maybe hit her head or, heaven forbid, gotten into the cider cellar again. "Pinkie!" she snarled, grinding her teeth as the memories of the previous hours flooded back to her.

"Alraight Pinkie!" she yelled, thrashing in her bonds, "Ah know yall are here! Show yerself!" As she continued pulling against her bonds she tried thinking of their material so she would know how best to break it. Applejack remembered the number Pinkie had enclosed in the note she found. She leaned in towards the ropes binding her legs, stretching her neck to the fullest. She breathed in deeply. She would know that smell anywhere: freshly made leather. Only one creature had colorful skin like this though. With a wave of nausea Applejack realized she was tied down with ponyleather.

"Pinkie you sick little monster!" she yelled, "where in tarnations are ya'?"

"No need to shout AJ," came Rainbow Dash's voice from the darkness above Applejack, "I'm right here."

"Rainbow," Applejack said in amazement, "you're okay ah- ah thought,"

"That Pinkie got me?"

"Yeah."

"Well you were right!" Pinkie exclaimed, shining a light into Applejack's eyes and blowing a noise maker. "See for yourself." Pinkie said, turning her light on the pedestal holding Rainbow's modified corpse.

Applejack lunged out and tried to bite Pinkie. She fell just short and cried out in pain as her leg was stretched, looking down she could see that it was in a splint.

"Careful," Pinkie said putting a hoof on Applejack's head and pushing her back down onto the table, "if you got out I'd have to kill you before we could say goodbye." She pulled her hoof back as Applejack tried again to bite her, "I SAID NO!" Pinkie yelled as she slammed her hoof into Applejack's face. There was a sickening crack and blood began pouring from Applejack's nose, but she didn't cry out, she only narrowed her eyes and continued lunging at Pinkie.

"Well fine then, I hoped we could all talk, but I guess you hafta be muzzled." Pinkie grabbed a length of barbed wire off a nearby cart and began wrapping it painfully tight around Applejack's mouth, timing it just right to avoid any bites.

Pinkie's words unfolded to Applejack and she looked at Pinkie questioningly.

"Who else is here?" Pinkie asked, seeming to read Applejack's mind, "Well there's me, you Rainbow Dash, lots of other ponies you probably don't know and Twilight."

As Pinkie spoke, lights came on seeming to illuminate those she was talking about. Applejack took in the room around her. Her face paled visibly and her head began weaving side to side. She shook her head quickly and began looking for Twilight.

Applejack spotted her quickly, the only other living pony in the room besides her and Pinkie. But, something was wrapped around Twilight's neck and flanks and the table she was on was stained with fresh blood.

"I wish we could play right now," Pinkie said, turning away from Applejack, "but I've already got an appointment and it's taking much longer than I ever hoped it could. She already broke Gilda's record of three hours by more than a day." Applejack's eyes continued to wander, taking in more and more of the grisly scene around her; she shuddered as she saw the pile of foal skulls and the punch bowl. Then she saw a shelf with what appeared to be a mass of feathers and she was sure that was what was left of the griffin.

Pinkie walked over to Twilight Sparkle who was somehow sleeping. 'She may be sleeping but something is very wrong with her,' Applejack thought as she watched Twilight thrash and moan in her sleep. Pinkie began pulling the wrappings away from Twilight's neck revealing a mass of wires sticking straight out. She walked over to a nearby cart and grabbed a pair of pliers, a keyboard and several large batteries which she dumped on the floor by Twilight.

"Wake up sleepy," Pinkie called softly as she began shaking the wires in Twilight's neck.

Twilight woke up screaming in pain and tried to move her head away from Pinkie. Applejack noticed that Twilight's horn had been shattered and that her jaw was hanging at an angle. As Twilight's eyes refocused they lingered on Applejack, seeming to beg for help.

Pinkie busied herself with the wires for several minutes while Applejack and Twilight looked at each other, trying to find some comfort in their bleak situation.

"Aaaand done," Pinkie said. She had spliced all of the wires into the keyboard and was now screwing the back of it back on. She moved down to Twilight's flanks and began unrolling more of the wire from the spools that were stuck there. Pinkie tied the wires onto the batteries and moved back to the keyboard. She pushed a button causing a huge electrical shock to shoot through Twilight.

Applejack tried to blink away the blurry afterimage and saw Pinkie unstrapping Twilight. "Don't move," she giggled as she finished, "I'll be right back."

Pinkie crossed the room and picked up two things: a long thin bone and one of the larger skulls. She took these over to Twilight and set them down on the floor.

"Are you guys ready?" she asked, a huge smile splitting her face. She began tapping rapidly at the keys causing quick burst of power to surge through the wires.

Twilight found herself standing up, though she wasn't aware of doing so. Her limbs began moving by themselves as Pinkie continued pushing buttons. Twilight began doing cartwheels and flips, though she tried desperately to stop.

"Pinkie says dance." Twilight found herself hopping over to the bones Pinkie had left on the floor. She picked up the skull and placed it on her head like a hat and then grabbed the bone. As Applejack watched, Twilight began tap dancing, the wires being pulled out slightly at each end every time Twilight moved. Soon, large red gashes showed where some of the wires had been, though a majority remained in place.

Each clack of her hooves on the floor echoed through Twilight's mind. Little was left of Twilight outside of the pain. With her last few thoughts, Twilight realized that she might as well be dead at this point. She managed to glance over at Applejack who was still trying hard to break through the bindings on her legs. She shook her head and mouthed the words "too late."

Pinkie looked at her arm as though she was wearing a watch, "Wow Twilight, you're doing really well. I've never been this late before with an appointment." Twilight began walking towards Pinkie's cart as the pink mare sat on Twilight's operating table, "too bad Applejack's already here, we could still have so much fun."

Applejack managed to catch one end of the wire around her mouth. It snagged on her fur and dug in. She began moving her head in little circles to unwrap it. Oblivious, Pinkie continued tapping away at the keyboard. As the rest of the barbed wire came undone, Applejack rotated her jaw a little, trying to ease some of the pain from clamped so tightly.

Twilight was now at Pinkie's cart; she reached down and grabbed a paring knife from a leather sheathe on the side. She slowly lifted it towards her neck. Pinkie laughed sinisterly as she continued controlling her friend.

Applejack saw what was happening and hurried up with her ad libbed plan. She began chewing through the bonds holding her leg. Each one gave way easily as she ground her teeth on it. 'Just like jerky,' Applejack thought as the last one split. She reached down and began untying the ones around her hind legs and waist. Pinkie glanced over and saw what Applejack was doing. "Hey!" she yelled, "you break it you buy it." Pinkie pressed several keys at once and Twilight suddenly began running at Applejack who managed to jump off the table just as Twilight stabbed into it with the knife. Sparks shot out as the blade screeched against the metal of the table.

Applejack tried to break the wires controlling her friend. "Oh no you don't," Pinkie yelled pushing a button. A constant stream of energy coursed through the wires. Applejack was held in place as Twilight slowly turned then swung at her throat.

"I'm sorry Applejack," she managed. The blood and tears coming from Twilight continued pouring down and soaked the wires. There was suddenly a huge flash as some of the wires momentarily shorted out. Applejack pulled away and grabbed Twilight in a headlock.

"Goodbye Twailaight," Applejack said, "I'm sorry that ah couldn't save ya, but I'll make sure Pinkie pays."

Applejack thought she heard Twilight say thank you, but then she realized it came from behind her, not in between her hooves. Applejack released Twilight who fell to the ground, no longer under control of her body, and put her legs up to block the incoming blade from Pinkie.

"Ooh, Applejack," Pinkie said as she entered a complex set of slashes and stabs that were too fast for Applejack to follow, "I knew you'd be lots of fun. That's why I didn't give you the strong ropes."

A quick flash of unease ran through Applejack at this but was cut short as Pinkie's knife entered her unbroken foreleg. Pinkie turned around and quickly bucked Applejack in the head. "Now watch," she said, pulling Applejack's head up by the mane. She had somehow retrieved the keyboard and began hitting keys again. Twilight's arm began writhing like a snake and found the knife again. It reached up and placed the knife against her throat.

"Bye Twilight," Pinkie said, actually sounding sad, "we had fun, but I'll still miss you." The knife suddenly jerked across Twilight's throat, instantly severing the blood vessels. Her heart, though now weak, forced the blood to spurt out in random waves. The first few completely splashed Pinkie and Applejack in warm, coppery blood. Each spurt grew weaker and weaker until finally it only trickled out. The entire time Twilight's arm continued its grisly work. It cut the arteries in one leg and moved on to slide across Twilight's chest. It cut a large I and then moved on to make a long slit down each of Twilight's leg and all the way around her neck.

Applejack managed to look away from the horror of her friend being brutally killed by her own limb. She quickly bucked the ground with both hind legs causing her and Pinkie to fly across most of the room. They landed on Pinkie and Applejack quickly rolled away. She jumped up and began galloping for the stairway in the corner but Pinkie jumped on her back. Applejack jumped in the air and spun around to land on her back. As she spun Pinkie climbed onto Applejack's stomach.

"What did I say would happen if you got out?" Pinkie asked as she pulled the knife out of Applejack's leg. Applejack noticed that there were several rough spots on Pinkie's chest as though her ribs had been damaged when Applejack launched them across the room. She pulled her head back and slammed it into Pinkie's ribs just as the knife was coming down.

Pinkie cried out in a mixture of surprise and pain and the knife swerved. Applejack felt a tug at her ear and something flat and orange landed on the floor by her, a small puddle of red forming around it. Heart pounding, Applejack began slamming her hooves into Pinkie's injured ribs and face, despite the pain that shot out each time. Soon Pinkie was covered in dark colored hoof marks and was bleeding from several places.

Applejack realized with a sense of terror that each time she struck Pinkie her smile grew and her mane straightened out. When Applejack finally kicked Pinkie off, her mane was perfectly straight and the color in her fur was darkening alarmingly. A deep voice emanated from Pinkie, though her mouth didn't' move and Applejack saw her shaking.

"You think you could possible win? So amusing." A blunt object smashed into Applejack's head, blood flying from where her ear had recently been. She spun around, but nothing was there other than Twilight's corpse. She turned back to pinkie and saw her shaking her head slowly. A deep snarl of a laugh poured out from her and her usual pinkness had faded to maroon. Pinkie Pies head shot up with a loud snapping noise.

"P-pinkie?" Applejack said, almost unable to breathe. Her former friend was beginning to stand up as though a puppet on strings. She seemed larger than ever and her fur was thicker than Big Mac's got during the winter.

"Call me Pinkamena," the sinister voice reverberated through the floor causing Applejack's heart to skip a few beats.

"What the hell are ya'?" Applejack began pushing herself backwards. She felt her hoof collide with something cold and hard. Glancing down, she saw it was the knife Pinkie had tried stabbing her with earlier. She picked it up and threw it end over end at Pinkie.

The blade sunk in to the handle in Pinkie's stomach. 'No, that's not Pinkie,' Applejack thought, 'that's no pony.' The huge shaggy creature before her looked down at the knife, amusement playing across its face.

"Oh Applejack," it said, "ever the fighter." It began slowly walking towards her. Applejack jumped up and began running up the stairs, stumbling a bit each time she stepped on her injured forelegs.

The creature reached towards her and she kicked out at its hoof. She made it to the door at the top. Looking down, she saw that the creature still looked like Pinkie from a distance, just much larger. It reached down and pulled the knife out. It pulled the knife back and launched it at Applejack just as she ran through the door. The knife struck the doorjamb with enough force to shatter. The shards continued on through the wall, nearly impaling Applejack. She turned quickly and slammed the door, sliding a large metal pole across the handles.

'Ah hafta get outta here,' Applejack thought to herself. She looked around and saw she was in some kind of huge underground meat locker. She could hear the creature climbing the stairs and knew that even the thick metal pole wouldn't hold long. She ran through the room, unable to find the exit she approached a skinned pony hanging from the ceiling by a large metal hook. Nearby were several other ponies and even a few buffalo.

Applejack ran to one of the buffalo and climbed into its, now empty, chest cavity. She pulled the ribs slightly more closed and sowed her breathing, hoping that the creature wouldn't find her.

Applejack could hear as the monster approached the door and, with one flick, smashed it off its hinges and caused it to fly the length of the room.

'What happened to Pinkie?' she thought frantically, 'is that actually her or did it find her?'

The behemoth prowled the room sniffing at the air. 'Good,' it thought, 'dear old Applejack isn't letting me down at all. Too bad she hid in this room. It will be difficult to smell her amongst so many goodies.'

Applejack hung in the butchered corpse of the buffalo, waiting for the monster to uncover her hiding place. She heard a deep cruel laugh resound through the room. It made her think of the time they had been trying to save the orchard from a wildfire. A tree had fallen on Uncle Appleoosa. The laugh sounded just like the crunching noise as the tree had flattened the unlucky stallion, crushing the life out of his huge form almost instantly.

"I know you're curious as to who and what I am," the creature said, listening for Applejack's thoughts. "Since we're going to be so close soon, the least I could do is tell you."

Applejack heard the creature approach her hiding place. It curled up in a typical Pinkie Pie way right up against the opening she had climbed in. She knew that it had known her location since it entered the room. She readied herself to kick through the back of the buffalo when the creature pulled down the entire corpse and held it like a teddy bear.

"You see, it all began fifteen years ago…"

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I just remembered, what happened in September.

I'm the one who killed them all. I survived after the fall…..

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Aaaaaaaaand this chapter is done. Rather than have a Spike and Rarity chapter next, I'm going to have the monster's story. I already know most of it so it shouldn't take overly long to write.

I'm actually kind of sad with this chapter. I would randomly lose connection with the part of my brain in charge of story writing and I'd be forced to struggle along without it for a few lines. It would come back just long enough to tell the rest of my brain that it shouldn't be allowed to write stories anymore, and then it would leave. Plus I had to keep stopping. I think Pinkie may have been trying to stop me from letting Applejack out. I hope so because that means the next chapters will both be very good and finished quickly so that she can get her revenge on Applejack for getting out.

I wasn't actually planning on letting Applejack out originally. But then inspiration struck and I had to, no other path seemed to flow out… I think Twilight managed a spell right before she died and she used it to try and save Applejack.

Remember people, review, review, review. I wanna see what you think and I currently have some kind of demon Pinkie Pie to back me up if you don't tell me ;P

Last little bit, the final thing in italics before the AN is an excerpt from 'September' by TheLivingTombstone (go look at his stuff, it rocks.). I wasn't sure how many people would recognize it from that random little bit.

Pinkamena's Tale

Pinkamena's story comin' atcha.

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I can't remember, what happened in September.

When everything is gone, when it's dark and I'm alone.

It's been so long since I could have remembered,

Where the hell is everypony?

I just wanna know the story of what happened right before, I became so alone.

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"Pinkamena Diane Pie, you come down from there right now!" Pinkie looked down and saw her mom staring up at her furiously.

"But mom, it's perfectly safe up here, see?" Pinkie began jumping up and down to prove she wouldn't fall. The small pink filly had gotten her cutie mark about a month before and she was looking for better places to throw parties. This was why she was now up on this huge rock spire scanning the area for fun looking places.

"I didn't ask if you thought it was safe," her mom yelled, "I said get down here." "Now," she added viciously as it looked like Pinkie would complain. She loved her daughter very much but ever since that….party thing she had been completely out of control. She didn't even want to use her whole name anymore, just Pinkie.

The small party pony grabbed a nearby flat piece of rock and sat on it. "Pinkamena I said get down here."

"I am," she called back down, a grin beginning to split her face. She began edging the rock sheet near the edge of the spire.

"Pinkamena, no!" But it was too late; Pinkie was already rushing down the side at breakneck speeds. The rock began swerving side to side as it hit rough patches on the spire.

Pinkie held on for dear life as the rock continued accelerating, she heard a strange cracking noise in the air and it seemed to blur around her. Suddenly, a large rock seemed to shoot out in front of her. She smashed through it but it caused her to veer off to the side, completely leaving the rock spire.

Pinkie flew through the air, everything was moving too fast for her to make out. The air seemed to darken and stretch in front of her as she somehow continued gaining speed. She was now over a large, thickly wooded forest and, looking back, she couldn't even see where she started. She could barely make out her mom running faster than Pinkie had ever seen her go before, but she was still falling rapidly behind, already just a dot on the horizon

Pinkie felt herself sliding off the rock and knew if she hit the ground going this fast she would die. She dug her hooves in, though she could feel them starting to crack a little, and pulled herself a little more forward.

Pinkie saw a small lake in the distance, she knew she would have to try and come down there. The rock she was on began falling now, almost too fast to reach the lake. Pinkie's eyes darted around, terrified, trying to find a way to save herself. It was too difficult to see through the haze forming around her and she gave up. Lying back on the rock and praying to Celestia for help.

Just as she decided she was going to die, the haze in front of her cleared and Pinkie heard an enormous explosion behind her. The rock hit the water, bright colors trailing behind it. A jolt shot through Pinkie's body and she nearly fell off. The rock skipped several times, each jolt jarred Pinkie off a little more.

She fell off about halfway across the lake but the rock continued on. It smashed into a rock shelf on the far side of the lake and shattered, some pieces flew far enough to hit Pinkie.

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Still can't remember, what happened in September,

Back when everypony died, trails of blood are on my stride.

I just discovered, the ponies were defeated

by something very strong, is it something weird and wrong?

It just can't belong, but it came out of this world.

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Pinkie woke up in complete darkness. She had floated to the edge of the lake and was lying in the shallows shivering, her legs felt like ice.

She stood up and looked around, still too shocked to fully grasp her situation. Pinkie busied herself gathering large pieces of fallen wood to make a crude shelter. As she huddled in her small wooden hut, Pinkie tried to remember which way she had come from so she could get home in the morning.

Pinkie awoke as the moon was at its highest. She looked around to see what had woken her up. She couldn't see anything so she stepped out of her shelter. She noticed that her tail was twitching and wouldn't quit. "Stupid tail," Pinkie said, beginning to cry, "I'm cold and lost and now I can't even sleep." A loud crashing noise startled Pinkie and she brought her head up from her hooves. A large rock, possibly displaced by her crash earlier, had fallen and crushed the sticks she was just under. Her tail stopped twitching.

Pinkie stared at the rock in amazement, 'if it hadn't been for my tail,' she thought, 'I would've crushed.'

"Consider it a gift," said a deep, yet obviously feminine voice from the shadows, "there can be more."

"Who are you?" Pinkie asked, she peered into the darkness but couldn't see anypony.

"I'll give you a hint, you were asking for my sister's help earlier."

"But I didn't ask anypony for help today," Pinkie said.

"Look up."

Pinkie looked and saw that the moon was now directly over her. A dark shadow seemed to move across its surface; the mare in the moon. Pinkie looked around, fearful, "a-are you N-N-N-Nightmare M-Moon?"

"Such a clever little pony." Pinkie felt a presence circle her. "Normally I wouldn't even be able to talk to you, but you're directly under the fullest moon of the year and you happen to be near my shrine."

"You have a s-shrine?" Pinkie asked, now shaking as she began feeling the night's chill again.

"Yes and if you're willing to do me a favor I can let you stay there. I can also promise that you'll be rescued and that you'll never need help if something like this happens again."

"Sounds like you want a really big favor," Pinkie said, not trusting the spirit talking to her. "Besides I thought you were supposed to be evil."

"Oh no, that's just my sister spreading hurtful lies. It's not even much of a favor really. I just can't do it since I'm stuck on the moon."

"Well what is it?"

"Have you ever made cupcakes?"

"Only a few times, but I'm not very good at it yet."

"Well that's just fine. I have a special ingredient I want you to use from now on. They'll be the best cupcakes you've ever tasted."

"What is it?"

"That's not important. Are you willing to make my special cupcakes and gather the secret ingredient if I help you?"

"I guess so." Pinkie said, beginning to wish she had stayed in her shelter when her tail woke her up. A bright flash lit up the area around her and Pinkie felt herself flying through the air once again.

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Finally, finally it's finally done.

Stop him; he's trying to kill us all.

No, I'm going to save you; I'm going to save you all. Don't you try to stop me.

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Pinkie awoke in a small building. There was a huge sculpture of a dark pony with bat wings. Her mouth was open in a snarl and she had enormous fangs. The building and the statue appeared to be made of something very hard and black. 'Obsidian' Pinkie thought.

"Wait, what's obsidian and how did I know that?" Pinkie asked aloud.

'I told you.'

"Who are you and why are you in my head?"

'I'm a fellow servant of the dark goddess.'

Pinkie remembered the deal she had made. 'I shouldn't have done that,' Pinkie thought, 'that kind of deal doesn't come without a big cost.'

'Wise words for such a youngling, but too late, you have already agreed.'

"Get out of my head!" screamed the pink filly, stretched to the breaking point.

"You are safe," a deep voice said from somewhere in the statue, "he is the Oathkeeper. You may trust him."

Pinkie's knee began to twitch. Suddenly a shadowy figure shot up through the floor. Pinkie screamed and flew backwards. She was ashamed to see she had left a small wet trail.

"Rise young one, and tell me your name." It was the voice that had spoken into her mind.

"P-Pinkamena."

The figure stood, still looking at the small pony.

"More?"

"Please," a wave of fetid air washed over pinkie as the creature spoke.

"I'm Pinkie, well Pinkamena Diane Pie."

"Good, now do you agree to the terms set to you by Nightmare Moon?"

"Yes, she will help me and I will make her special cupcakes."

"Good." A shadowy orb slowly emerged from the creature's chest. "This is a small piece of my power, which in turn is a small piece of our master's power." As the shadow spoke, the orb moved towards Pinkie. She tried to move away but found herself held in place by a mysterious force. "You will still remain full control of yourself and will share your body with nothing. This will merely unlock your, potential."

"What- what exactly will it do?" Pinkie asked, the orb now less than a hoof away.

"Your full strength will be unlocked, though most ponies may fear it. When you use this strength, your appearance will change. If you use enough of it at once, you will come to look like me, though you can still stop using it and revert to this puny form at will. You will also find yourself with a surplus of energy which you will need to burn off or this darkness will consume you."

"But-" Pinkie began, the orb was now touching her chest.

"We have looked through your memories. Your mark is for parties, yes?"

"Yes."

"Then you can use this energy."

The darkness shot through the small form of the pink pony, small tendrils wrapped themselves around her limbs until she was completely infused and enveloped with shadow.

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I've regained a small memory,

It came into my head like that, suddenly.

I think I've gotten a clue,

Something tells me this is worse than, what I knew.

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"Pinkamena?" a voice asked, shaking the young filly, "are you alright?"

Pinkies eyes opened slowly and she saw her family gathered around her. She was back by the lake, her shelter was still standing and there was no sign that it had been crushed or that anything she remembered had actually happened. 'Please let that have been a dream,' Pinkie thought as she hugged her family. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you mom," she said, crying now, "I'll always listen from no on."

Pinkie and her family began walking through the woods. Her dad had marked a path through the forest to where Pinkie had lost sight of her mom.

A voice rang through the forest, "remember little one, all debts must be paid eventually." Pinkie looked around, terrified, but nopony else seemed to hear it.

"Pinkamena honey, what is it?" her dad asked, looking very concerned.

"You didn't hear that?"

"Hear what sweetie?"

"Nothing," Pinkie said, shaking her head, "It must have been my imagination. By the way, could you please call me Pinkie?" She looked at her dad with pleading eyes.

"What's wrong with the name you have now?"

"Nothing it's just…. Nothing." Pinkie wanted to completely rid herself of all memories of the night.

Her dad seemed to notice his daughter's discomfort. "I suppose I can, but will you tell us what happened last night? Your fur seems darker and I haven't seen your mane lie that straight since the party."

Pinkie shuddered, "I don't know if I can."

They were nearly out of the forest when the voice called out once more, "a promise made on the shadows of darkness cannot be broken young one. Remember this and remember to whom you belong now."

Pinkie's head snapped back towards the way they came, all color was gone from her face and she wore a look of complete terror.

Her dad came over and slung her across his back. He walked near his wife and began whispering. The only words Pinkie caught was 'doctor' and 'stories'. The two full grown ponies looked back towards where they found their daughter.

"Hey dad," Inkie Pie asked, "what is this place and why does Pinkie keep getting scared?"

Their mom turned around. "I don't ever want any of you even coming near this forest, understand? This is the Everfree Forest and it's the most dangerous place in Equestria. It's a miracle we found your sister and she was alright." She looked at her now unconscious daughter, "well, mostly alright."

The rest of the walk home was spent in silence as the whole family feared for Pinkie.

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This is your redemption day everypony. Go away from me.

Stay away from me, go away!

You can't touch me now! You see this button here?

I'm gonna press it!

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Wow, I was not expecting this to get so long or to take so long. I was thinking of a short little thing that was sort of a possession story. Also, I have no idea how the rock went that fast. Maybe Nightmare Moon was pulling it along to give herself a new servant.

Spike and Rarity chapter isn't going to come next like I planned, it will come after the next chapter. Speaking of chapters, I sat down and thought it out. There should be ten more chapters, if everything goes as planned. It's more likely to be more than ten if the number changes, but the lowest it will go is eight or nine.

Remember, I want reviews. I don't care if you just put a smiley face and a bro-hoof, let me know you're reading. Mason out- peace!

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I just remembered what happened in September

I'm the one who killed them all

I survived after the fall.

The Funhouse

Woo, new chapter. Pinkie and Pinkamena have both been bugging me bout stuff they want in this one… literally….. It's very scary to be sitting there and suddenly hear Pinkamena telling you bits of her past. On the bright side it gave me a new idea for a story and I will write that one once this story is finished.

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I'm not a fan of puppeteers but I've a nagging fear

someone else is pullin' at the strings.

Something terrible is going down

through the entire town,

Wreaking anarchy and all it brings…

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Applejack felt as if she was rising up out of a deep lake. She was still inside the hollow buffalo carcass, but it seemed that Pinkamena had left. She thought about what she had just experienced; somehow, she had been pulled into Pinkie's memory of how she… changed.

"Ah always knew there was somethin' wrong with that mare," Applejack said softly, "I just never knew it went that deep." She began to climb out of the carcass; looking around a little to be sure the monster was gone.

"Now if ah could just get outta here ah could make sure this never happens to anypony ever again." She began walking along the wall, trying to find the door to leave the horrible chamber she found herself in. Every now and then her heart would miss a beat as she saw a pony hanging by a hook that seemed familiar to her. One she knew right away, "Berry Punch," she couldn't help but exclaim, "we though ya' got lost in the forest after one a' Pinkie's parties." Applejack thought about this for a moment, 'I suppose that isn't too far from the mark after all.'

Applejack continued walking at a steady pace; each hoof step was magnified by the steel floor and walls and seemed to bounce back from the multitude of corpses surrounding her. There seemed to be a light up ahead and she hurried forward, eager to leave.

Applejack froze as she realized Pinkie was sitting, staring into a corner, not far away. The light Applejack had seen was a small candle by Pinkie. She decided to try and sneak past when it hit her that it was Pinkie sitting there, not the huge discolored monster from before.

'Ah know ah shouldn't do this,' Applejack thought as she lightly stepped towards the oblivious pink mare, 'ah should just continue on, or kill her sick little self raight here.'

Applejack approached Pinkie who didn't seem to notice the reverberating footsteps. She was leaned over a small object and was sniffling lightly.

"Pinkie?" Applejack asked, concerned even after what she had seen, "are you okay?"

Pinkie turned around with a flash, dropping the object she had been holding. Applejack saw that it was a picture taken at the Gala of her, pinkie and their five friends. "Why does it have to be like this Applejack," Pinkie screamed as she saw her friend, "why couldn't I have been hit by that rock? Everypony would be so much better off." Pinkie's eyes flashed with a strange light and Applejack felt as though she were falling, though she could see she remained standing; Pinkie was now walking towards her.

"Oh AJ," she said, running her hair through Applejack's mane, lingering a bit when she encountered the place where there had been an ear until she cut it off, "I'm so sorry I have to do this to you guys. I'll miss you so much, but maybe it will help if you know the whole story."

The room flashed with a light, yet it didn't seem to be a light, rather a wave of darkness that obscured everything, until all that was left was Pinkie. She too faded away, her growing smile lingering in the air.

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…..I'm howling at the moon and sleeping in the middle of a summer afternoon

Discord, whatever did we do, to make you take our world away?

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Scenes flashed through Applejacks vision.

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"Why?" the young Pinkie asked the night air.

"Because I saved your life. Twice. And a deal is a deal little one."

"But she didn't do anything wrong."

"Yes, but you agreed. Now you must do as I say."

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Pinkie crept through the darkened room, a sharpened rock from the fields now held in her hand. She approached the sleeping figure of a young filly.

"I'm sorry Inkie," she whispered, driving the rock spine into her sister's eye. It stabbed into her brain, killing her instantly.

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"I didn't want to do it!"

"Yes, but now that you did it's so easy isn't it?"

"No! Don't ever make me again."

"How can you do it again? You aren't even done yet?"

"What do you mean, I killed her." Pinkie spun rapidly, trying to find something to direct her hate at, "I KILLE MY SISTER BECAUSE OF YOU!"

"Yes, but you didn't make the cupcakes yet."

"WHAT DO CUPCAKES HAVE TO DO WITH THIS?"

"Do you remember how I said you had to collect the special ingredients for my recipe and make my treats for all to enjoy?"

"Do you mean-"

"Yes little one, grind her up and make cupcakes. I can guide you through it the first few times until you become skilled enough to do it on your own."

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A darkened kitchen. A pile of mismatched cupcakes lay strewn across every surface. Bones littered the floor and a mare was tied up in the corner. Knifes protruded from every possible area, all sharpened and ready to slice. The thirst of blood hung in the air.

Pinkie walked over to the blindfolded mare. "Mommmmmiiiiieeee," she said softly into the sobbing pony's ear, wake up now Mommy. Wake up and try these treats I made."

"I'm not your mother," the mare spat viciously, "you're no daughter of mine."

Pinkie giggled and pulled the hood off of the pony. "Well in that case you won't mind if I look into your eyes one last time then."

The pony spat into Pinkie's face, the red of her blood was streaked through the spit. Pinkie didn't seem to notice. She leaned over and began nibbling at her mother's ear. She tried to pull away but was held tight by the various scarves tied around her. Pinkie suddenly bit down, tearing off the ear. "I love you so much Mommy," she said cheerfully into the bleeding hole before swallowing the thin flap of flesh.

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The work flashed by quickly. Applejack realized that every few seconds a new pony would replace the one being killed. The locations were varied though usually in the same areas. The methods of torture and killing were never repeated. With each pony Pinkie appeared to become more skilled and more at ease with her work, creating new recipes and flavors out of the husks of ponies she lured into traps.

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A dark night, the wind howled through the streets. "Yes mistress?" Pinkie said as she hopped outside, "you called?"

"Yes my darling I did. You have always preformed every task I have set you, many more admirably than even I could have. My time to return to this world approaches and while my victory is assured, it may be that my sister has found a way to defeat me. If that happens, I will no longer be able to give you orders. Simply carry on as you have been, only, start a sort of lottery to determine who to kill next." A large cauldron appeared in front of the mare. "The rules of it are simple: if you draw their name, or if it emerges from the container on its own, you are to harvest their flesh. Every week you must draw a name and when you run low on supplies you must draw a name."

Pinkie began to examine the cauldron. "That sounds fun," she said, a glint of red playing across her eyes.

"I will also grant you a gift." A small orb of condensed shadow appeared in front of Pinkie. "This is but a small bit of my power; it will grant you the answer to any question you may ever have." The orb floated into Pinkie and quickly enveloped her in shadow which she seemed to drink in from every pore. "Go now my child and seek the ways of the nightmare."

The winds were silenced and Pinkie took the cauldron inside to draw the first name.

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Nightmare moon appeared in front of Pinkie. She was amazed at her god's beauty and power, but knew better than to speak up for fear Celestia may still have some means of revenge.

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The elements of harmony came together. Nightmare moon was destroyed once and for all and a pitiful young alicorn remained in front of the friends. After learning that she could be defeated, Pinkie began losing faith in her dark mistress. She knew the power in her would require her to continue to carry out her goddess's orders no matter what, but that didn't mean she had to stand around to take new ones.

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The slip that came out was blue and had the number 47 on it. Pinkie consulted the shadow oracle within her.

"You seek the young pegasus named Rainbow Dash."

"What? I could never lose Dashie"

"But you must, it's in the rules, besides, wouldn't you like to play with her. Everypony deserves a party mistress."

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Rainbow Dash lay tied to a table and Pinkie stood over her. "We're going to play so many fun games tonight Dashie," she said beginning to cut into her friend's flank.

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Pinkie was dancing with Rainbow Dash's stuffed corpse; the only music came from bones shoved into a young mare's lungs as she lay dying. Her last few breathes creating an eerie whistling noise in the bones.

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"You seek the unicorn Twilight Sparkle." An image flashed into Pinkie's head. She set the scrap of skin down, determined to show her friend a better time than she had Rainbow Dash when another scrap floated up out of the cauldron. Number 23.

"You seek the earth pony Applejack."

"Why are all of my friends coming out now?" Pinkie consulted the oracle, beginning to doubt the fairness of the drawing after partaking in its creator's death.

"You are to be punished for going against commands. Be sure to show your guests a good time so that they don't suffer for your decisions. Perhaps splitting your shadow side, Pinkamena as you call her, will allow you to escape your guilt with them."

Pinkie was looking into a mirror, a shadowy figure sat on the other side, vaguely resembling Pinkie. "So you'll do it?"

"Of course," came a snarl in response, "we are one in the same after all, though I suppose that depends only on how you believe it."

"I believe that if you do it it's different than us doing it together."

"Then it is. Just remember that you tend to take more…. precautions than I do."

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Discord, are we your prey alone?

Or are we just a stepping stone to taking back the throne?

Discord, we won't take it anymore, so take your tyranny away!

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Applejack once again felt as though she was coming up from the bottom of a deep lake. She was deeply shaken by what she had seen: Pinkie's descent into darkness and her reluctance to continue at the end.

"That doesn't excuse her for what she's done," Applejack said, trying not to feel pity for the insane pony, "she still has to pay."

Applejack looked around, suddenly realizing she wasn't where she had been left. She was in a small room that seemed very familiar to her for some reason. She stood up and walked towards a nearby door. She was in the closet of Pinkie's bedroom.

She looked around the room. Everything was misshapen and bulged in odd places. The colors seemed to jump out and all demand attention at once in a freakish nightmare array of cheerfulness. Everything seemed to be impossible. One wall was taller than the others, though the ceiling and floor were perfectly level. Chairs were sitting on the wall but when Applejack pushed them they slide like normal chairs.

She sat down in one of the strange chairs and suddenly felt as though this wall was the floor and that the floor was now a wall. She stood up and the change continued, her mane even sank towards the wall/floor.

"What in the world is goin' on here?" Applejack asked aloud.

"You're in my funhouse," a sinister voice whispered behind her.

Applejack turned and saw Pinkie sitting on the ceiling. As she spoke her face bulged outwards and she grew slowly. Her fur and mane darkened with every second. "We're going to play together for a while."

"Pinkie, don't do this!" Applejack yelled, "Nightmare moon is gone. Ah'm sure we can find a way out of this."

"No, no dearest Applejack," hissed Pinkie in the voice of the beast. "We didn't do this because we agreed to obey the princess for aid. We do this because it is fun." The creature held up a scrap of flesh that Applejack realized was her missing ear. "And because it tastes good." Pinkamena threw the ear towards the floor. It flew back up and landed in Pinkamena's growing mouth.

Pinkamena was now four times the size of Pinkie and was nearly dark enough to be a shadow. It suddenly smiled and hissed in an uncomfortably Pinkie-ish voice, "You wanna try some?" A mad, hysterical laughter ensued, slowly deepening and twisting into something that sounded like a pony on their death bed.

Applejack ran out of the room and slammed the door behind her. She continued running until a large rectangular hole appeared in the floor at her feet.

She didn't notice in time and fell through it. Landing sprawled on what resembled the front door of the Sugarcube Corner. Like Pinkie's room, this was filled with misshapen furnishings and architecture that shouldn't be able to exist.

'Raight,' thought Applejack as her vision turned red and then darkened, 'ah was on the wall.' She passed into oblivion as the creature skulked around the house ensuring that everything was ready for its last few games before it was forced to fully meld back with its original form once more.

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I'm fine with changing status quo but not in letting go,

Now the world is being torn apart.

A terrible catastrophe, played by your symphony,

What a terrifying work of art.

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Okay, this chapter is coming a little late compared to my usual submission time. I had school and practice today so I had some stuff to do. This AN will probably be shorter than my usual lengthy end chapter ones.

1.) Pinkamena was wrong when she was telling me what happened in the flash backs, Pinkie had to keep correcting her. ;P Stupid Pinkamena. (Crap, I hope she doesn't read this.)

2.) I meant to have the whole 'funhouse adventure' in this chapter but I wanted to publish a chapter today so that will be tommorrow's chapter and, once more, the Spike/Rarity chapter will be pushed back another day…. Unless I have time for both (probably won't).

3.) You ponies probably don't care but I'm super happy so I'm going to post it anyways, my ACT scores just came in and I got a 31 /)^3^(\

4.) There was something I wanted to ask everypony reading this but I forgot….. must not have been that important. I do remember, however, that it had to do with the story itself and something about how it would continue…. Wutevs.

"Mankind was stripped to the core and all that remained was insanity."

-Stephen King, Cell

Playtime

New chapter. Let's see how Applejack handles this funhouse of Pinkie's. Please note that in case of accidental Pinkamena escapage, exits are not close enough to help you.

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Pinkamena glanced into the room as she was passing. "Good, dear little Applejack is waking up. Now the fun can begin."

…..

"Stupid wall," Applejack said, rubbing her aching head, "ah gotta be more careful." She looked around a bit, trying to get her bearings. "Okay, so far this looks just like the Sugarcube Corner, only a bit more... Pinkie thrown in. Ah should be able to find my way outta here."

Applejack took a step forward, placing her hoof on the wall that was actually the floor. As she stepped off the wall she was sitting on, she could feel herself being pulled towards it until she was leaning against the 'floor'. She began picking up her rear hooves when she suddenly found that she was standing on her front hooves. She slowly let herself down and began walking to the doorway she had fallen through earlier.

"Aaapplejaaaaaaaaack," came an eerie voice from a dimly lit hallway. "Are you coming to play Applejaaaack?" Applejack spun, ready to strike or run depending on what she found standing there.

Twilight Sparkle slowly shuffled down the hallway. The darkness seemed to gather around her mutilated face and wires trailed from her neck and flanks. "Hey Aapplejaaack." She said in an eerie voice, "are we gonna play?" As she spoke her voice seemed to twist and become higher. She let out a wheezing laugh that slowly grew in volume, seeming to grind against Applejack's ears as she stumbled away from the horrifying apparition of her dead friend.

"What's wrong Apple?" came the dual-toned voice again, "you didn't get to blow out your candles." Flames suddenly appeared on the walls throwing malicious shadows all around the two ponies. "It it's not a party until we have the cake and everypony deserves a party."

The strange shuffling creature lunged forward, twisting to entangle Applejack in the lengths of wires giving it movement. The creature seemed to stare into Applejack's eyes, their faces inches away.

"You know," came Pinkie's voice down the hallway, "it wasn't nice of you to hit her earlier." Pinkie walked slowly down the hallway, a keyboard was slung onto her back and she was wearing a tiara studded with small chunks of purple bone. "And you hit me. Why'd you do it Applejack? I thought you liked us." The dark hoof marks Applejack had left on the pink mare seemed to darken and pulse with every word. "You almost let me out. Then nopony could've shared your cupcakes."

"No!" yelled Applejack, trying to free herself from the wires that tied her to her dead friend. "Get away from me. You're sick Pinkie, don't you touch me."

The voice spoke from Twilight again, her mouth moving at a different pace than the words. "Don't be so scared Applejack, we're all friends here."

"Get offa me!" Applejack slammed her hoof into the dead unicorn's head. It flew off leaving a strangely rubbery stump. The flesh had all been removed and replaced with a strange gel-like substance. Large clumps of wire were strung throughout it. Applejack continued thrashing around, sending several other body parts flying through the air. They all bounced off the walls and landed by Pinkie who had stopped to watch. The head stopped perfectly on the stump of neck left attached to it. It rolled slightly so that it was looking at Applejack and began singing, "APPLEJACK APPLEJACK! HIDE HIDE HIDE! FACE YOUR FATE BECAUSE YOU'RE GONNA DIE! BY NO OTHER PONY BUT, PINKIE PIE!" It began laughing, steadily getting slower until it stopped completely, a vacant look on its face.

Applejack's continued struggles caused the wires to dig deep into her flesh making little red lines that oozed blood. Pinkie looked down at the shattered puppet that was once Twilight Sparkle. She looked at it for several seconds, disbelief slowly spreading across her face. "Applejack, how could you do that to Twilight?" she asked, sounding on the verge of tears. Her face began to bubble and warp, darkening as it grew. A soul-piercing shriek rent the air, "HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO TWILIGHT APPLEJACK?" The last words slowly morphed into a deep snarl of a voice that shook the ground with every syllable.

While she changed, Pinkie had dropped the keyboard, loosening the wires binding Applejack. She managed to wriggle out and took off at a run, her lacerated sides leaving a thin trail of blood splatters.

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She's an evil enchantress

She does evil dances

And if you look deep in her eyes

She'll put you in trances

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"Mah god," gasped Applejack when she finally stopped running. "How much happened to that pony?" She had been running for what felt like hours but she could still see the door she had entered the hallway through.

She began to run her hoof through her mane to wipe away some of the sweat when she felt a weird depression. She stuck the tip of her hoof just inside and winced in pain. Her hoof came away bloody. "Mah ear, I plumb forgot about that." Applejack looked worriedly around, "What if she sneaks up on me now that mah hearin's gone on one side?" Applejack grabbed a corner of the wallpaper where it was loose and pulled a piece off. As it came up a small wave of black insects poured out onto Applejack's face. She ran around wildly, crashing into walls and smacking her head with her hooves trying to get them off.

As Applejack continued to run and buck, trying to free herself from the burrowing insects, the suddenly al stood still and seemed to sniff at the air. They slowly began to pull away from Applejack, revealing hundreds of tiny holes where they had started eating into her. All at once they surged back into the wall and sat there, watching the orange pony as she picked up the scrap of pink paper. She rolled it into a kind of half cone and stuck it into the gash where her ear used to be. Grinding her teeth against the pain, she held it there until the blood began to dry, making a kind of false ear.

"Well, at least now ah can hear properly." Applejack continued watching the walls, searching for little holes where more of the insects might be watching. Now that she knew what to look for, Applejack saw clusters of holes every few inches. She turned around and saw an immense pile of them filling in the door she had originally entered the hallway through.

"Now what?" Applejack groaned, "If ah can't go forwards or backwards and ah can't buck through the walls, where can ah go?" She remembered the incident with the walls earlier and placed a tentative hoof on one of the walls. It sunk in a bit but held. She slowly added another hoof and tried to roll up the wall. She came crashing down onto the floor, still up against the wall, wondering why it had worked earlier. Applejack began to stand up but fell forward again, this time landing on the wall. "Good, now where can ah go?" she asked herself, looking around from the new vantage point. She saw a loose section on what was, moments before, the ceiling. She walked over and stepped up onto the ceiling.

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Then what will she do?

She'll mix up an evil brew

Then she'll gobble you up

In a big tasty stew

Sooo... WATCH OUT!

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"Applejack's doing better than I thought she would," Pinkie said into the mirror as she watched her friend force the wallpaper onto her ear.

"Yes," said her shadowy reflection, "I never expected her to escape from you and Twilight so easily."

"Well if you hadn't been so ready to take over, I-"

"Pinkie dear, hush. We both know if I didn't take over you would've killed her before we finished the games. You wouldn't want us to say goodbye so soon would you?"

"I guess not. But who are you to talk setting your bugs on her?"

"I didn't know she was going to rip up their home. You can't expect me to think of everything. You didn't think of it and I'm you, so how could I think of it."

"Well played," Pinkie said, turning back to watch the action.

"What do you think she'll try next?"

"I don't know, she isn't the smartest pony I've ever seen. She may try to keep running down the hallway."

"I hope not. She tried that for too long as it was."

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Baking these treats is such a cinch!

Add a teaspoon of vanilla!

Add a little more, and you count to four,

And you never get your fill of...

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Applejack kicked the ceiling tile away and jumped through the hole it made, falling to the ceiling above. Applejack looked down and saw that she was, once again, in Pinkie's bedroom. She began to walk down to the walls when she thought better of it.

'If ah stay hidden, maybe ah can get outta here.' She walked over to Pinkie's closet and opened the door. It was now a large room with a pony size light fixture and hundreds of shelves filled with pony skins.

Applejack vomited and saw with a wry sense of amusement that it splattered off the ceiling; several globs struck the wall and spread out as if on the floor. She snatched up a few of the skins from the more crowded shelves and bundled them up. She grabbed an orange skin that nearly matched hers and wrapped the other skins in it. Walking over to the light she stuffed the bundle inside and made it look as though it was her inside.

Applejack jumped down into the air and did a half flip, her hooves striking the floor. She allowed herself a small smile at completing the difficult maneuver and curled up in the back of one of the larger shelves, hiding behind a pile of pony hides.

Pinkamena stomped into the closet and saw the shadow in the light. "I wonder where my dear friend Applejack could be," the shadow hissed, pretending to search. "Maybe…. here?" It threw a set of shelves in the air, including the one Applejack was in. She forced herself to stay silent as the creature continued to play at searching the room.

"Maybe if it wasn't so dark I could find her," it hissed to itself. It stretched out a shadowy limb and a dark blue fireball appeared in its hoof. The fire ball floated in place for a few seconds then, on a command from Pinkamena, flew up and created an inferno where Applejack had put the false pony.

The creature sniffed the air, "ah, burning fur; one of my favorite smells." The creature turned and stalked out of the room. As the doors closed, Applejack heard, "too bad, she would have tasted excellent." The ensuing cackling made Applejack's skin crawl.

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All you have to do is take a cup of flour!

Add it to the mix!

Now just take a little something sweet, not sour!

A bit of salt, just a pinch!

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Applejack had been in the house for what seemed like days. Her hunger was beginning to gnaw away at her and she was considering eating from the ponies that were strung throughout the house. Only the looks of horror and pain, frozen eternally on their faces, stayed her appetite, 'not for much longer though,' she thought as her stomach gave an enormous rumble. It was now pulled into her and it seemed bulgy and misshapen. She had found that the taps worked, though each time they were turned on they produced a different liquid.

It had been a huge shock when Applejack turned off the water when she thought she heard Pinkie approaching. As it turned out to be nothing, Applejack plunged her head back under the faucet and turned it on, only to receive a face of blood. She screamed and began heaving, trying to get the coppery taste out of her mouth. He heard approaching stomps, as though a pony were repeatedly jumping along a long hallway. Knowing it was Pinkie, Applejack ran to the door and climbed up the back of it. It opened slowly and silently just as she settled down and a pink head poked into the room. A large red puddle was on the floor and the faucet was one.

"Oooh, that Gummi," Pinkie fumed as she turned off the faucet and grabbed a towel to clean up the puddle. "I told him to stay out of the sink unless he asked first."

Applejack slowly walked up the door and to the other side. Once in the adjoined room she sped up, heading for the only other open door she saw. After a series of winding passages and gory rooms, Applejack found herself in the front room of the house, barred to her ever since her first few hours in the house when the insects had formed a living wall across the only path she knew to reach here.

Applejack jumped down on the floor and sprinted at the door, heedless of the noise she was making now that she was steps away from freedom. Applejack slammed into the door and felt it splinter. She jumped up and pulled the handle, throwing it open. In the doorway stood a small pink figure.

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So sweet and tasty!

Cupcakes! Don't be too hasty!

Cupcakes! Cupcakes, cupcakes, CUPCAKES!

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Pinkie stood there as her friend threw open the door. "Hiya," she yelled, excited at getting to play again. She jumped forward and gave Applejack a big hug. "I missed you soooo much," she said as she crushed Applejack's neck. "I knew you were hiding, but it wouldn't be fair to cheat with the oracle so I just waited until you got bored."

The orange pony shoved her away, a strange gleam flashing across her green eyes. "Get back from me you monster," she yelled, backing up. "You ain't gonna get this here pony to cook."

"Applejack," Pinkie said, "whatever could you be talking about?"

"Ah said GET BACK!" The cowpony turned and bucked at Pinkie who stood with a slight giggle. Applejack's extreme hunger and stress had made her weak and inaccurate.

"But we still hafta play before we say goodbye," Pinkie said, saddened at her friend's aggression.

Applejack tried to rush past her and run through the doorway. Pinkie didn't move and Applejack slammed into her. "Really Applejack," she said, growing angry, "I wanna show you a good time and you just keep hitting me? Well two can play that game."

Pinkie suddenly changed. One second she was sitting on the floor, tears welling up in her eyes and a scowl on her face. The next second, the immense shadowy figure of Pinkamena towered over Applejack.

Applejack was lifted and thrown into the oddly shaped display counters. Her head collided with an audible snapping noise and the glass shattered, filling Applejack's mane with innumerably shards of razor sharp glass. Pinkamena ripped up one of the floor tiles and threw it at Applejack like a Frisbee. She managed to lift her hoof in time to save her head from being crushed. As the tie hit her leg, it slammed forward, causing Applejack's hoof to nearly crush her eye; its socket splintered filling her vision with a haze of blood.

Pinkamena advanced forward, seeming to calm and revert into her smaller Pinkie form. "Applejack, if you are done playing just tell me and we can say goodbye. I don't want you to leave when we're mad at each other, this is hard enough already."

The last thing Applejack saw the pink pony advancing on her, tears flowing from her eyes and the corner of a paper sticking out of her hoof.

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Cross my heart, hope to fly.

Stick a cupcake in my eye.

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"I'm sorry Applejack," Pinkie whispered as she slung the well-muscled pony onto her back. "I don't make the rules, just the cupcakes. It's too bad you couldn't see that, then I could've made an exception and had a new helper, oh well."

She began to trudge down a hallway, handling her friend as if she weighed nothing. She paused for a moment when she felt her knee pinch a bit. Applejack's eyes fluttered open and she saw Pinkie's face so close to hers. Applejack's eyes were filled with loathing and she spat into Pinkie's face. As the trails of blood and saliva trickled down Pinkie's face she began crying. Applejack's eyes narrowed and then closed again.

"Don't worry about her so much Pinkie," crooned the voice of her other half.

"But sh- she hates me now," sobbed Pinkie as she continued on. She reached a staircase and began climbing.

"No, she just doesn't understand. She thinks you're just like me. You must admit that I am not liked by most ponies."

"But you're me."

"Exactly dear Pinkie, that's something I tried to make you comprehend long ago."

They fell into silence. The only noise now was the occasional grunt from Applejack as her bruised ribs where touched. There was a slight chittering of the Furmites as they ran out to lap up the blood trickling from Applejack's injured eye.

Pinkie silently reassured herself that it was right to continue on and then dumped Applejack's unconscious form down a nearby laundry chute.

"Just remember," came Pinkamena's voice as Pinkie stared after her friend, "you're giving her the party of her life and soon she can play with Dashie and Twi again while they wait for everypony else."

Pinkie, for once, had nothing to say to her sister in art; beginning to regret her deal with Nightmare Moon for the first time in fourteen years. She looked down at her hooves. "How many ponies have I-" she cut herself off, "this has gone on long enough. I'll finish Applejack and then I can go back to searching for new ponies. Maybe one day I'll think this is wrong but for now," an insane grin split her face and her eyes glowed red, "it's only too good!"

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Woo-hoo, done. Now I'm off to do homework. The ending was… difficult to write. After she dumped Applejack I couldn't think of a way to end the chapter and Pinkie/Pinkamena couldn't be bothered to say anything.

The next couple of chapters will not be about Pinkie and AJ; they've gotten a little too much attention lately because of time constraints and such on my side. We should see more of Fluttershy, Spike, Rarity and the Crusaders for the next chapter or two. Besides, several days have passed in the house and Ponyville needs to… catch up.

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Edit: I forgot to mention, the part that Twilight's disembodied head says as it slowly dies. It was written by Timefather64 in his review for an earlier chpt. chpt 10 if im not mistaken. (too lazy to check)... actually, that was his review.

Insert Clever Fluttershy Reference Here

Ugh, it seems so weird going back to everypony else after so many Pinkie chapters and taking a day off for homework. Yeah, anyways this chapter will not be about Pinkie and AJ (they've been in the 'funhouse' for several days by now apparently so we need to check up on the other ponies.)

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Fluttershy looked around as she felt a strange… presence. "A-Angel," she called softly, "i-is that you?" A figure dropped in front of her suddenly. "Eeep!" Fluttershy fell over, petrified, her wings plastered to her body with and audible snap.

"Are you okay Fluttershy?" Applebloom asked, leaning over the yellow pegasus.

"Yeah," said Scootaloo, "you look like you saw a ghost."

"Oh, thank you, but I'm quite alright," Fluttershy said standing up, "You girls just scared me a little, that's all."

"Oh, sorry Fluttershy," Sweetie Belle said suddenly from behind her.

"Eeep!"

"Sweetie Belle," the two other fillies exclaimed in exasperation.

"What? I didn't do it on purpose!"

The three crusaders helped Fluttershy to her feet. "Watcha doin' out here anyways Fluttershy?" Applebloom asked, looking around. They were in the middle of a large empty field and it was growing dark. They were at least a dozen miles away from Ponyville and, as far as the girls knew, nopony ever really came out here for anything.

"Oh, nothing. I'm not doing anything. Why would you ask? " Fluttershy said very quickly, her eyes darting around.

The young fillies stared at her. Fluttershy smiled as big as she could. After a few seconds, her mouth began to shake a little but the girls kept looking at her. *squee* Fluttershy managed to stretch her smile a little wider. She suddenly turned and said, "I gotta go girls, bye." Fluttershy ran off, her pink mane flaring out behind her as she galloped off.

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Fluttershy slowed to a trot, looking around to see if anypony was following her. She breathed a sigh of relief. 'I don't know what I would've done if I got caught,' she thought to herself. Ponyville now filled the horizon and she hurried towards it, her plans for the evening already abandoned. (What were her plans? I'm not gonna tell…this chapter. Back to the story)

As Fluttershy neared the town it hit her that the Cutie Mark Crusaders shouldn't have been that far out of town alone, especially this late. "Oh well," she said, continuing through Ponyville's darkened streets, "they usually stay out of trouble, I'm sure they'll be fine."

She passed the library; Fluttershy noticed that all of the lights were off. "That's strange," she said trying to peer in the windows without looking like she was snooping, "Twilight usually stays up much later than this reading. And I know Spike never goes to bed until at least after the moon comes up." She walked through town, occasionally jumping at the shadows cast by the strangely shaped buildings. A pegasus flew down a street up ahead, several thin rectangles falling from her saddlebags. As the movement drew Fluttershy's eyes, she saw the Sugarcube Corner. "Now I know Pinkie shouldn't be asleep at this hour. What in Equestria is everypony doing? Even Rarity's boutique is empty." She wlked a few more steps and ran into a cart. Whn she hit it a small pile of Apples fell out."This is even weirder, Applejack would never leave her cart out like this." Fluttershy thought about it for a second. "Maybe she is out looking for the girls. That must be where everypony is." She stared at the ground, ashamed, "I shouldn't have run away like that leaving them there. What if they get hurt because I didn't do anything?" She felt very ashamed and a small trail of tears escaped her blue eyes. She turned to go help everypony look, but suddenly froze. Everything behind her was pitch black. She couldn't see anything past a few hooves. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she had walked all that way in complete darkness.

Fluttershy let out a small yelp and sped towards home, her wings carrying her faster than even Rainbow Dash could've hoped to compete with. She slammed the door shut behind her and stood leaning against it; her chest heaving in and out for several minutes. As she slowly calmed down, she realized that not only had she left the fillies out all alone, but she hadn't even been able to make herself go find them.

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"Oh Fluttershy," she said softly, beginning to cry again, "you're such a scaredy-cat." She tapped her hoof into her face as hard as she could, the fur parting a bit to almost allow her hoof to make contact. She sat down on her sofa, quite upset with herself when a loud hammering at the door made her jump up and squeak in fright. She crept over to the door, heart pounding. The hammering continued at a remarkable speed. She parted the curtains that covered the door's small window. Nopony was at the door but the knocking continued. She looked down and saw Angel kicking the door as fast as he could, an angry look on his face.

Fluttershy opened the door, "sorry Angel," she said, trying to get the small bunny to quit glaring at her, tapping his foot. "It's just that it was so dark and I got scared. I didn't mean to leave you behind like that." The bunny stopped tapping his foot and rolled his eyes. He sighed and tilted his head forward, gripping the bridge of his nose with his paw. "Thanks Angel," Fluttershy said, scooping him up, her fear now forgotten with her small guardian there, "I knew you'd understand." She gave him a big hug and set him down in his chair. Now what do you think about me getting us some dinner.

Angel jumped up and nodded excitedly. He rubbed his stomach and pointed at a cookbook sitting by his chair. He flipped through the pages until he found the right one. He turned the book around, showing Fluttershy a complex recipe that involved five pages of instructions before it even showed the picture. Fluttershy skimmed over it and saw that the first five pages were needed just to prep. "I don't think I can make this sweetie," she said setting the book down. "How about a nice carrot salad instead, hmm?"

Angel threw himself down and began throwing a tantrum. His arms and legs thrashed around and he smacked his head on the floor repeatedly. A strange gurgling cry began peeling from his half open mouth when Fluttershy leaned over and scooped him up. He began kicking even harder, trying to get Fluttershy to drop him. Instead, she set him on the couch and kneeled on his legs so that he couldn't move. She forced his eyes open and stared into them. Fluttershy's eyes seemed to harden and she took on an angry expression, alien on Fluttershy's face. He suddenly froze and eased out from under Fluttershy. He hopped over to the kitchen, grabbed a carrot and plopped down to eat it while Fluttershy grabbed a baggie of leftover hayfries from the night before.

After her small, but adequate, dinner, Fluttershy headed to her room and quickly fell asleep. Her dreams were haunted by a small purple figure. She repeatedly ran around corners to find the mysterious being only to find that it wasn't there. Sometimes, her friend Rarity would be around the corner, looking angry, other times it was Twilight who looked quite disappointed with the shy pony, still other times, the Cutie Mark Crusaders were there, covered in bandages and casts and looking at Fluttershy with a mixture of hate and sorrow. She could sometimes hear them ask why they hadn't saved them, why she hadn't asked why they were out so late and so far from home.

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Fluttershy woke up in the morning, still exhausted from her poor night's sleep. She set about getting breakfast for all of her animals, including Angel Bunny who was quite upset about having the stare used on him the night before. Fluttershy grabbed an apple for herself and set out for town. She and Rarity had plans at the spa for that day and she felt as though she needed it.

As she flew towards town, she heard laughter and looked down to see the Cutie Mark Crusaders running towards the Apple's farm. "I guess they were fine after all," Fluttershy said, feeling better about having fled the night before. She didn't notice the look on the three fillies face as they ran. Their eyes were wide and bulging and they all looked very sick. Every few seconds, one would stop to either throw up or to look back the way they had come and dry heave for a few seconds.

Fluttershy arrived in town and set off towards Rarity's boutique, eager to spend the day with her friend. She opened the door and stepped inside. Various garments were strewn all over the floor and Spike and Rarity were picking them up and putting them away, a slight pink flush on their faces. Rarity looked up when she heard the bell.

"Fluttershy dear, come in, come in," she continued magically folding and stacking the clothes. "Things got a little out of hand here so I'm running a little late."

"Oh, well… if you're busy I can always come back," Fluttershy's ears were folded back and she was slowly backing out the door.

"No, no, please stay. We should be done in a moment."

Spike had finished folding the dress he'd been holding, one corner was held in his mouth. He set and down and said, "hey Fluttershy."

"Hi Spike," Fluttershy felt very nervous all of the sudden, nothing new for her. It did seem a little strange that she felt like this just saying hi though. "Where was everypony last night?" Fluttershy asked, remembering all of the dark windows.

Spike grew slightly redder, his scales turning much darker. "Well, me and Rarity were… out again. Twilight is doing some kind of experiments with Pinkie Pie, otherwise I don't know. Why?"

"Oh, well I was going home last night and nopony was awake anywhere. Even Pinkie's lights were all off. And Applejack's cart was sitting by the road."

"Well," said Rarity, "that's odd. I saw Twilight's note myself. She said she would be working with Pinkie for a while and Spike was freed up until she got done. As for Applejack, Applebloom hasn't seen her for a while."

The last of the clothes had been put away and the two mares began to leave.

"Where are you going?" Spike asked.

"Fluttershy and I go to the spa every Monday," Rarity said. A mischievous twinkle spread through her eyes, "would you like to come?"

"Sure," Spike said, climbing onto Rarity's back. Fluttershy was sure Rarity would make him get off, but she just began walking out the door.

Rarity paused and looked back, "are you coming Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy suddenly zoned back in, "oh yeah… I mean, yes. I'm coming."

They got to the spa only slightly after they usually did. They walked inside and sat down to await the twins. Spike and Rarity sat in a corner, whispering and giggling to each other. Fluttershy was curled up her usual chair, trying to avoid catching anypony's eye even though nopony else was in the spa.

The twins walked up. "Three of the usual," Rarity said, laying down a small bag of bits. "My treat this time Fluttershy, okay?"

"Oh, if you insist," Fluttershy said as she put away her money pouch.

They walked into the first room and were each led to a small tub full of mud. Rarity lowered herself in with a long sigh. Spike took a few steps back and splashed into him, spraying some mud onto Rarity. "Really Spike," she exclaimed, shaking the mud off of her face, "let's be civil, shall we?"

"Sorry Rarity," Spike giggled as he came up, the mud instantly sliding off his smooth scales. "Aren't you going to get in Fluttershy?"

"Oh, I don't know. It's just that… well... you're… um… a boy." As she spoke, Fluttershy hid behind her hair and began speaking softer and softer.

"Oh Fluttershy," Rarity said, "you and your modesty. Live a little, Spike won't do anything. Besides, it's not like we wear clothes most of the time anyways."

"I suppose you're right." Fluttershy slid in, not even shaking the surface of the mud. The twins approached and laid cucumber slices across everypony's eyes. Seaweed was wrapped around their head and they were left alone for a little while.

Spike and Rarity tried to draw Fluttershy into small talk but she seemed too embarrassed by Spike being there to say much.

"Really Fluttershy, it isn't like you aren't used to him by now. Besides, I miss you all the time. We really need to talk."

"I don't really want to right now Rarity," Fluttershy said, sinking lower into the mud.

The rest of the visit continued like this until the last treatment. They were left alone in a mineral bath to soak until they were ready to leave.

"I'll be right back," Spike said climbing out, "I have to use the little dragon's room real quick." He waddled off in the direction of the bathrooms and Fluttershy swam over to Rarity.

"I heard that you two were… that you… were… um,"

"Dating?" Rarity asked, trying to spare her friend several minutes of nervous stuttering. 'She always gets like this when she talks about relationships,' Rarity thought, somewhat annoyed by her friends, admittedly adorable, shyness. "Yes, what about it?"

"Oh nothing, really. I was just wondering…" Fluttershy trailed off.

Rarity sighed, "would you like me to tell you about it?" Fluttershy moved her head slightly. Rarity had come to interpret this as a nod when Fluttershy got like this. "Well, I found him in a really embarrassing way, I'll have to show you the pictures later, anyways, I was trying to think of a way to make him feel better about the whole situation. You know how he's always been rather… fond of me?" Fluttershy nodded. "Well, I decided to give him a chance, 'every other stallion I'd been with has always turned out so awful,' I thought, 'surely Spike couldn't be anywhere near as bad.' So we went on a date and Spike showed me the best night I've ever had. He didn't even try and force himself on me like stallions usually do." Fluttershy nodded again, she'd had plenty of experience with stallions like this. It was part of the reason she had stopped dating and lived alone with her animals. "Well, we ended up taking the girls out for a picnic and he stayed the night because Twilight was still gone. I made a few suggestions and his face was the funniest thing ever." Rarity had to stop for a moment; the memories of Spike's reactions were too funny for her to speak. "Anyway, I made a few advances and things went… a little farther. He is so small and shy, but he certainly can show a lady a good time." Her eyes seemed to twinkle with the memories of the last few nights spent with Spike.

Just then, Spike came back from the bathroom, a small trail of toilette paper was stuck on his foot. He walked up to the deck by the large hot tub and was about to slide in when Rarity stopped him. She and Fluttershy had been giggling as he waddled towards them, oblivious to the paper. Rarity floated him off the deck and pulled the paper off his foot and dropped it on the floor. Spike's eyes bulged a little as he saw what he'd been trailing. His scales darkened with his blush and he seemed reluctant to climb in with the two mares now.

"I was just telling Fluttershy about how we got together," Rarity said, smiling at the small dragon.

"You didn't tell her about the… thing, did you?" he asked, looking worried.

"No, I was saving that for when I could show her the pictures."

"Rarityyyyy," Spike groaned, hiding his face, "doooon't".

"But why Spikey-wikey? Shouldn't everypony know what a little gentle-colt you are?"

"Rarity stop it, you're embarrassing me."

"Fine, but I don't want to hear anymore complaining about gems today okay?" she sounded quite stern as she said it, but smiled a little afterwards to show she didn't mean anything by it.

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After a little while, the three friends climbed out of the water. Fluttershy had eventually been coerced into joining the conversation and was soon laughing as she usually did with her friends. They left the spa, completely relaxed and smelling of various perfumes. Fluttershy was about to fly back home when Rarity stopped her.

"You shouldn't keep to yourself so much Fluttershy. Why don't you come and stay the night with m and Spike. We've had the 'crusaders' over and I think together we could have quite a good time."

"Yeah," said Spike enthusiastically, "that's a great idea. Maybe then the girls will stop teasing me."

"Uh… well… I suppose I could," Fluttershy said, "just let me run home and get something real quick."

Fluttershy flew off before another word could be said. She had just used that as an excuse to be alone for a little while. She pulled a small locket out from her mane. It was woven into her mane and blended in perfectly. She opened it to reveal a small picture of Spike. "I guess he's happy now," she said.

Fluttershy remembered how much she had liked the small dragon the first time she saw him. He had been so adorable that she even followed him around talking to him, completely forgetting about her shyness for most of a day. She had always wanted to be closer with him, but she could never really get up the courage. Then she saw that he liked Rarity so much. She thought he'd never look at her when compared to Rarity.

That was the first time she had ever hated anypony. For a long time, she refused to speak anypony, or even look at them. She thought that if anything reminded her of Rarity she'd try to break anything, or anyone, near her.

Eventually she realized that it wasn't anypony's fault, especially not Rarity's, that Spike liked Rarity. She decided to go back to being friends with the white mare; they had always enjoyed each other's company.

Ever since then she always secretly longed for Spike to lose interest in Rarity and look at her. Now that they were dating though, it seemed like that could never happen. 'Especially not since they enjoy each other's company so much,' Fluttershy thought. 'At least my friends are happy,' she thought, looking at the brighter side. She tucked the locket away and flew off to spend more time with her friends, saddened, but a little more accepting than she had been for a long time.

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Yay! Another chapter done and another chapter closer to more Pinkie. Spike and Rarity are coming up next, right after another of my ridiculously long ending notes (deal with it, I have a lot to say).

Just wanna say thanks to all of you who are writing reviews. I must say it keeps surprising me how much everypony seems to like this story. The first review it got (Timefather64 wrote it. I'm really startin to like this guy too) was talkin about how it was a great story. I thought, okay maybe I'm doin something right. Then the other 16 reviews trickled in and now I know that I'm doing something right. As for those of you who aren't reviewing... you guys stink :P As for you 'The Rainbrony', you should make an account or something so I can reply. I like to reply to the reviews. *omg rage face* Even the ones that are just smiley faces or brohoofs (surprisingly few of those on this site).

For those of you who are favoriting this, you guys rock. It doesn't make me as happy as the reviews cuz the reviews are usually funny, or at least say that the story rocks. But it still rules to see people fav or subscribe to this (they count as the same thing to me). (That doesn't mean that I don't want you ponies to fav, just review as well.)

One more thing; I just saw the 'Story Traffic' thing on the site... apparently this month my story has had 195 visitors and 727 hits *squee* I feel so popular now.

Unlucky 13

Let's see what Spike and Rarity are up to, shall we? Thanks for reading and reviewing (there, I already said thank you now you hafta review).

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Spike woke up on something soft and plush. He could smell lavenders and he was curled up against something warm and furry. His eyes shot open. Filling his vision was a large patch of white fur. He reached out and touched it softly with his claw, unable to trust his memory. He stroked the fur; it was incredibly soft and silky.

"That means it wasn't a dream," Spike said softly, remembering his night with Rarity.

She rolled over and looked into his eyes. "I certainly hope it wasn't a dream." She leaned in and gave him a long, but soft kiss. She broke away, her eyes twinkling. "I guess we should clean this mess up, don't you think."

Spike looked around. There was evidence of the previous night's activities everywhere: several outfits were scattered across the floor, many were shredded, various other toys were lying in random places, some still turned on.

He and Rarity got up and began hiding the evidence as best as they could. Just as Spike covered up the last box, there was a knock at Rarity's door. "You up yet big sis?" Sweetie Belle called through the door. "We want to get some breakfast." The door opened and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were standing just outside the doorway, yawning and rubbing their eyes.

Scootaloo noticed Spike and nudged Sweetie Belle. "What?" Scootaloo pointed over at the small dragon. Sweetie Belle stared for a second. "Rarity, what were you two doing?"

"Why, whatever do you mean Sweetie?" Rarity asked, sounding a little nervous.

"I mean, why is Spike covered in lipstick?"

Spike looked into a nearby mirror and saw that his face was covered in streaks of lipstick. He looked at Rarity and saw that there was still a little bit on her lips, the exact same shade.

"Well," she said, tapping her hoof against the floor, "I'm waiting." Applebloom and Scootaloo tried to slide away while Sweetie Belle was distracted but she managed to grab their legs with her magic. "Oh no, you aren't going anywhere until she tells us what happened."

"Ah don't think this is somethin' we should be here for," Applebloom said, struggling against the glow around her hooves.

"Yeah, this should be private," Scootaloo was regretting pointing Spike out to Sweetie Belle.

"Oh, me and Rarity were just…" Spike trailed off as Sweetie Belle glared at him.

"Rarity," Sweetie Belle had an odd look on her face.

"Yes, yes I know. I also know that we talked about this," Rarity seemed to grow angry. "It's none of your business what I do."

"Or who," Scootaloo whispered to Applebloom. Her face turned red almost instantly.

Eventually, everypony calmed down and Sweetie Belle decided to drop the issue. "I'm watching you though," she said, staring at Spike and Rarity.

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The rest of the day went by as usual, the crusaders tried everything they could to get their cutie marks and Rarity stitched together new dresses while Spike acted as a pincushion. When it came time for dinner, Rarity proposed that they all head over to the market and see if Applejack had any apples left.

"Yeah," Applebloom yelled happily, "we could bake us up an apple pie!" Everypony else agreed so they all headed out.

They got to the market, but Applejack was nowhere in sight. "Well that's weird," Applebloom said, "she'd never leave this early, there's no way she coulda sold enough apples."

"Maybe something happened to her," Spike said, "look, her cart's right there."

"But it says back in five minutes," Scootaloo said, pointing at the large sign, "she wouldn't have stopped to put that up if she was in trouble."

Applebloom picked up one of the apples and smelled it. "Why this apple was picked at least a day ago," she said, frowning, "we only sell apples that we pick in the morning, helps to keep the freshest apples going around."

"Well, there's no use in standing around here," Rarity said, the wind was beginning to pick up a bit and she feared for her mane, "let's just grab a few apples and leave some bits. Applejack will turn up eventually, she did last time."

"What do you mean 'last time'?" Applebloom asked as Rarity began picking up apples.

She threw a couple of bits into the basket, "oh, the stories I could tell you about that pony. We used to be quite… adventurous when we were younger. In fact, until Pinkie came along, we were the two biggest party ponies in Ponyville."

The three fillies looked expectantly at Rarity, expecting a story. Even Spike had sat down and was watching the white unicorn.

"Oh no, I'm not going to tell you now, we're out in public. Maybe once we get this pie going I'll tell you about the last time Applejack disappeared."

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The smell of apple pie wafted through the boutique; warm flakey crust, soft gooey apples with cinnamon shot through. Rarity sat down and looked at the fillies gathered in front of her. "Well, not long after we graduated from Ponyville High…"

"Hey Rarity," Applejack yelled, "come see what me and Berry Punch whipped up!"

The music was loud enough to shake the floors and Rarity could barely make out what the orange pony was saying. She trotted over, weaving in and out of a large crowd. The strobes lights occasionally caused her to crash into somepony.

"What do you have?" Rarity yelled to make herself heard.

"We *hic* put a milkshake into a jar of *hic* vodka and cider," Berry Punch smiled and slowly wove side to side, her balance ruined by the insane amounts of alcohol she always drank.

"It's actually purdy good," Applejack yelled, waving a huge jar filled with a dark sloshing liquid.

Rarity grabbed the jar and took a sip. Somehow the alcohol combined the chocolaty ice cream and the intoxicating cider to make the best drink she'd ever had. Then she realized that it almost instantly gave her a strong buzz in the back of her head.

For the rest of the party they danced around, jumping through the clouds of artificial fog and drinking huge amounts of the new intoxicating mixture. Every now and then either Rarity or Applejack would be led away by a young stallion, sometimes both by the same one.

As the sun began to light up the sky, Rarity and Applejack began to fight, neither entirely sure what the other was saying but both too drunk to care.

"Well ah jusht abou' had enough of yew!"

"Jush becaush you can't be this amashing," Rarity stopped and began spinning slowly. Her eyes closed and she fell, seeming to be in slow motion. Applejack, still furious, stumbled out the door and into the night.

"Anyways," Rarity finished, "I don't know exactly what happened while she was gone, or for about a week after I woke up. But she eventually came back. Her coat was dyed bright red and she had piercings everywhere. It was simply awful."

"Ah don't know, that doesn't sound like Applejack," Applebloom said, frowning a little.

"After that night we started going a little easier on the partying. Then, after a few months, Pinkie Pie moved in and we eventually faded from everypony's mind."

"I didn't know either of you had ever done anything like that," Spike said.

"I knew about it," Scootaloo said, "Rainbow Dash was telling me about some of the parties she'd been to when she moved here and she mentioned you and Applejack were huge party ponies back then."

"Wha-" Sweetie Belle was interrupted by a loud buzzing noise.

"Pie's done," Rarity said, jumping up and walking to the kitchen.

They all sat around the table, enjoying the fresh pie. Rarity even found a tub of whipped cream, though she refused to have any of that 'ghastly stuff'. "It goes straight to your flanks," she complained as she pushed it away. The others just shrugged and continued scooping it onto their pie.

After they ate, they pulled out a bunch of board games and played until the fillies started yawning.

"Time for bed," Rarity said as Applebloom nodded off in the middle of twister. She fell over onto Scootaloo and they hit the ground in a tangled mess, jolting Applebloom awake.

Rarity tucked the fillies in and Spike read a story. Not long after 'Once upon a time,' the crusaders started falling asleep. By the time Spike got to what the mare in distress was up to, he had fallen asleep, half falling off the bed. Rarity smiled and turned out the lights. She headed up to her room and lay down for the night.

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Rarity woke up to the smell of pancakes. "Oh no," she yelled, jumping up suddenly, "not my beautiful kitchen!" The last time Sweetie had tried cooking breakfast she ended up burning everything, even the juice.

She ran into the kitchen and saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders helping Spike make breakfast. Applebloom was busy mixing up batter while Scootaloo flew around pouring globs of mix over Spikes head. Spike would breathe a quick burst of fire, instantly cooking the pancake to an even golden brown. Sweetie Belle carefully arranged everything on the table.

Rarity managed to calm down before anypony noticed her. "Morning Rarity," Spike called, looking away from Scootaloo. He turned back, about to breathe fire when an entire bowl of pancake mix fell on his head. The white goop splashed everywhere. Spike tried to get the bowl off his head but it was stuck tight and he slipped in a large white puddle.

Spike slid across the floor, bowling over Applebloom and sliding all the way over to Rarity. They collided with her legs and she fell on top of them. Rarity's head hit the floor and her horn suddenly started glowing. A shockwave shot out as her horn collided with the ground and the rest of the batter was splattered on the walls. Loud thumps told the ponies that the shelves in the rooms nearby had all fallen over, throwing clothes everywhere.

"Sorry sis," Sweetie Belle said, helping Rarity up. Scootaloo rushed around trying to wipe up as much of the batter as she could. Everypony was waiting for Rarity to explode about the mess. She creased her eyes.

"No, no, it's quite alright," her teeth were clenched in what resembled a smile. "Spike, I think we should head out somewhere after we eat so that these three," she glared at the crusaders, "can show me how happy they are about staying here by cleaning up a bit. Heavens knows the place could use it."

They sat down and ate the steamy pancakes, trying to ignore the constant patter of falling batter. Ignoring the mess, the food was flawless. Each pancake was thick and fluffy, cooked evenly all the way through with no dark spots in sight. As Spike swallowed the last one whole Rarity floated the dishes over to the sink and dropped them in.

"Come on Spike," she said, smiling. Her eye was twitching rapidly, "let's give the girls some alone time." She walked out of the kitchen and said loudly, "I do so love coming home to a clean house. Don't all of you?"

Spike followed along behind Rarity for several streets. Eventually she slowed down and began breathing deeply. "I swear those fillies will be the death of me." Spike caught up and wrapped his arm around her neck.

"They aren't all that bad." A loud crashing noise came from where they knew the boutique to be and a column of dust shot up into the air. Both of Rarity's eyes were twitching, sometimes they would fall into step for a few seconds before beginning to twitch randomly again. Spike laughed nervously. "So, anywhere special you wanted to go?"

Rarity let out an angry breath. Steam seemed to shoot from her nostrils and she began pawing at the ground.

"Tell you what," Spike said, trying to distract her from the construction noises emanating from the direction they came, "I found a great place outside of Ponyville when one of Twilight's spells went bad. I couldn't walk straight for weeks but it's an amazing place, come see."

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Scootaloo sat up. She was on a roof above Spike and Rarity and her scooter was lying next to her. She sped along the roofs back to where her friends were trying to fix the damage they had done to the store.

"They're going to some place Spike knows about." Scootaloo said as she slid to a stop.

"Do ya' think we should follow 'em?"

"Yeah, I don't like how they've been acting lately." Sweetie Belle said, her face forming into a frown, "I don't want Rarity messing Spike up. He's too… nice. Rarity would just ruin him."

Applebloom and Scootaloo looked at their friend, unsure how to react. Sweetie Belle just dropped her hammer and began walking the way Scootaloo had come. The other two followed, more to make sure Sweetie didn't hurt anypony than to actually see what Rarity and Spike were doing.

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"Are we almost there?" Rarity whined, "my feet hurt and we've been walking for hours."

"Yeah, it's a good way away from Ponyville but it's worth the walk. Actually, it's so far away that I built a little house to use while I'm there so I don't have to go home right after getting there."

Rarity stopped and looked at Spike. "How far away is it, exactly?"

"Oh, we're almost there now. You might be able to see it up ahead. There's a cliff with a lake in front of it. The cliff is made out of solid marble and has lots of gemstones buried in it." Spike licked his lips, "they're all so perfect." Rarity stepped to the side to avoid his puddle of drool.

"It sounds… wonderful Spike," she said, trying not to think of all of the germs in lakes and how much mud there would be by it.

"You'll see." Spike continued waddling on.

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"Ugh, how much farther is it?" Sweetie Belle was sitting on a cushion from Rainbow and Scootaloo's cloud castle. It was made so that it wouldn't sink through the clouds if anypony dropped it. She and Applebloom were both sitting on one. They were on a cloud being rushed along by Scootaloo.

"I…. don't know," Scootaloo huffed as she continued at a blinding pace, trying to catch up with Spike and Rarity.

"Well go faster."

Scootaloo yanked the cloud to a stop. Applebloom and Sweetie Belle nearly fell off as they were yanked to a halt. She wiped the sweat off her forehead, "you're more than welcome to push this yourself you know."

They started arguing back and forth and were about to start hitting each other when Applebloom stepped in. "Girls! We hafta catch up or we're gonna lose 'em!" Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stopped and saw that Spike and Rarity were now barely visible dots on the horizon.

Scootaloo revved up her wings and shot forward, angling her body just how Rainbow Dash had taught her when they were getting ready for the flight test. She shot through the air leaving an orange and purple blur; little pieces of the cloud were torn off by the rushing wind. After a few minutes of this, Scootaloo's wings began to slow down. She was gasping for breath and nearly fell a few times. She brought the cloud down to ground level and fell over onto it.

"Your… turn… to push," she gasped. Sweetie Belle and Applebloom climbed off and placed their cushions against the side of the cloud and began pushing it forward.

"I thought… errr… that clouds were… ugh... supposed to be light." Sweetie Belle's face turned bright red as she continued pushing the cloud along. Applebloom was having almost as much trouble.

"Why do you think Rainbow Dash and I were always training?" Scootaloo asked, looking over the edge of the cloud at her friends, "these things take a lot of energy to move, that's why we plan the weather ahead of time."

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"Here we are," Spike said, waving his arm at the scene in front of them. There was a large, crystal clear lake with white, sandy beaches. Fish jumped out of the water here and there and, up against a large cliff was a small doorway filled in with a piece of a log.

"Oh my Spike, this is amazing," Rarity said as she looked around. "You said you ended up here when Twilight's spell messed up?"

"Yeah, I suddenly appeared in the air over the middle of the lake. I swam out and saw a little crater in the wall like something hit it going really fast. I saw a sparkling in the hole and, when I dug through, found a huge batch of emeralds. I kept digging and ended up carving a little house there."

"Why did you leave?" Rarity asked, staring at the glowing patches on the cliff face. Her horn had lit up and nearly the entire wall was covered in the patches of light she knew meant gems, the stronger the light, the higher quality the gems were. The cliff glowed like the sun.

"Well after two days Twilight found me here, I was climbing the cliff and diving into the lake to see how big of a splash I could make. Heh, she thought I was going to get hurt when I jumped off, then I hit the water and sent out a huge tidal wave that completely soaked her."

Spike began running towards the water, "c'mon," he yelled, "it feels great!" He climbed up on a boulder that was near the wall, a pile of sticks were by it and he used this as a ladder. He jumped off and began to do a font flip. He wasn't fast enough and hit the water flat on his stomach. Rarity winced as she heard the smack. She was about to jump in when he floated up holding his stomach.

Rarity walked towards the water, jumping back with a little shriek as the waves almost wet her hooves. She peered into the water and was amazed that she could see the bottom of the lake perfectly clear. She could even see the deepest spot from where she stood on the shore, the water was slightly darker there but she could still make out each rock on the bottom.

She tested the water with a hoof; it was slightly cool and felt amazing on her tired hooves.

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"Look, there they are," Sweetie said as Scootaloo pushed the cloud along, trying to find a trace of Spike and Rarity, "they're in that lake over there."

Scootaloo sat down on the cloud to watch with her friends. The three fillies sat for hours, watching Spike and Rarity splash around for a while.

"Ah wish we could join 'em," Applebloom yawned.

"Yeah," said Scootaloo, "this is boring." She began poking little holes in the cloud.

"We can't, they'd know that we followed them then," Sweetie Belle frowned. "Oh well, at least they aren't doing anything… dirty."

"Why do you even care?" Scootaloo asked. "It's not like Rarity hasn't done stuff like that before. Or that you would have a chance with Spike so just drop it."

Sweetie Belle turned angrily, "Why don't you just-"

Applebloom cut her off, "what are they doin' now?"

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"C'mon Rarity," Spike said, getting out of the water. A few drops caught between his scales but for the most part he emerged as dry as he went in. Rarity on the other hand was completely soaked and her mane hung in thick wet clumps around her face. She dried her fur out with her horn and trotted after Spike. He was carefully shifting the large chunks of wood out of the detailed stone doorframe.

"I've been meaning to get around to making a door for this but I haven't yet."

He led Rarity inside and piled up the wood behind them. He snapped his fingers and a series of torches lit instantly. They were in an exact copy of Rarity's boutique carved from the stone of the cliff.

"It was all I could think of to model it after," he shrugged, "I think it turned out pretty well."

Rarity looked around, stunned. "Spike," she breathed, "this is amazing. Creepy, but amazing. You even got the little hoof marks from when I pace while thinking of new designs."

"I've spent a lot of time here. So much that Twilight set up a little portal to take me home from that closet over there."

"Why didn't we take that to get here?"

"It only works getting back to the library. She didn't want to make it easier for me to get here."

Rarity glanced out the window and saw that the sun was beginning to set. "Has it been that long already," she asked herself softly. Spike heard her and looked at a clock he had carved when he was first stuck here.

"Wow, we should head back soon," he said, pointing the clock out to Rarity.

"Heavens knows what those fillies have been up to since we left. Where's this portal?"

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Scootaloo ran away from the doorway. "Quick you guys, they said they're heading back!" They all jumped on the cloud and Scootaloo started rushing them towards Ponyville. They were going too fast to see properly in the fading light and they crashed into a large fog bank that was beginning to form near the ground.

The cloud broke apart and the fillies fell to the ground. They crashed around Fluttershy who seemed to be watching the ground in front of her. She shrieked and fell over. They tried to ask what she was doing but she wouldn't say anything and ran away quickly the first chance she got.

"That was weird," Scootaloo said watching the retreating pegasus.

"Yeah ah wonder what she was doin' out here," Applebloom said, looking around. She saw what Fluttershy had been looking at. Rows and rows of small dragon footprints left by Spike on his many trips to the lake. She pointed these out to the other two fillies.

Scootaloo laughed and said, "looks like you've got even more competition for Spike Sweetie Belle."

Sweetie Belle hoofed her, "I do not like Spike. Not like that anyways. I just don't want Rarity to ruin him, or to make things awkward."

The ponies began trudging back towards the glow of Ponyville, still a long way off. They were too tired to get a new cloud though.

They reached Ponyville early the next morning, completely exhausted. As they neared the boutique Sweetie remembered that, since Spike and Rarity hadn't passed them on the way back, the door was still locked from when the crusaders left earlier. Scootaloo managed to fly them all up to Sweetie Belle's window and they all lay down and fell asleep.

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After a few hours, they were woken up by strange noises coming from downstairs. They went to investigate and froze at the scene revealed by the opening door.

A door was open showing the contents of a storeroom that Sweetie Belle had no idea even existed. It was full of thin, gauzy fabric and tiny outfits. Rarity was standing just inside wearing one of these outfits, engaged in kissing Spike. The crusaders noticed something weird hanging between Spike's legs.

Rarity heard the young ponies gasp and broke away from Spike. She looked up, terrified. "How did you get in? I locked the door because none of you were here."

Spike slid behind Rarity, trying to hide. As he moved away, the crusaders saw red blotches on Rarity's neck near where Spike's mouth had just been. Several strange objects were scattered across the floor of the storeroom and a few appeared to be rather wet.

As what had been happening clicked into place the crusaders' faces paled. They ran away, horrified, trying not to vomit at what they had just seen.

They tore through the streets, not worrying about where they were going, just trying to get away. Every few seconds Scootaloo's wings would begin to stand up. Then she'd turn a dark shade of green and nearly vomit, her wings flopping back to her sides.

They didn't notice as Fluttershy flew overhead, they only continued running until they reached their clubhouse in the far corner of the apple orchard.

"All in favor of never going back to the boutique?" Scootaloo managed when they stopped running. The others managed to raise their hooves before doubling over again, clutching at their stomachs and mouths.

"Ah don't think ah can ever look at either of them the same way again," Applebloom gasped as she began dry-heaving again.

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"I don't think that went well at all," Rarity said, closing the door.

"When did they get in here?" Spike said, he was horrified at what had just happened.

"I don't know, we locked all the windows and doors right?"

"I thought so, but I'm not sure any more."

Rarity began panicking even more as she saw the clock, "oh no."

"What?"

"Oh no, oh no, ohno-ohno- ohno-ohno- ohno-ohno!"

"Rarity!" Spike yelled, "calm down, we can't fix it if you're freaking out!"

"Fluttershy will be here in about three minutes, I've never known her to be late before."

They rushed around, cleaning the mess up before the shy pegasus could get there. "I don't know what would be worse," Spike said as he tossed clothes onto a big pile for Rarity to fold, "the girls seeing us or Fluttershy seeing us."

"Fluttershy, definitely."

Just then the bell over the door rang and Fluttershy stepped in, she watched them, feeling a little awkward. "I can come back later."

"Oh no, we're nearly done here if you'll just wait a second please Fluttershy dear."

Fluttershy seemed to look knowingly at the door Rarity had just closed. 'Oh no,' Rarity thought, 'I sold her that saddle from the back room just last month.' She managed to hide her fear though as Fluttershy sat in her usual spot in the corner and waited for Rarity and Spike to finish cleaning up.

Things only continued to grow more awkward with Fluttershy as they went through the spa, though she did lighten up after talking with Rarity when Spike left to use the bathroom.

After they left the spa, Rarity invited Fluttershy to come over. 'Maybe we can get the girls to forget about this,' she thought, 'they never actually saw anything… did they?'

"Um… okay, I guess…just let me run home and get something." Fluttershy flew off seeming very embarrassed and even closer to tears than usual. Spike and Rarity sat outside waiting for her to get back.

"She knows doesn't she," Spike asked, glancing over at Rarity.

"It seems that way," Rarity said back.

After thy had been waiting a while, Fluttershy came back, she looked like she had been crying but seemed a little more cheerful than she had been lately. "So," she said as she landed, "what do we have planned?"

Spike though he saw something in her mane sparkle, but didn't think anything of it.

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Okay another chapter finished. Thanks again to those of you who are reviewing. Poo to those of you who aren't.

I'd like to apologize to the Cutie Mark Crusaders for traumatizing them like that, but it's what happened. Maybe they can get Twilight to work a memory spell on them… wait… never mind.

Pinkie should be coming up next, and speaking of Pinkie, it was hard to hint as this really so I'll tell ya, the lake and cliff scene, yeah, that's where Pinkie was corrupted by Nightmare Moon. Spike didn't find that place until long after episodes one and two so he has no way of knowing.

Prelude to an End

New chapter, new fun to be had. See if you can keep up. (It's kinda rushed.)

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Hush now, quiet now

It's time to lay your sleepy head

Hush now, quiet now

It's time to go to bed.

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Applejack's eyes shot open. She was aware of extreme pain in her head. It felt as though it had been crushed. She noticed that she could only see through one eye. 'Maybe it has been crushed,' she thought. She was tied down again, exactly the same as last time. This time, she knew she couldn't chew through the restraints.

Her broken foreleg burned, the adrenaline of running from Pinkie had dulled the pain, but now straps held the bone bent, the broken edges scraping against her skin with every pulsating beat of her veins. She felt the many cuts and bruises she had acquired while running through the funhouse for days on end. She felt the fatigue of going days on end with no food or sleep and very little to drink.

Applejack looked around as best as she could with one eye. She was back in Pinkie's slaughter room and a strange figure was standing over her. It was Pinkie, but the shadowy form of Pinkamena extended from behind her and rose up, towering over the two ponies. Rather than being one or the other, Pinkie was now both monster and pony. 'No,' thought Applejack, 'no matter how she looks, she is all monster.'

The Pinkie/Pinkamena creature laughed, both Pinkamena's deep twisted voice and Pinkie's high, joy-filled voice rang out in a strange harmony that made Applejack's skin crawl. "Welcome back Applejack," the strange harmony rose and fell with every syllable, "too bad we must say good-bye. Parting is such sweet sorrow and all that."

Pinkie/Pinkamena walked over to the cart she kept her supplies on. She/It picked up a large scalpel and began cutting a circle around Applejack's cutie mark, giving an explanation why she/it took so much care in cutting it out. As the second cutie mark came off, Applejack finally let out a grunt of pain. "It looks like even the great Applejack must break at some point." The creature grinned, the Pinkie half morphing with the shadowy Pinkamena half for a few moments. It was as if someone had made Pinkie's face out of a large piece of wax and held it over a fire for a few minutes. Her features seemed to run down her face and were distorted to the point of the grotesque.

Applejack tried to kick out against her bonds, but with each flex of her flanks, a streak of pain shot through her and she quickly stopped, resigned to glare at the haunting figure above her.

The strange creature hissed at Applejack and leaned over her flanks where the blood now flowed freely, Pinkie hadn't bothered trying to keep Applejack from bleeding, either way she would die in very little time. It lay its head down on the table and began lapping at the blood as it poured out. Its tongue scraped against her raw muscle like sandpaper, pulling away chunks of bright red flesh that dangled from the corners of the beast's mouth. "Oh boy Applejack," it said, sounding like Pinkamena yet talking like Pinkie, "you taste delicious." It bared its fangs in a twisted mockery of a smile. Its fetid breath washed over Applejack causing her to gag; she could smell the sharp coppery odor of her blood even among the smells of rotten flesh coming from the fang lined cavern.

The beast drank in Applejack's blood for a while at each side until Applejack began to look pale. "oh, now we can't have you fainting can we? Not after you did us so much harm."

"Ah didn't do anything to ya'," Applejack managed, the room seemed to jerk and sway as she watched.

"No?" The beast looked amused, Pinkie's smile looked incredibly out of place on the melted waxy visage, "but you smashed Twilight and attacked my pets. You caused me to ruin many good pelts and you ruined the counters upstairs. You also hit us, many, many times; that alone is cause enough for you to pay."

Applejack struggled against her bonds one last time. She flopped down on the table, lifeless. She had finally done what she thought she would never do, she gave up. Applejack began sobbing softly, "Pinkie," she managed, "Ah know you're in there still, you showed me. Or maybe this is you and you've just been hidin' yourself the whole time. Either way, I enjoyed the time we had."

The Pinkie looking creature seemed quite pleased at this, until Applejack continued, "but ah still hate you for everything you've done here. To me, to Twailaight, to Rainbow and to all the other ponies you've done this to. Ah hate you completely Pinkie Pie. Ah hope you rot in every hell there ever was." She laid her head back down and stared upwards. Her eyes unmoving, tears continued to flow out.

Pinkie grew enraged at this, yet saddened at the same time. "I can't believe you," she said, clenching her hooves together, "I tried to have fun with you before you have to leave forever and all you do is hate me. All I've ever done is feed everypony yummy snacks and yet you all have a problem with it once you find out what's in it." Her voice shook with rage, obvious even with the dual tones. "You're all the same." Pinkie lashed out with her front hooves at Applejack, a loud cracking noise told her that bones were shattered. She continued hammering away at Applejack.

Applejack screamed in pain as every bone in her body was reduced to dust. Pinkie somehow managed not the hit Applejack's head or spine and she felt every blow, every hoof imprint in her now jelly-like body. "Do you like me now Applejack?" the creature screamed in rage, "Is this what you like? I tried being nice but you didn't like that! Maybe you want me to be like this!"

Applejack was reduced to an orange blob strapped to a table, huge streaks of blood streaked outwards from her body from the frenzied superpony strength blows. Her breathing was ragged and blood flowed as freely from her mouth as readily as it did from everywhere else. She looked over at Pinkie Pie who was breathing heavily, her features seeming to run even more. "go buck yourself Pinkie," she said, her voice was weak, barely more than a mouthed wheeze. Blood shot out of her mouth in a jet from her punctured lungs. Her head finally fell on its side and her eyes began to glaze over.

Pinkie fell to her knees, the darkness seeming to leave her completely. "No, Applejack, I'm sorry," she cried holding the pony's ruined remains in her hooves. "I didn't want it to be like this. I just wanted to say good-bye." Pinkie cradled her friend's remains crying. She felt a slight movement and looked down. Applejack looked at her. She moved her head in what seemed to be a nod. As her eyes fully glazed over they returned to the look of hatred they'd worn for the past several days in Pinkie's company. Pinkie dropped Applejack's head and curled up on the floor, crying. She repeatedly hoofed herself in the face, cursing herself for being so vile.

"Stupid Pinkie, stupid Pinkie," she cried, "you didn't have to hurt her like that! You could have just said goodbye like with Twilight and Rainbow Dash. You didn't have to hurt her like that." She saw her reflection in the blood puddled around her. Pinkie saw that the blood covered most of the floor and had even shot up to the vaulted ceiling, more than forty hooves above. She gazed at her reflection, seeing Pinkamena, made even more sinister by the crimson background.

"This is all your fault," she screamed, "you hurt her like that! You didn't have to! Why couldn't you just let me say goodbye?"

"I tried to warn you that this would happen. It's why you gave me complete freedom on this one, remember? Besides, I'm you; there is no difference between us other than that you think there is one."

Pinkie stared into the reflection, her hair completely straight, darkened to near blackness, even her eyes had lost their color. "Maybe you were me, but not anymore." She began to stand up when pain wracked her small form. Shadowy tendrils shot out from her skin and slammed into everything around her, shattering anything they touched. "WE ARE THE SAME AND THE SOONER YOU REALIZE THAT THE EASIER THIS WILL BE!" Pinkie felt her remorse melt away and she returned to her blood-lusting usual self.

"Thank you," she said to her reflection, "it just got to me how much we hurt her. We've never done that to anypony before."

"I know, I apologize for my rash behavior. But maybe next time you should stay alert for my anger, you've used it often enough, you should be able to recognize it by now."

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Luna won't you cry for me,

I'm as lonely as I've ever been.

I am forced back into the start

Is there any way to fix a broken heart?

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Pinkie approached a small cabinet. She pulled open the steel doors and removed a large blue bucket. Its contents sloshed against the side and spilled out a little. Each drop caused a large circle of ice to form. Smoke rose off of the ice until it seemed to burn away.

She poured the entire bucket onto Applejack's ruined body. The crystals of ice spread along her jellied form and rushed along the blood streaked across the floor. When the crystals began to smoke, Pinkie pulled out another bucket and poured it out on the ice. The glaze hardened almost instantly, completely sealing Applejack's remains against the ravages of time. They would sit there forever, an eternal monument to when Pinkie lost control.

She looked away from her lost friend and heard a strange bubbling noise.

"No," her face paled and she began shaking her head with increasing speed. The frantic tempo increased and she continued yelling, "no, no, no, NO, NO, NO! I'VE HAD ENOUGH!"

Pinkie found herself walking forward. She tried to stop herself but couldn't. "The sooner we get it over with," she heard herself saying, "the easier it will be."

She approached the cauldron that held everypony's numbers. It was sitting on an obsidian stand in a portioned off part of the room. Rather than being decorated festively, all that was here was the black of obsidian lit by the flickering flames of tallow candles. Each was made from the choicest bits of fat that came from each pony as she harvested their flesh. The candles were placed in dips that had been carved in the tops of dozens of skulls. She approached the swirling green liquid and saw a yellow scrap of skin rising up through the fumes. She knew without even looking at the number who it would be.

"Four-hundred-ninety-two," announced the oracle within her, "you seek the pegasus pony known as Fluttershy."

Pinkie stared at the number for a moment, the blood it was written in still glistened from its time in somepony's veins. A smile slid across her face. It looked more like a bloody slash than an expression of joy. Her high pitched giggle rang out in the stillness and reverberated from the walls around her. "Oh Fluttershy," she called out, still giggling, "tag… you're it!"

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Days turned into years

and into centuries

Patience had to fade

Don't you see that there is

vengeance in my eyes?

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Her eyes shot open. Her wings screamed with pain and she could feel straps digging into her legs every hoof or so. Her torso had been strapped down in two different places and she wore a muzzle.

She looked around, but couldn't see anything past the table on which she was tied. She struggled against the restraints, but couldn't even twitch her ears; she noticed that a bite seemed to have been taken out of one. Her form was completely immobilized and she struggled to remember where she was and what had happened.

A voice called out from beyond her circle of light and her memory returned in a flash. As she realized what was happening, Fluttershy began to cry and beat furiously at her bonds. Several began to creak and a few even snapped. Strange cries tore from her throat as she managed to stretch her muzzle enough to move her mouth.

"Pinkie Pie!" her scream echoed through the darkened room and seemed only to infuriate the pony even further.

Pinkie saw the usually quiet pony begin fighting when she woke up. As the straps began to give way she flinched, those were the strongest straps she had ever managed to make. 'It doesn't help that she woke up so quickly either,' Pinkie thought. She had just managed to tie up the pegasus and shut off the lights before she woke up. Then Fluttershy screamed her name. The rage in that voice caused Pinkie to become completely terrified. She grabbed her hypodermic needles and ran over to Fluttershy.

She had just managed to free her head and was busy chewing through the bonds on her forelegs, biting them as much as she did the straps. Pinkie ran at her carrying more of the hateful needles. Fluttershy screeched, the force of her ell pushing Pinkie Pie back a few steps. She returned to the straps and felt something sink into the back of her neck. She twisted her head and lunged at the retreating pink hoof, managing to bite of the last inch of hoof. Fluttershy spit out the chunk of hoof and yelled into the air.

Pinkie held her hoof and stared at it in amazement. "She is out of control," pinkie thought, alarmed by the freak bursts of strength. She shoved the last dozens vials of sedative into Fluttershy's chest and neck, managing to avoid further bites.

Fluttershy's vision faded and she saw the pink one, the traitor, approaching with something shiny that rattled as it slid across the floor. For the second time in as many hours, her vision faded and she was left in darkness.

Pinkie chained the small pegasus to the table, completely circling it dozens of time before clasping on several locks. She leaned against the table and wiped the sweat off of her face. Fluttershy had been much more of a challenge that she could have ever imagined. Even now she seemed to be nearing consciousness. She had been given enough tranquilizers to kill a large buffalo but seemed to be fighting them off quickly.

"Fear not little one," she heard a voice say, "I'll handle this hellion."

Pinkie looked up and saw her reflection standing before her. "Pinkamena, how- I mean what- how are you-?"

The immense shadowy figure held up a hoof, "don't worry about the answers right now. Rest, you've earned it. Suffice it to say that I've felt us growing separate as of late. I tested my bounds and found that I could manifest myself."

Pinkie stared up at herself in amazement, "I didn't even know we could do that."

"It may be because you never believed me, we are one in the same. As you try to separate us, we continue to separate. Now go, she may wake up soon and I fear for our safety with this one."

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Okay, not as long as I wanted. I actually lost the flow of this chapter at one point. I had to stop writing for the night. Before I could continue it the next day, I left for MTAC. Anime conventions rule! Anyways, shorter and later than I wanted, fun chapters coming tomorrow though, two hopefully. Really wanted this chapter to last longer, but I lost it and can't seem to pick up the thread. Oh well.

I'm really starting to love your guys' feedback. It just gets better and better… apparently so is this story. If anypony wants to discuss the story, or anything really, look me up on random sites. Try the username i have here. If that doesnt give resuts I'm probably not on that site

End to a Prelude

The story is somewhere around half over :( Ah well, it's been a pleasure writing it for all you great ponies. That being said, enjoy. I had lots of fun writing this one.

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Fluttershy walked into Rarity's house with her and Spike. She had just come to some kind of terms with Spike and Rarity being so… intimate. They got back from the spa, prepared to spend the rest of the day with Scootaloo, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle, but the fillies were nowhere to be seen.

"Where are the girls?" Fluttershy asked, "I thought I saw them earlier."

Spike remembered what had happened that morning. "Uh, I think they were going to spend the day at their clubhouse."

"Okay," Fluttershy said, she knew how close Spike and Rarity had been lately and she felt awkward being alone with them.

"Fluttershy," Rarity said, approaching her shy friend, "how have you been lately? You've seemed rather off for a few days and you kept avoiding the questions when I tried asking."

"Oh, I'm fine," Fluttershy said in the tone she usually used to avoid bothering anypony.

"Fluttershy," Rarity said sternly, "we've known each other for a long time now and I know when you're lying to me."

"It's just…"

"Yes?"

"It's nothing, really."

"Okay, fine then. Spike," Rarity turned to face the small dragon.

He snapped off a salute, "Yes ma'am?"

"I may need your help… persuading Fluttershy here to talk."

"It will be my pleasure ma'am."

Fluttershy let out a small squeak and began edging towards the door. She didn't want to tell Rarity all the horrible thoughts she'd had since her and Spike had gotten together, but she knew how much Spike could do with his claws.

Rarity locked the door with her magic and slid the key under the door. She also sealed all of the windows so Fluttershy couldn't get out that way.

"Please don't," Fluttershy continued backing away from the advancing unicorn.

"Spike," Rarity said, not looking away from Fluttershy, "now."

Spike jumped onto Fluttershy's back and wrapped his legs around her. 'Still so soft and cuddly,' he thought as he latched on, 'her fur is always so warm and fluffy.' He reached down and wrapped his claws around the base of her wings and began sliding the tips of them along the bone there. No one seemed to notice that, when Spike jumped onto her back, Fluttershy's wings were stiffer than usual. Spike played his claws along Fluttershy's sensitive wings causing her to jump around and try to buck hi off. The whole time laughing so hard she almost couldn't breathe.

"Are you ready to talk yet?" Fluttershy had run into a corner and lay on her back as Spike moved to her stomach. He continued tickling her wings but now his tail was also working on her stomach which he had found was almost as ticklish.

"N-n-no," Fluttershy managed, her face now beginning to turn red as she laughed herself silly. "I t-t-told you it's noth- aaaaaahhh!" She managed to leap into the air as Spike found a particularly sensitive spot by her ear. He almost fell off but managed to hold on, his rear claws now working her flanks; he'd learned from Rarity that this caused most of the feeling to leave a mare's legs.

Fluttershy couldn't stay up with the awkward passenger, especially not with him scratching at her wings. She hit the ground and her hind legs buckled. She fell on top of Spike, her nose pressed against him. A blush shot across her face and her wings began to stand up as though she was about to take off.

Rarity watched as Spike 'tortured' Fluttershy. She saw that when Fluttershy landed on Spike her wings began to stiffen dramatically. Realization dawned on Rarity. 'How could I not notice?' she thought, watching as both Fluttershy and Spike froze in their awkward position.

"Spike, let her up," Rarity walked over to the two. "Fluttershy, can I see you in the other room for a moment?"

Fluttershy stood up as Spike released her wings and legs. She hung her head down, ashamed at herself for thinking, even for a minute she could've have gotten away with that.

Spike looked around, confused. "What is it Rarity?"

"Just give us a second Spike," Rarity continued on towards the kitchen, Fluttershy trailing along behind her. He tried to follow and listen in, but the door closed in his face as he began walking over to it.

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"Fluttershy, I think that I may know what's wrong," Rarity said, drawing attention to Fluttershy's wings.

Fluttershy looked at the floor, not saying anything.

"Why didn't you just tell me? Is that why you wouldn't talk to anypony for a while when Twilight moved in?"

Fluttershy nodded, her eyes beginning to tear up a little.

"Oh, don't cry," Rarity said, holding Fluttershy close, "I'm not mad at you. Well, maybe a little." She held Fluttershy's head and looked into her eyes, "I'm mad at you for not coming out and telling me what was wrong. You know I'd never do anything to hurt you."

Fluttershy began crying a little, "I'm sorry I didn't say anything," she sniffled, "It's just that some of the thoughts that I had when I found out he liked you."

"Next time just tell me. You know I can handle those bothersome stallions easily, I would've pushed for Spike to notice you more."

"I know. It's just that he was so cute when I first saw him. He was so nice and he talked to me for as long as I wanted, he didn't mind at all. I wasn't even nervous to talk to him," Fluttershy looked shocked at the thought of this, "I didn't even know his name but I can right out and started talking to a dragon. I knew then that he was perfect for me. But then I found out he liked you and I kinda lost it for a while."

Fluttershy looked back on the days she had spent locked in her cabin, when she had finally come to terms with things, she had destroyed all of her furniture and most of her walls. The animals were all too terrified to come back for months, even Angel wouldn't come back and there was an awful thunderstorm. Fluttershy had spent two months alone and in the dark with nothing to so much as lean on, it was then that she decided to never be jealous again, and it had held… at least, until Spike actually started dating Rarity.

"I know that you told everyone that there were just sick animals, but I thought something was fishy about that story," Rarity could remember the quick shifting of Fluttershy's eyes whenever she gave that excuse.

"Then I found out that you two were… you know…" she clapped her hooves together, unable to bring herself to talk about something so… personal and dirty, "I was devastated. I knew then that I could never have Spike, but I also knew that the two of you must be very happy. That was enough to help me."

"Was that when you went to 'get something from your house' earlier? I thought you were acting different when you came back."

"Yeah," Fluttershy scuffed her hoof against the ground. She looked back up, "I really am happy for the two of you. It's just…"

"I probably shouldn't say this, but he may be just as good as you think Fluttershy, maybe even better. But he has one big flaw."

"What?" Fluttershy asked, looking around to be extra sure Spike wasn't listening.

"Well, he originally fell for me for my looks. He's a great friend and he's so adorable and charming, but he doesn't look much deeper than the skin before he tries to get to know somepony sometimes."

"Oh, I should probably ask about this," Fluttershy said, pulling the hidden locket out of her mane.

"Oh Fluttershy you didn't. Please tell me you didn't," Rarity looked at her friend, she finally saw just how deep this went, more than puppy love affecting such a sensitive pony.

Fluttershy opened the locket and showed her friend a picture of Spike smiling and waving while sitting on Fluttershy's back at one of pinkie's party. On the other side was a small piece of one of his scales that she found in her mane that night.

"Keep it," Rarity said, already knowing what Fluttershy was about to say, "I don't mind if you do. I've been with him for a few days so I can only imagine what this must mean to you."

Fluttershy tucked the locket away, carefully weaving it into her long pink mane. "Thanks for being so understanding Rarity," she gave the white unicorn a hug, Rarity could almost feel her happiness coming through her fur, "and thanks for listening."

Rarity returned the hug. After a few seconds they let go. Rarity looked around, feeling as though something was wrong. "It's funny that Spike hasn't tried to listen in."

"Maybe we should go check up on him."

They walked out of the kitchen and heard a loud thump as they opened the door. Spike was lying by the stairway, the door slightly ajar.

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Spike smashed his face into the door as Rarity closed it behind her and Fluttershy. He knew by now how good most mares were at catching eavesdroppers, especially compared to Twilight. He remembered that there was an air vent in the kitchen that went through the ceiling. He ran up the stairs and found the connecting piece. Spike crawled through the vent and settled in to listen. He noticed a small basket on the floor near the vent and picked it up. It had his name on it and was full of candy, so he began searching through it while he listened.

Spike's eyes widened in shock when he heard that Fluttershy liked somepony, he'd never noticed. When he heard that it was him his mouth dropped open. He remembered all the times Fluttershy had just come up and talked to him, seeming to forget the other ponies that were nearby. He remembered all the sweet smiles he'd gotten, not thinking that they could mean anything; all the times she'd gone out of her way to ask for Spike's help instead of somepony else's. Spike felt horrified that he hadn't noticed.

When they came to the part about how torn up Fluttershy had been Spike felt ashamed. 'How could I have hurt anypony like that?' he thought, 'especially Fluttershy.'

When Rarity started talking about him he began to feel better. 'At least I'm not being horrible to everypony.' But then he realized how much worse that had to be for Fluttershy. Spike began seriously wishing that he hadn't come to listen in. Then Rarity started talking about how he sometimes judged ponies on how they looked. He knew it was true. He had nearly killed a baby phoenix just because some dragons told him to and he wanted them to like him.

Spike started to sniffle a little. Then Fluttershy began to pull something out and Rarity was reacting oddly. "Oh no," he whispered, "what could she have?" He leaned over to the vent in the kitchen and watched as Fluttershy pulled something small and shiny out of her mane. 'What is that?' he thought, trying to get a good look at it. She opened it up and he could make out a small sliver of purple, the same shade as his scales. She shifted the locket slightly and he saw a picture of him and Fluttershy.

Spike looked at how happy Fluttershy seemed in that picture. He kept trying to look even when she put it away. They hugged and Spike felt his heart melt a little, he could feel the happiness radiating off Fluttershy even from so far away. Suddenly they froze and Spike thought he was caught.

"Maybe we should go check up on him," Fluttershy said. Spike scrambled to get out of the vent and flung himself down the stairs, he could already hear the door opening. He came to a crashing halt just as the two mares entered the room. They gave him weird looks but he knew he got away with it so he just lay on the floor.

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As the sun began to set, Fluttershy asked about Sweetie Belle and her friends again. Rarity sighed and pulled Fluttershy close. She whispered in Fluttershy's ear so that Spike couldn't hear.

"THEY SAW WHAT?" Fluttershy looked horrified, "How did they get in without you guys knowing?"

"I don't know," said, realizing instantly what they must be talking about. He didn't know why Rarity tried to keep it from him, "I went upstairs afterwards and saw that Sweetie's window was open."

"That means that they must've gotten back some time in the morning." Rarity tried thinking of where they could have been so long. "I'm not sure where they could have been. We were at the lake that day, remember?"

Fluttershy let out a small squeak at this and turned a little red. She looked down shyly when Spike and Rarity turned to look at her. "Is there something you'd like to tell us Flutterdear?" Rarity asked, a tone of amusement present.

"Well, do you remember what we talked about earlier?"

"You knew about it didn't you?"

"Yes," Fluttershy looked embarrassed. Spike felt a little uncomfortable. It was one thing to have Pinkie know everything about everypony and to show up at weird times, but when Fluttershy turned into a stalker it was just unnerving.

"How long?" Spike asked, unable to help himself.

Rarity looked up, "what?"

"I was asking Fluttershy how long she knew about the lake."

"Actually," she said, "I was the one who told Twilight where you were when the spell went wrong. We were all helping to look and I found you at the lake. You looked so cute just swimming around and jumping in. I was worried o might hurt yourself a few times but you always pulled it off."

"Yesterday, when you were at the lake, I didn't know Rarity was with you. I just noticed that you had gone there. I was going to follow, but along the way the girls found me and I left as fast as I could. When I got back I realized it was dark and I ran home. Then, this morning I saw them running somewhere, it must have happened after the… thing."

'Why isn't he asking why she followed him?' Rarity thought. 'He also seemed rather quick to catch on to things a minute ago.' She remembered the slight scuffling noises she'd heard in the kitchen and remembered there was a vent in there that could be reached through the second floor.

"They must have followed us," Spike said, snapping Rarity out of her deductions, "and they didn't know about the easy way back so they had to walk."

"They probably would have gotten back just after we checked all the rooms."

"Yeah but they didn't find us for a LONG time after that."

"Maybe they climbed in the window and fell asleep," Fluttershy suggested, "and then you… woke them up."

"That would make sense," Rarity said, rubbing her chin with her hoof, "and it's the only thing that seems to fit."

"They probably aren't coming back for a while," Spike remembered all the toys that were lying on the floor.

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Fluttershy flew off to search the Apple's Farm for the fillies while Spike looked around Ponyville. Rarity waited at the boutique on the off-chance they did come back.

As Fluttershy was flying over the farm, she heard the girls in their clubhouse. She flew down and looked into the windows. She could see that they were playing games, there were eggs all over the place and they had a few cups of dye; they looked like they were having fun. But every now and then, one of them would get a weird look on their face and would gag for a few seconds until one of the others distracted them.

After a little while, they pulled out some sleeping bags and lay down. Fluttershy decided that if she was going to talk to them she should do it now. She knocked a hoof against the door and stepped in. The three fillies looked up in alarm, but they calmed notably when they saw it was Fluttershy.

"Hey girls," she said.

"Hey Fluttershy," they said in unison sitting up a little more.

"I heard what happened."

"It was awful!"

"Don't talk about it! Please!"

"Ah can't get the pictures outta mah head!"

Fluttershy found herself giggling a little on the inside. She remembered the first time she saw something like that. She went out to feed the deer and was … startled, to say the least. She never went out to feed the deer again. "Okay, well will you girls be fine here then?"

"Yup," Applebloom said, "we got plenty o' apples, we got sleepin' bags and we're near mah house if anythin' happens."

"Well, okay then," Fluttershy went to leave when Sweetie Belle stopped her.

"Please don't tell Rarity where we are."

"I have to," Fluttershy felt torn between giving in to those big sad eyes and letting Rarity know her sister was alright, "she'll be so worried otherwise."

"Okay, then just tell her we're fine," Scootaloo cut in, "Don't tell her where to find us, then she'll come talk to us and we'll never get those pictures out of our heads."

"That bad?" The fillies all nodded. "Okay, then I won't tell her where you are. But remember, you owe me." Fluttershy gave a little squee and flew away.

Fluttershy was flying back to reassure Rarity when she saw Pinkie jumping up and down in the road and waving her arms.

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Well, lookie what we got here, brother of mine, it's the same in every town

Ponies with thirsty throats, dry tongues, and not a drop of cider to be found

Maybe they're not aware that there's really no need for this teary despair

That the key that they need to solve this sad cider shortage you and I will share

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"Hey Pinkie," she said, landing. "I heard that you and Twilight were working together."

"Wha- Oh yeah, we are." Pinkie ran over to Fluttershy and started shaking her. "I need your help!"

"Why do you need my help?" Fluttershy asked as she was thrown from side to side.

"Somepony is hurt really bad and you're the only one I could think of to help."

"Why not Twilight?"

"I can't find her."

"Okay, I just need to go tell Rarity something really quick, just gi-"

"No," Pinkie's yell startled Fluttershy. She had been about to take-off and she ended up falling all over herself. "I mean, we might not have enough time for that!"

Pinkie started running, somehow dragging Fluttershy along with her tail. "Where are we going?" Fluttershy was amazed at Pinkie's strength; she was galloping along a rough road while pulling along Fluttershy fast enough for her to float like a kite.

"Where ya' goin' Fluttershy?" somepony yelled as they flew past. A muffin was on the road near where they passed the grey pegasus and Pinkie stepped on it. It flew off her hoof and hit Fluttershy in the face.

"It's just up here." Pinkie pointed with a hoof, without slowing down, at a tunnel up ahead. It was flanked by two doors made to resemble the ground around them. Fluttershy knew that if they were closed, nopony could find them unless they knew exactly where to look.

The setting sun played along Pinkie's mane and Fluttershy saw a few glints. She managed to reach down and pull some of the hair aside and saw that Pinkie's mane was full of large needles like she used when she had to help out some of the more dangerous animals.

Pinkie noticed Fluttershy's investigation and stopped instantly. Fluttershy flew forward but was held tightly by Pinkie's tail. She slammed headfirst into the ground creating a large crater in the shape of her face.

Fluttershy stood up quickly, though she wobbled a little. Pinkie rushed in and stuck in a par of hypodermic needles, their plunges depressed almost instantly. Fluttershy didn't slow down. She turned and bucked at Pinkie's face, coming within a hair's breadth of hitting her, even with advance warning from her Pinkie senses. Pinkie grabbed her leg and twisted it violently, meriting a loud snapping noise. Fluttershy rolled in midair and kicked Pinkie's face with her other leg, completely ignoring the pain in her now shattered limb. Pinkie's nose shattered, blood pouring out. She licked it up and flashed a smile and Fluttershy.

"What are you doing Pinkie?" Fluttershy screamed, "What the hell are you doing?"

"You don't know? Go on, guess. Applejack figured it out."

Fluttershy realized where they were. Ever since Pinkie moved to Ponyville, Fluttershy noticed that there was a certain area all the animals avoided at all costs. Fluttershy had seen infants abandoned by their parents just because they crossed into that area. Fluttershy looked around and saw that she was indeed in the dreaded circle. She could see a ring of animals watching her, all at least four hundred hooves away.

"You did it," Fluttershy said as she realized what Pinkie must be hinting towards. "You've been killing all those animals near here."

"Aww, that's all you've got?" Pinkie said, frowning, "well, I guess I did pretty much come out and tell Applejack." She threw a small object at Fluttershy, it landed at her feet, rolling to a stop. "Maybe this will help."

It was a skull. Fluttershy stared in horror. It was a pony skull. 'More than that,' Fluttershy noticed as she looked at its size, 'it's from a foal.'

"All those missing ponies-"

"Yup," giggled Pinkie, you guessed it, "you're so smart."

"You'll pay for this," Fluttershy was still looking at the skull, now shaking with the rage she had suppressed all her life, "you'll pay!" Her voice seemed to deepen with every syllable.

"Wow, and you didn't even know that I got Rainbow and Twilight."

"You did what?" Fluttershy's voice now sounded like the ground shaking voice of the dragon she had scared off.

"I made cupcakes."

Everything clicked into place. All the smiles and parties, the huge number of cupcakes that seemed to coincide with the disappearances, though nopony would ever suspect somepony like Pinkie. Fluttershy screamed in rage and charged for Pinkie.

Pinkie just barely managed to scramble away at the last moment, she felt the wind coming from Fluttershy's flying hoof. 'Maybe I shouldn't have told her so soon,' Pinkie thought. She watched as Fluttershy stood fully on the leg she had completely shattered less than a minute before, not even wincing in pain. Fluttershy held front hooves up in the air and howled. Pinkie felt the hair of her mane bristle as the strange howl rose and fell. She began throwing the overly large needles at Fluttershy. Each one sunk in fully and released its load, the plunger carried on by the needle's momentum.

Fluttershy let herself down after her sudden howling ended. She had never felt, never known there could be such anger as this in anypony, let alone herself. The loss of so many animal friends, her respect in Cloudsdale, the loss of Spike, the disappearances of so many ponies, every defeat of her life all rushed in and condensed into a burning ball of anger. Dozens of needle stuck out of her stomach, she could feel cold radiating out from them. She forced her will back through all of her nerves, causing the feeling of creeping oblivion to retreat. She launched a series of frenzied kicks at pinkie, each one hitting the stunned mare.

'How did she get like this?' thought Pinkie. She consulted her oracle once Fluttershy stopped striking her for a second.

"She is unchanged," Pinkie heard the voice echo through her head, "she is a normal pony, unchanged in any way. She doesn't even have herself fully revealed like Nightmare Moon did for you."

Pinkie stared at the oncoming pony in fear. 'She's so strong,' Pinkie thought. "HOW CAN YOU BE SO STRONG!" Fluttershy kicked Pinkie in the face again, shattering her skull.

Pinkie lay there in a pool of spreading blood, broken by Fluttershy's fury. Fluttershy felt weariness from the effort it took to take out the pink mare. She stumbled a bit and thought she must be hallucinating. Pinkie was laughing loudly. She reached up and stuck her hooves into her shattered skull. Pinkie licked to brain fluid and shivered with delight.

She placed her hooves on each side of the hole and began reforming the skull around it. Fluttershy watched in disbelief. Pinkie rose up and, in one fluid motion, pinned Fluttershy down. She began sticking scores of needles into Fluttershy at various points. Pinkie wrapped Fluttershy's mane around her neck and held it between clenched teeth, strangling Fluttershy while the chemicals did their work.

After a few minutes of struggling, Fluttershy lay still. Pinkie could feel her heart beating beneath her and she saw Fluttershy's chest rise and fall as she took deep breathes.

"She will be waking up soon," Pinkie heard a voice say in her head, "you may want to hurry."

Pinkie picked up Fluttershy and slung her across her back. She took off at a run into the tunnel, closing the doors behind her. She ran through the various chambers until she eventually reached the funhouse. She could feel Fluttershy stirring as she hurried towards the meat locker. When they came to the stairway descending into the slaughter room, Pinkie jumped off the stairs to save time. She strapped Fluttershy down as quickly as she could with as many straps as she could manage.

Just as Pinkie turned off the lights so as not to ruin the party, she heard Pinkamena walk up behind her. "We don't have long," she heard. Fluttershy's breathing changed and pinkie saw the muscles in her legs begin to strain against the bonds. "How is this possible?" she whispered to Pinkamena.

"I don't know, though I saw the combat outside. I must say your friends are really beginning to impress me."

Fluttershy screamed Pinkie's name and Pinkie felt an inexplicable wave of terror wash over her. She stepped into the light and prepared to meet her latest guest.

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OMG, I am super scared of Fluttershy now. Fluttershy is a beast, now I see why so many people say FS for best pony. I'm not sure who I'm more worried for, FS or Pinkie.

I was going to write something to put in between the 'Pinkie Scenes' rather than using song lyrics (I'm running outta good ones) but it got too long. I uploaded it, it's called… Pinkie's Story if I remember correctly. It kinda' gives away the rest of the story twists, though not in detail, just generalizations. It's really good if you read it in like an evil villain voice kinda' thing. Idk, I've got a really good creepy voice that I do that's perfect with it.

Also, I'm sure you noticed the two 'easter eggs'. I promsed somepony I'd put 'em in... can't remember who. Anyway, if they seem not to fit well it's because I stcuk them in after I wrote this chapter.

Clash of the Titans Pt. 1

Fluttershy scares me now. Let's see how much worse this chapter will make it.

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Pinkie, Pinkie in a pit,

Shall we wonder who you've hit?

Your friends are dying by your hoof

Yet your attitude remains aloof.

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Fluttershy opened her eyes slowly. Her limbs ached and she could feel every puncture caused by the needles. Each tiny hole felt on fire. The rest of her body was still completely numb. She could see blood around her shattered hind leg and it looked like someone had run a cheese-grater over her stomach and chest.

Fluttershy drew in a deep breath, calming herself and forcing her body to ignore both the pain and the feeling of oblivion from the tranquilizers. She'd gotten a lot of practice ignoring both when she had to treat injured snakes and porcupines. She suddenly narrowed her eyes and loud out a huge scream. She pushed upwards with all her might and felt the chains lock together. They began bending, but wouldn't break. Fluttershy quit pushing the links, they stayed locked together several inches above where they started, not enough for her to slide out, but enough to where she could see her injuries.

Her leg appeared mangled from where Pinkie had destroyed the bone. 'Good thing I can fly,' she thought, wincing at the damage. Half of the straps holding her were now ripped or stretched to where they were paper thin. She was about to begin snapping the last of these when an enormous hoof was placed on her head.

Fluttershy craned her neck and looked up; she saw an enormous shadowy version of Pinkie. "Peace, small one," it said. Its voice was deep and grated like falling rocks. The room shook at the sheer power of the shadows voice. "You have put up an admirable fight, but you know how this must end."

"Don't you dare talk to me you filthy monster," Fluttershy spat. She suddenly jerked her head and caught the shadowy creature's hoof in her mouth. She bit down hard, expecting it to shatter but instead her teeth slid along it, unable to find purchase. It was like trying to force two magnets together.

Pinkamena watched Fluttershy try and bite the hoof. After a few seconds of Fluttershy grinding her teeth and glaring, Pinkamena pulled its hoof out of Fluttershy's mouth. Fluttershy's teeth clamped together and a few cracked audibly. "I caved your head in earlier." Fluttershy said, remembering her fight outside, "why aren't you dead?"

"Oh dear Fluttershy," the creature let out a slow laugh, "But of course, you don't know. We've only ever told Applejack and she isn't with us anymore." Fluttershy looked at where the creature was pointing. It looked as though Applejack had been completely crushed and then cut open. As Fluttershy stared in horror the creature continued, "I'm not actually Pinkie Pie. Well, I am, but she doesn't think so and thus we've been separated. I am, what you might call, her darker side. We usual work together but lately her work is becoming too stressful. As for our head, it's much harder to kill one with our blessing than that."

"What?"

"Oh, we were blessed by the moon goddess years ago. We've been working together ever since."

"But enough chitchat. We had enough to do with Applejack and I'd really rather finish with you. You seem to smell the tastiest so far and it has been a while since we baked anything." Pinkamena placed a hoof on the misshapen chains and pressed down. They gave a squeal and bent downwards, pinning Fluttershy fully to the table. Pinkamena approached a cart by the wall and wheeled it over. It pulled the covering off with a flourish revealing an odd assortment of tools and utensils.

Pinkamena leaned in with a scalpel and a threaded needle. "Normally pinkie would take a few practice cuts to ensure quality and proper technique, but I'm much better than she is." It placed the cold blade of the scalpel against Fluttershy's jaw. She could feel it, a cold pressure against her back molars. The tiny wedge of freezing metal began to slide slowly along, pulling at the skin before it managed to catch. As it cut, Fluttershy felt a white hot burning sensation travel along her cheek; she felt the sting of the tainted air of the slaughter room press against her raw flesh.

The scalpel worked its way slowly to Fluttershy's mouth. She could feel the intense pain in every nerve the blade split. As the blade passed between her lips, she stuck her head out and caught the edge in her teeth. It continued to slide for a second; Fluttershy jammed her teeth down even harder. As the blade stopped, it cut a large gash in her tongue but Fluttershy ignored it. She twisted her head, pulling the scalpel out of Pinkamena's grasp and managed to turn it around. She stabbed it into the lock holding the chains tight and began to work it up and down.

Pinkamena tried to grab the scalpel back but each time Fluttershy snapped at its hoof with enough ferocity to scare even the shadow. After a few wiggles, Fluttershy snapped the lock open and began thrusting the chains upwards. They creaked, but began moving and soon started to slide off the yellow pegasus.

Pinkamena sighed. She held out a hoof and it began to lose form. Soon it was just an elongated black blob of glowing slime. Pinkamena pressed the distorted limb against Fluttershy's face. As the shadows enveloped her, she continued to fight. With each struggle, she drew in more of the poisonous shadow until her face darkened. Every vein stood out, a black line inscribed on her usually flawless face.

Fluttershy lay on the table, staring at the ceiling. Her breathing was harsh and ragged, every now and then it would catch in her throat and she'd cough for a few seconds until she hacked up a glob of bile. Pinkamena stood off to the side, panting a little. "Now I can see how you gave Pinkie so much trouble. Even now my poison should have either made you my thrall or killed you outright, yet you continue to fight it."

Pinkamena stood up, its full size revealed. Even standing on all fours Pinkamena was a good thirty hooves from hoof to head. "It seems such a shame to kill so worthy an opponent. Maybe I can give you a chance." It thought it over for a second, 'Applejack made things quite interesting, but I sense this pony could do so much more than that if given a chance. She might even make it outside.' The prospect of fighting outdoors once more thrilled the evil being.

The darkness in Fluttershy's veins was on the verge of subduing her when Pinkamena reached down and drew it all back down. "You have twenty four hours. Use them as you will." There was a whirlwind of shadows and Pinkie was alone.

Fluttershy struggled to lift her head, weariness shook her from head to tail and her head fell back onto the table with a loud thud. Her cheek and tongue bled profusely and she knew she would die soon if she didn't stop it. She saw a needle on the floor nearby and knew what she had to do. 'It'll be just like stitching up the animals after they fall into the hunters' traps,' she though, steeling herself for the coming test.

Fluttershy forced the chains up, crying out in pain as the strength given to her by fear left now that she was alone. Link by link the chains unbent and began to fall off, the lock holding them hadn't been put back on after Fluttershy broke it. Soon she could slide out from under the mass of chains. Fluttershy flopped onto the floor and saw stars as her head struck; the multiple puncture wounds robbed her of enough strength to even hold up her head.

Fluttershy blinked her eyes, clearing away the stars. The needle lay by her hoof and she picked it up. A long spool of fishing string was connected to one end. Fluttershy braced herself and poke the needle through her cheek, just above the gash. She wasn't prepared for the pain. As much as the cut itself hurt, each stab of the needle seemed only to magnify the agony. Fluttershy pushed on, her vision beginning to go. The needle flashed as she sewed, in and out, weaving the two hanging flaps back together.

Fluttershy caught herself as she was about to continue sewing along her lips. She broke the string, her vision now veiled behind a gray field. The gash in her tongue still led, a constant stream of warm coppery blood poured down her throat. Fluttershy was about to try and sew that up as well when she saw a packet of matches lying on the bottom shelf of the cart.

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"It's okay little guy," Fluttershy said, "let me see it." The rabbit moved its paws and revealed that its hind leg was pierced most of the way through by the toot of the bear trap some careless pony had left up. "Oh my," Fluttershy nearly fainted at all the blood. "I don't know if I can do anything to save it," she felt extremely sorry for the bunny, without its legs it could never go any faster than a slow hobble. It couldn't escape predators and it couldn't gather food. The rabbit knew and its eyes filled with a sad resignation. Fluttershy suddenly remembered something she had learned back when she attended medical seminars to be sure she could help anypony. Flesh can be seared closed, it hurt more than the wound itself did, but it left the flesh usable once the burn healed.

She flew home and grabbed a small lighter she kept. She freed the rabbit from the trap and explained what she was going to do. The rabbit nodded and stuck a large piece of bark in its mouth. It bit down and nodded at Fluttershy. She seared the wound closed, having to hold the rabbit down to finish. "I'm so sorry Angel," she said as she let the rabbit up. He hobbled around for a few steps, testing the leg. Fluttershy could tell he needed time for the leg to fully heal. She took him home and he ended up staying with her, to serve as her guardian in payment of Fluttershy having saved his life.

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"I can do this," she began pulling herself along, not wanting to make her rear leg any worse. She grabbed the matchbook and struck one against the rough surface on the front. It flared up on the first try and she stuck out her tongue, plunging it into the flame. The pain was immediate, pulling away at her senses. She nearly pushed the match into her mouth as she flinched away from it.

A few seconds was enough to sear the skin of her tongue closed again. There were several burns on her chin and nose, but they were minor. "Now if only I could do something with this leg." A chair of bones sat nearby. Fluttershy looked around and noticed that there was much more to the room than she had seen yet. She took the room in slowly, too shocked to really react to it. She just put it up to one more reason Pinkie and Pinkamena needed to be destroyed. She pulled two of the legs of the chair she had seen and began wrapping the cloth from the cart around her leg, making a quick splint out of the bones.

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The blood is streaked and spattered here

Your shadow speaks within the mirror.

Cupcakes baked, the ponies devoured

Sorrow grows with every hour.

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"Is she finished already?" Pinkie asked. She hadn't expected Fluttershy to last long. But then she fought like a pony possessed. That made Pinkie think that Fluttershy may just last longer than anypony before, even with Pinkamena personally overseeing things.

"No, she even resisted my poison," Pinkie knew how potent that gel was. Pinkamena had once used it to slaughter a troop of griffins almost instantly, they had come around looking for Gilda and it wouldn't do to let anypony know she had vanished. It later caused strained relations between Equestria and the neighboring Griffin tribes, but that was easily soothed over by a mystified Celestia who could find no sign of the bodies. "She is a worthy opponent as you know and I decided to give her a chance, much like you did with Applejack. I think I may just get to fight outside again."

"You did what?" Pinkie was terrified, "you saw what she did to me! Now she knows what we're doing and she knows she can escape us easily."

"Calm yourself." Pinkie felt her shade pull away her fear, leaving her a blank husk before her usual energetic self shone through. "You've been letting emotions sweep you away, if you're not careful, anger will take control and we will be lost."

"You're right, like always," Pinkie frowned at the floor.

"Not always, just lately."

"So you really think she can make it?"

"Your friend Applejack did and she didn't fight nearly as much as Fluttershy. Nor could she fly."

"Did you start on her?" Pinkie was morbidly curious on how Fluttershy had taken the pain, it hadn't seemed to faze her when Pinkie crushed her hind leg.

"Watch." Pinkie saw a large black shape expand to cover her vision. Then it began pulsing with colors until an image of Fluttershy tied to a table filled it. Pinkie watched as Fluttershy snatched away the scalpel with her teeth and managed to fight off Pinkamena almost long enough to get up.

"She's not too bad," Pinkie was impressed, she knew how hard it was to make Pinkamena nervous and to keep her from intervening for that long meant Fluttershy should easily make it through the funhouse. 'Now if we can just keep her from escaping,' Pinkie thought, still not entirely happy with her copy's decisions.

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Inkie Pie, your first success,

Shortly after, your matroness.

Your family dies to fill your need

Of satisfying evil's greed.

To Ponyville you came,

Deeds recorded, life never the same.

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Fluttershy stood up, her leg was in a makeshift splint and her more serious inures were treated. She had fallen asleep for a little while after treating herself but woke up feeling much better. She knew by her natural clock that she had been asleep for seven hours. Added to the time it took to treat herself, she had a little less than seventeen hours to escape from Pinkie. It seemed like a lot, but Fluttershy knew it would probably take much longer than that.

She looked around and quickly found a staircase. She flew to the top and slowly pushed the door open, watching for traps. As it opened, lights suddenly shot on, illuminating her in a harsh white light. She looked over and saw Rainbow Dash. Her eyes had been replaced with light bulbs and handle bars were sticking out of her head. Wheels protruded from her feet and a strange pony sat on her back, hidden from view by the glaring lights.

Pinkie began pushing buttons on her keyboard and Twilight revved the engine stuck deep within Rainbow Dash's chest. The Rainbow-Bike shot forward faster than Rainbow could have hoped to go. A bright rainbow trail was left behind and Fluttershy just barely managed to pull away before she was hit. She flew up to the ceiling and looked around. She was in some kind of giant meat locker. Ponies hung everywhere and there were even a large number of buffalos, griffins and other creatures, preserved until needed in this chamber of horrors.

Fluttershy looked down and saw that Twilight was sitting on the desecrated Rainbow Dash. A metal box was stuck to her back and an antenna poked out; several batteries were attached to the box. Small lights under the antenna flashed and Twilight turned to look at Fluttershy. Cameras were mounted in her eye sockets and they appeared to zoom in on the hovering pegasus.

"What in the name of Celestia?" Twilight suddenly turned the Rainbow-Bike and pushed in a button by her head. Dashie's wings began pumping up and down, faster and faster until she took off at lightning speed heading straight for Fluttershy.

She sucked her wings into her sides and began to drop quickly. Rainbow's wheels hit her full in the face and she flew backwards into a wall.

Fluttershy stood up shakily, Twilight was looking at her, sitting perfectly still on Rainbow Dash. As Fluttershy began to take a step, Twilight spun the bike towards her once more. Fluttershy turned around and pulled a hoof back. She quickly shot it out as she heard the engine rev.

Her hoof connected with Rainbow Dash's head, snapping it off. It flew back and hit Twilight where it stuck, the metal implants caught on a series of thick black stitches that were holding Twilight together. The bike swerved and crashed into the wall, grazing Fluttershy with the handles. She grabbed her side with her hooves as Twilight emerged from the wreck, Rainbow Dash's head bouncing against her neck.

Fluttershy's hooves came away dripping with blood. The cut from the handle bars wasn't deep but it led obscenely. She quickly grabbed one of the ponies hanging nearby and, whispering and apology, slid the skin off. She tied it around her torso as Twilight advanced in slow jerky steps.

Pinkie sat in another room, watching through cameras hidden in strategic places as Fluttershy caused Twilight to ruin Rainbow Dash. She groaned, "that'll take weeks to fix."

Pinkamena looked at her. "Then stop letting your friends play with your toys. Especially when you know they're going to break them."

Pinkie continued watching as Fluttershy dodged. She had just made Twilight dive at her, the ruined stump of her horn had been replaced by a metal spike that was twisted into a cruel spiral. It was set to plunge into Fluttershy's heart but she lashed out with her wing and managed to move Twilight's head enough to catch the horn in a nearby corpse.

Fluttershy jumped to the side as Twilight dove at her. The metal spiral on Twilight's head was forced deep into the meaty tissue of a butchered buffalo. As Twilight began yanking on the corpse, trying to regain movement, Fluttershy lashed out with her hooves. The first few blows sunk deep into Twilight's body. The skin split and Fluttershy saw that she was filled with a strange flesh-like gel. There were wires crisscrossing each other and Fluttershy thought she had an idea as to what they were for.

She had found out long ago that small shocks could make muscles clench and unclench. She approached Twilight about it and the mare set about testing it and found that the brain controlled the body with little electric signals. The wires here could only move Twilight's body if used with exact timing and strength. Only somepony with an intimate knowledge of a pony's body could use this; somepony like Pinkie Pie.

Fluttershy realized that simply hitting Twilight would do no good. She directed her attacks at Twilight's cameras, hoping to blind both her and Pinkie. However, after shattering them, Twilight still resisted her as if she knew where Fluttershy was. Fluttershy then began kicking at the box on Twilight's back.

As Pinkie managed to get the horn to loosen, Fluttershy smashed the cameras she'd installed in Twilight. Now she had to assume full control of the programs powering her friend. She made Twilight kick Fluttershy away and began yanking at the horn in a way she knew would cause it to slide right out. Suddenly Fluttershy kicked at the control panel causing it to short out momentarily.

Her hoof connected with the metal box and Twilight froze. After a second or two, she began pulling at the makeshift horn again, somehow seeming urgent even as her face remained stoic. Fluttershy began kicked at the box as rapidly as she could. Soon, dents began to form and it popped open, revealing a mass of wires and switches. Fluttershy braced herself and bit down on a clump of blue wires. She yanked them out, the ends hissing with electricity until they connected with Fluttershy. She fell to the ground, writhing as the current poured into her. It soon stopped as the wires shorted out; Twilight's left side quit moving. Fluttershy repeated her actions on a clump of red wires, though nothing seemed to happen. She continued tearing out various clumps of circuitry until Twilight sat still.

"Good one Fluttershy," Pinkie's giggle echoed through the room, "and you didn't ruin her like Applejack did. Good thing, 'cuz then I'd have to give you to Gummi before I killed you. He's such an energetic boy, if you know what I mean."

"Where are you Pinkie," Fluttershy yelled, pushed far beyond her limits, "I found a chicken in the Everfree Forest, I can find you in here!"

A deep voice resounded from behind Fluttershy, "you'll see that there's a big difference between there and here little one."

Fluttershy whirled around and found herself face to face with both Pinkie and Pinkamena. She screamed and charged forward but was caught by Pinkamena. Fluttershy was completely enveloped by the enormous hoof. It slowly turned transparent, allowing Fluttershy to watch as the two Pinkies began cleaning the mess her fight had made.

As she collected pieces of Twilight, Pinkie spoke, "you'll soon wish you were in the forest Fluttershy. It's so much safer there, even with such… excitable… dragons running around." She laughed as Fluttershy winced at the traumatic memory. It was the reason she was so terrified of dragons and one of the main reason she stopped dating the local stallions.

Pinkie finished piling up the pieces. "Remember, Pinkamena gave you another sixteen hours. Let's see if you can get out of here by then."

The two ponies vanished leaving Fluttershy alone in the enormous corpse filled room. She looked around, seeing how terrible her situation was. She was mangled, there was no way even magic could properly fix her at this point, and she was still deep within Pinkie's hideout, lost and alone, just another toy for the psychotic pony. Fluttershy broke down and began crying. There was nothing else she knew to do. She curled into a ball, tears flowing from her clenched eyes. She sobbed, holding her various injuries in turn.

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Pinkie, Pinkie with a knife

Put an end to all this strife.

Nightmare Moon commands no more

Forever shut lies that door.

Your actions now are yours alone

Your evil takes the devils throne.

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Fluttershy stood up and began walking. Her eyes felt very swollen from her crying and she knew it was a bad idea to waste so much time on something so pointless, but she just couldn't hold it in anymore. She didn't know how long she had been lying there, but she knew it had been too long.

After a few minutes she came to the end of the huge room. A door sat open there. It led into a short, but twisted, hallway made up of boards filled with cobwebs and tiny staring eyes. Fluttershy ran through as fast as she could. She felt a breeze several times as something grabbed at her back but missed… barely.

Fluttershy emerged from the hallway in a twisted, dreamlike version of Pinkie's bedroom at the Sugarcube Corner. Everything was bent into fantastic proportions and weird angles had been added onto everything. A sense of unease filled the air and Fluttershy felt a shiver roll down her back.

She began to leave the room when she saw hoof prints going around the walls and ceiling, The pattern from the shoes seemed familiar, but Fluttershy hurried on her way.

Fluttershy had been wandering the halls for hours. Every turn led to four more and every dead end seemed to follow her along as she retraced her steps. Howling echoed through the twisted pathways and Fluttershy became completely terrified. Her wigs were locked against her sides and she shivered constantly, waiting for strong teeth to clamp around her neck.

Fluttershy soon found a small pattern in the hallways, however, every other turn the pattern changed completely and she was soon more confused than before. By sheer luck more than anything, Fluttershy found herself in a mockery of the foyer at the Sugarcube Corner. She hurried to the massive double doors and managed to slide one open.

As the door began to move, Pinkie stepped out from behind the counters, her steps were heavy and she seemed in no hurry. Fluttershy began frantically driving at the door. She wished she hadn't. It flew open to reveal Pinkamena filling the doorway.

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We fear your coming every night

And with each dawn comes new fright.

We know you now for what you are

Yet vengeance still, for us, lies far.

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"So good to see you again dear Fluttershy," Pinkamena held a hoof out to the ide and bowed deeply. "and with an hour and a half to spare. You're quite the skilled pony aren't you?"

Pinkie had somehow climbed up on the ceiling and was walking along as if on the ground. "You didn't learn as much about this place as Applejack did, but she was here for a whole lot longer than you were, so I guess that's fine."

Fluttershy was about to ask how Pinkie was walking on the ceiling like that when she caught herself. It didn't matter how, it just mattered that Fluttershy couldn't fly to get away. A simple glance at the red glare of Pinkie's eyes told Fluttershy that that was the whole point behind Pinkie being on the ceiling: letting Fluttershy know just how helpless she was.

"But I'm not helpless," she said sternly to herself.

"What was that?" Pinkamena asked, leaning in close.

Fluttershy suddenly reared back and slammed her hooves into Pinkamena's eyes. "I said I'm not done yet!" Fluttershy dug her hooves in. Pinkamena straightened out almost instantly, bellowing in pain. Fluttershy used the momentum to launch herself through the doors. However, as she flew through the air, Pinkie did a flip off the ceiling and landed on Fluttershy's back.

They flew through a long tunnel that slowly sloped upwards. As they flew, Pinkie and Fluttershy were grappling for control. Both biting and kicking; they used every dirty trick they knew from hoofing somepony's eye to Fluttershy's biting more… sensitive places. Fluttershy had learned many tricks from dealing with unruly animals. Pinkie had invented just as many.

They crashed into the floor of the tunnel and slid along, leaving a long crater that covered the both of them in scratches and pebbles. A thundering tread told them that Pinkamena wasn't far behind. Fluttershy bucked Pinkie off of her and launched herself into the air. She hadn't flapped more than twice when a silvery object buried itself in her wing. As she fell, Fluttershy looked and realized that it was a jagged spatula, the kind used for cutting as well as flipping and serving. She crashed into the ground again. This time she rolled and managed to regain her feet.

Fluttershy's eyes were slits; filled with determination. Her only thought was to escape. Pinkie stood up, her weapon still buried deep within Fluttershy's wing. "Oh," she said as Pinkamena caught up and threw her onto its back, still running after the pony who had nearly gouged out its eyes, "this is going to be good." A vicious smile distorted Pinkie's face as she was carried onward by the rampaging shadow beneath her. Fluttershy had just reached the doors to the tunnel and threw them open with one swift kick. She was still far ahead, but the distance was closing rapidly.

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Pinkie, Pinkie my dear friend,

Is it time to meet our end?

Your blade descends

My life, it rends.

But still so much flesh to reap,

So little time we have to sleep.

Awaken those who serve you now

The fields of flesh your workers plow.

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Good job Fluttershy. Hope you can survive what's coming next. Another good chapter in my opinion, rather longer than usual but so what? The next chapter will probably be a little shorter than usual and may be delayed as I have practice tomorrow.

Nopony seems to be reading my other submission so I'm breaking it up and using it how it was originally planned until I thought it grew too long.

Last thing, if anypony knows how to get something on Equestria Daily, please let me know. Do they find stuff and put it on or do you submit it to them and hope they put it on or what? I wanna see if I can get this posted on the same page as Cupcakes and all its sequels/alt endings.

Clash of the Titans Pt. 2

Pinkie Pie- Run Fluttershy run, the time has come to meet your fate. The time has come, it's now too late.

Krushnazag- Shut up Pinkie this is my author note.

PP- So help me I will stab you with a rusty spoon.

KN- Oh yeah? I'll delete this entire story. WHAT NOW PINKIE? *gets stabbed*

PP- Okie dokie lokie, it looks like I get to tell this part of the story while Krushnazag gets his tetanus shot. /)^3^(\ Once upon a time…

KN- Pinkie! Go away… *cough *call an ambulance first though. I think you *cough* got my lung.

PP- I know I did. Now stop interrupting, these ponies are trying to hear a story.

KN- Yeah but *gets kicked* owwww!

PP- Who would you ponies rather hear from? Pinkie Pie or dumb old Krushnazag here? *kicks author* That's what I thought. Now, once upon a time…

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Dashie falls: the first, the best

Fastest of the pegasus;

Twilight Sparkle, called to you,

Forever, your will hers to do.

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Fluttershy scrambled through the doors as soon as they opened. She slammed them shut, ignoring the pain from the spatula embedded in the bone of her wing. Her broken leg, though helped by the makeshift splint, only complicated things further. She took off running. The Everfree Forest was only a few hundred yards away. Fluttershy knew she could easily escape if she could just get into the forest before Pinkie got out.

She had only gone a little ways when she heard an enormous crashing noise resound through the still air. The camouflaged doors flew into the air, spinning around, as pieces fell off. An enormous shadowy figure leapt from the tunnel's entrance, a small blob of pink sitting on its neck like some kind of mane-clip. It roared, bits of shadow flying from its cavernous mouth.

"Hiii Fluttershy!" Pinkie yelled as she waved frantically, "you almost left before playtime was over. Good thing we caught you." She jumped off Pinkamena's quivering back and bounced to a stop when she hit the ground. Giving an enormous kick, Pinkie launched herself over Fluttershy's head and landed in between her and the escape of the forest.

Pinkamena gave another roar, pawing at the ground as if about to charge. "Oh by the way," Pinkie said, began digging a small hole, "Pinkamena is really angry that you hurt her poor eyes like that. You're so mean Fluttershy." Pinkie jumped into the hole and disappeared almost instantly, dirt flew out of the hole and formed a level patch of ground where it was.

Fluttershy turned and began running for the forest when a pink hoof shot out of the ground and tripped her. She fell over and was grabbed by four hooves, each one held a different limb. Pinkamena gave a final roar and charged straight at Fluttershy. The ground shook with every step of the massive shadow pony.

Fluttershy prepared to be trampled but instead was kicked as Pinkamena stumbled on a chunk of the doors she had just broken. Fluttershy felt herself ripped from Pinkie's grasp. The bones in her legs crunched and several punched through the skin.

Fluttershy screamed in pain and tried to slow her descent. Each movement of her wings brought renewed agony and Pinkamena was already rushing towards her, teeth gnashing.

'That ridiculous little mare thinks she can get away with THIS?' thoughts flooded Pinkamena's mind. 'She nearly blinds me and continues trying to run.' "DIE PUNY ONE!" Pinkamena jumped up and caught the falling pegasus in her mouth.

Fluttershy managed to twist and, instead of being swallowed, was caught by her wings. Pinkamena bit down, completely crushing Fluttershy's wings. The spatula stabbed into her gums, but Pinkamena didn't seem to notice. She flung her hung back and threw Fluttershy into the air, prepared to eat the little insect who had dared ruin her precious eyes.

Fluttershy flew through the air once again. She looked down and saw Pinkamena's gaping maw. Her face lost the last semblance of color it held. She flailed as she fell; the enormous blood-stained fangs filled her vision.

A flash of pink flared beneath her and Fluttershy felt herself yanked to the side. "No Pinkamena," Pinkie yelled, hoofing her dark side's nose as she passed, "you know we need more of her than we'll get if you do that."

"She must pay," came the deep rage-filled voice in reply.

"Then hoof her, you know that's what we were going to do anyways."

Pinkamena nodded and lifted her hoof. Every inch it rose seemed to make it grow even larger until its shadow seemed to cover the clearing. Pinkie dove back into her hole and settled in to watch the fun. As the hoof descended, Fluttershy closed her eyes and pushed herself to the side as hard as she could. She rolled under the fleshy part of Pinkamena's hoof and grabbed on as it pushed her into the ground. The hoof came up, carrying Fluttershy with it. She could see Pinkie's head sticking out of the ground, eyes twinkling at the excitement.

Fluttershy pulled herself along, careful to stay out of Pinkamena's sight as she searched for the smashed remains of the yellow mare. "Where are you?" the vibrations from the yell nearly shook Fluttershy off. She shook her head and continued climbing.

Pinkamena seemed to realize that Fluttershy hadn't been crushed and began searching for her along her leg. As her face pulled level with Fluttershy a grin stretched across the darkness, noticeable only because of Fluttershy's blood dripping from the fangs. "Hello little one." Pinkamena's breath was incredibly cold, ice crystals formed in the air around her and Fluttershy could smell the rotten flesh still stuck to the crimson stained teeth.

Fluttershy kicked off, her legs folding as pressure was put on them. She managed to go far enough to grab the smoking holes she knew to be Pinkamena's nostrils. She began biting at the sensitive skin. Cold black slime flowed freely out as she dug her teeth in. It tasted like soot and stuck to Fluttershy in huge globs, but she continued biting.

An enormous hoof slammed into Fluttershy driving her forward. An earsplitting crack said that Pinkamena had succeeded in breaking her own nose. Fluttershy noted this with a small nod of satisfaction as she fell to the ground.

Pinkamena reeled in pain, her enormous stumbling gait threatened to crush pinkie and Fluttershy. Fluttershy hit the ground, even more snapping sounds came from within her shattered form. She felt several points on her chest and looked down to see small white nubs sticking up. She knew she didn't have long until she died from either blood-loss or shock. She turned and saw Pinkie advancing on her, anger glared in her eyes. "How dare you do that to Pinkamena! What did she ever do to you Flutterbitch?"

Fluttershy looked shocked at the name. She'd never heard Pinkie use harsh language before. 'Of course,' she thought, something inside her laughing at the thought, 'I never saw her kill anypony before. Or turn into some freakish monster.' Pinkamena continued stumbling around, the black slime pouring from her nose in a waterfall. She managed to stagger to her hooves, the bone splinters in her leg groaned ominously; several gave way, dropping Fluttershy several inches as they stuck out of her blood-stained skin.

Pinkie ran at Fluttershy, her only thoughts bent on avenging Pinkamena's pain. She pulled her hoof back, ready to slam it into Fluttershy's windpipe, killing her slowly and painfully. Fluttershy gave a tiny grin, almost unnoticeable in the pain filling her features. She somehow jumped in the air. Fluttershy spun in the air, her hooves going above her head as she flew forwards toward Pinkie. Her rear legs swung downward, the bones sticking out creating tiny daggers.

Pinkie managed to get a hoof up in time. Fluttershy collided with her, breaking Pinkie's leg and embedding several large bone splinters deep in her side and leg. Pinkie pulled away and Fluttershy was dragged along. Her screams of pain seemed to return focus to both Pinkie and Pinkamena.

Pinkamena stopped and placed both front hooves on her nose. She concentrated and a flare of light revealed the broken cartilage knitting itself back together. After a few seconds, Pinkamena drew in a huge breath and walked calmly to the small ponies nearby. She saw that Fluttershy had managed to attach herself to her small counterpart using bone fragments. "Such a shame to have to kill you," Pinkamena said, moving in on the two grappling ponies. She stuck out her tongue and struck Fluttershy with it.

Fluttershy was trying to gain an advantage over Pinkie when something huge and stinking slapped her head. She flew off of Pinkie and came to landing a small distance away. Several new gashes had been added to her sides by the coarse, sandpaper like thing that hit her. She looked and saw Pinkie struggling to stand up. Fluttershy's bone fragments were lodged in various places around her legs and one leg hung almost doubled as Pinkie stared at it in disbelief.

"Shall I finish her now?" Pinkamena looked at her counterpart scathingly. "I wish to taste her flesh again."

Pinkie wiped a smear of blood out of her eyes; the gash that had caused it was already a fading pink scar. "Please, be my guest." Pinkie breathed heavily. No one had taxed her strength like this since she had sworn herself to Nightmare Moon. "Make it special though, she deserves it."

"Ah, my special trick?" Pinkamena lowered her eye to be level with the pink mare. "The one we practiced so long."

"Of course, she'll enjoy its… effects before she goes."

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Applejack, the farming pony

She proved you to be no phony.

Your evil unmasked to her alone

Your good side too, to her was shown.

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Fluttershy kept struggling, trying her best to regain her hooves. She knew that even if she managed to get up there was no way for her to escape. Her legs were shattered and missing much of the bones. Her wings had been mangled; several pieces still clung to Pinkamena's mouth. She could see the safety of the forest mere hooves away. The animals there could hold off the demonic duo long enough for Fluttershy to get help. But she knew they wouldn't come out in the open to help. Even the dragons in the Great Dragon Migration had swerved to avoid coming above this place, much to everypony's confusion. She could see Pinkamena walking towards her; taking her time as she approached the shattered pony.

"I'm going to show you a little trick," Pinkamena said, her face split once more by a red slash of a grin. Her voice had taken on the strange quality it had before Fluttershy came along, sounding both like Pinkie and Pinkamena. The two pitches combining in an uneasy harmony. "It's very special. I can use it to hurt and kill. Wanna see?" Pinkamena's eyes suddenly flared bright red and she flew into the air. Huge batwings burst from her side as she rushed upwards. She came to a stop in front of the moon, her silhouette blotting out much of the light; an even more sinister replacement for Luna's old image that had vanished when she returned to Equestria.

Pinkamena began to glow, crimson light radiating from her at every point. A huge beam shot down and struck the forest, instantly creating an inferno. Several more beams lit up the area, each creating its own flaming stretch of forest. Fluttershy could hear the howls of the animals as they were cooked alive. Many began running out of the trees, their pelts aflame, already blackening and falling off. Nothing but pain and fear showed in their eyes.

The stampede of fleeing animals built as they ran for the one place not on fire: the clearing where Fluttershy now lay. Many stepped on her in their haste to escape. Fallen younglings and elders were abandoned in the mad flight for safety. Shafts of red light continued to rain down, obliterating the forest Fluttershy had loved. Eventually the animals were either running about the clearing in fear or had already perished in the flames.

Another beam, this one shaped like a crescent, burned the clearing. As it struck Pinkie, her body went limp and she floated in the air until she rose up to the same level as Pinkamena. The beams were now shot through with pink light; electricity crackling along their lengths as they struck the charred forest. Fluttershy could vaguely hear the shouts of ponies coming from Ponyville as the rushed to stop the blaze from spreading. She could hear them break and flee as the pegasi moving rainclouds were struck by the bolts of heat and lightning.

A cackling howl descended from the creatures blocking the moon. The animals in the clearing began to morph, their bodies twisting and combining in ways never meant to be seen by mortal eyes. Several rabbits exploded, only to melt and reform into the paw of a monster being formed from the harvested beings. Limbs rushed in, pulled by an unknown force. Soon, a hulking chimera stood before Fluttershy. She could still see the faces of every animal that had gone into it, they were all still aware; all locked deep within the prisons of their flesh, bound in pain until Pinkamena released them.

The hideous creature advanced on Fluttershy. She could see that it recognized her for who she was. It fell apart, the broken corpses surrounded her. They sank into the ground and a spiral of black spires shot up; slowly at first, but picking up speed as the spiral rushed in towards Fluttershy. She felt the ground crack beneath her and she sunk slightly. She knew it was the end. Her last thoughts were spent in hatred of Pinkie who had come down to her to watch as the black stone ripped her apart.

Pinkie smiled at her friend. "Bye Fluttershy, miss you lots. Tell everypony I said hi." She giggled and Fluttershy looked at her. Her eyes were clenched in pain, hoof marks and punctures covered more of her body than her actual skin did. She glared at Pinkie, her eyes full of loathing.

"Pinkie Pie," Fluttershy said as her eyes began to glaze over, the black spire slowly rising out of the ground to impale her.

"Yes?" the spire slowed, to allow them time to talk.

"I –ahh!- I hope you burn." Fluttershy gasped for breath, she was now wrapped around a three hoof thick chunk of jagged stone. "I hate you, you filthy bi-" her head fell, striking the stone with a crack. Her body was no longer able to support it as she was ripped apart by the expanding stone.

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Fluttershy, the timid creature,

Shyness, her prominent feature.

You killed her too with no remorse,

The stone that slit her throat was coarse.

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"Don't you just hate it when they don't' finish talking?" Pinkamena asked as she landed next to Pinkie, her wings reforming with her body as she settled.

"Yeah," Pinkie felt a quick wave of sadness as her friend's body fell off the stone in pieces. The spires all began to retract quickly, broken corpses reappearing in their stead. "Oh well," Pinkie said, yawning, "guess we'd… better clean this place up before anypony finds us."

"We have time. For now, rest is more important. We expended too much energy on that mare."

"I know wasn't it fun?" Pinkie began hopping towards the now blackened tunnel as she giggled. Too bad nopony else could make it out here.

"I doubt there would be enough ground left to fight on if they did," Pinkamena was satisfied, though she and her partner had both been injured many times, it was the most excitement they'd had in a long time. Never before had anypony taxed them so much. 'We really did do well to choose these mares,' Pinkamena thought as they walked through the true Sugarcube Corner to their bedroom.

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PP- And that's how our play-date with Fluttershy ended. There, wasn't that a good story?

KN- *shoves Pinkie into a closet* stupid horse.

PP- Hey!

KN- Shut up! So help me I will delete you from this story! You stabbed me with a freakin spoon!

PP- Told you I was gonna.

KN- That doesn't- I mean- that's- THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT OKAY!

PP- Yeah it do-

KN- Quiet, we'll talk about it later, right now I need to end this chapter.

PP- Can I help?

KN- You're in a closet. I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count.

PP- Yes?

KN-No

Thanks for reading everypony :3 I'm thinking that there isn't too much left to this story. Two weeks before it's done, at the outside.

Review and tell me what you think, or Pinkie will find you and we will stalk you creepily for weeks. ._ _.

PP- Can I come out now?

KN- No. *leaves room*

*loud smashing sounds come from closet*

Catching Fire

All I have to say: It's about time Celestia. It's about time.

(Pinkie) What's about time?

Nothing. Back in the closet with you!

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Celestia paced the floor restlessly. She had sent Luna out more than two hours ago. "Where is she," Celestia was worried, Luna was supposed to scan the destruction and come immediately back, "I swear if I have to save her one more time…"

Luna materialized next to her with a loud crackling noise. She was darker than usual and smelled of soot. She began coughing, her face straining to get the last of the smoke out of her lungs. A strong wind blew through the throne room, knocking the soot away from the princess.

"Well?" Celestia asked, rushing her sister, "what happened?"

Luna's voice was cracked from the heat and smoke. "I-I can't be certain. The entire forest is on fire by now. It seems to come from zone seventeen but, as usual, it's impossible to be sure."

Celestia looked at a nearby map. It showed Equestria and all the surrounding lands, but there were a series of red pins marking a rough circle around a point not too far from Ponyville. Each one had a small number inscribed on it that, if matched up to a hidden list the alicorn had compiled, would show where ponies had disappeared in mysteriously similar ways over the years. Each pin was now little more than a sliver of metal to fit all of them. Whenever Celestia tried investigating these disappearances, either the investigators disappeared or there was no trace of any clues.

"What could be happening there?" Celestia pondered the question. It had been weighing on her mind for nearly fifteen years and was even farther away from being answered than ever. "How could anything stay hidden for this long while killing so many creatures?" Hundreds of skeletons had turned up over the years, each one carefully scraped of all meat, some were even snapped in half, the marrow removed.

"Maybe we should look together," Luna thought that there was something familiar about the destruction. She couldn't check at the time because she was helping to put out the immense blaze that used to be a forest. "Surely nothing is strong enough to escape the two of us. And doesn't your student Twilight Sparkle live near there? Perhaps the elements of harmony could reveal something we cannot."

"I'm afraid not. Her friend Rainbow Dash, holder of the element of loyalty, disappeared a few weeks back."

"You mean-"

"Yes, it was exactly the same as the others."

"Have you told her yet? Surely she's asked if you can find anything out."

"I haven't told her. She would only worry more and a few of her friends might try to solve this on their own. I can't let them die needlessly."

"Maybe it's time to tell her. Everything. She surely noticed the fire, if nothing else. Maybe she can help, she certainly did when I left the moon, and when Discord returned."

"Maybe you're right." Celestia retrieved a pot of ink and a scroll and began dictating a letter, the ink flowing out and forming words.

To my most faithful student Twilight Sparkle,

There is something we must discuss. It involves you and your friends quite closely, especially the pegasus Rainbow Dash. Meet me at the library tomorrow at noon. I will answer all of your questions then. If you wish to survive until then, take all pains to avoid the area where the fire seemed to start at. Do not do anything rash.

Celestia

She signed the letter with an imprint of her hoof and let out a brief stream of magic. The letter vanished in a puff of green smoke. "Now sister, let's see if we can find a few of our old surprises."

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Spike was still looking for Fluttershy. He and Rarity waited all night, but she never came back after looking for Sweetie Belle and her friends. They couldn't find her or the fillies anywhere. "Where are you Fluttershy?" He still remembered every word he had overheard between Rarity and Fluttershy and he had wanted to talk to her about it, but then she didn't come back. He had wanted to find her while they were looking for the fillies, but she had gone too fast for him to follow.

Rarity came around a corner, "still no sign of her?"

"No. I checked her house and the parts of the forest she likes to visit sometimes but I didn't see her anywhere."

Rarity looked extremely worried, "I couldn't find her in Ponyville anywhere, I think she may have done something drastic."

"What do you mean?" the only drastic thing Spike could picture Fluttershy doing was not looking both ways before crossing the street.

"Well, when I was talking to her last night, something… personal came up." Spike knew what was coming, "we talked about… well, you."

"I know," Spike gave a long sigh, "I was listening."

"I thought you might have been. Then you know what's been wrong with her lately." Spike wished she could at least look angry at his eavesdropping, but she didn't seem to care at all.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to her about it, but I couldn't catch up to her when we were outside and then she didn't come back."

"I do hope she's all right."

They spent the rest of the day searching in vain for Fluttershy. No one had seen her since Big Mac saw her flying around the orchards. They had decided to look there first, but couldn't find anypony, even the Cutie Mark Crusaders' tree house was empty, though Spike thought it looked like someone had been there recently.

"I'm sure she'll turn up," Spike said as they walked back through Ponyville on their way home. The sun was setting and streaks of color wove through the sky. Rarity only nodded. She was torn apart on the inside, knowing that her best friend was unhappy because of her.

They got back to the boutique and Spike set about making dinner, even though neither of them felt much like eating. As he set a large bowl of salad on the table, a huge quake shook the ground. Rarity jumped up and caught a vase that had fallen off a nearby shelf. Several more appeared to be about to fall, but she quickly took them down.

Spike and Rarity ran outside, trying to make sure nothing had been damaged when things fell. Everypony was all right except Cheerilee. She had been getting something from the schoolhouse and a stack of chairs fell on her. She had a minor sprain, but was okay otherwise. The townsponies had just finished cleaning the debris off the street when a huge shadow blocked out most of the moon.

Light exploded out from the shadow, turning the moon blood red. The light began shooting downwards, leaving huge circles of flames in the distance. Everypony began screaming and trying to make sure all of their things were safe from the horrible apparition.

A dark blue unicorn with a white horn stood on a barrel and yelled to get everyone's attention. "Everypony shut up!" The crowd looked at him, but then started running with renewed energy. He sighed and his horn began to glow with blue light and a cloud appeared overhead. Water poured out from it for a second before the cloud was released and allowed to return to the sky. Everypony was thoroughly drenched and stared at the unicorn in shock.

"Clearly something is happening that shouldn't be. Judging by the fact that the bookworm hasn't left her library to calm you all down, she's probably already there. It looks like it's pretty bad. We all need to go now and try to put the fire out before it can spread to the town. I'm sure that Mrs. Sparkle has already told the princess so help should be here soon, but we need to make sure." There was muttering in the crowd.

"Who is this pony? Where'd he come from? How he control the cloud, I thought only pegasi could do that." Everyone seemed confused by the strange unicorn.

'Ponies,' he thought, 'the only ones dumb enough to gossip while a flying monster burns an entire forest with lasers.' "Calm down," he yelled again, "it doesn't matter who I am or where I'm from. You all know what needs to be done: unicorns use your magic to carry water, pegasi, tornado time, up and out, ponies get the buckets. Let's roll!"

Everypony grabbed as much water as they could and hurried toward the bright orange glow of the fire. They all started throwing water, but most of it evaporated before reached the fire. Most of the pegasi formed together to create a huge tornado that would suck up huge amounts of water, but as they began rotating, the red beams of light were joined by pink ones that crackled with electricity. They began targeting the pegasi who quickly noticed this and landed. Several had already been struck and fell paralyzed, a pony shaped fireball.

"Dig a trench so the fire can't jump over," somepony yelled. There was a flurry of movement as everypony began lining up and pawing frantically at the ground. A long trench was quickly dug and the extra dirt was piled up on one side to help keep the fire from spreading. A few clever unicorns managed to connect the trench to the river and it rushed in, putting out the sticks that had fallen into the trench.

After a while, the shadow left the moon and landed with a loud crash, the ground shook and most of the crowd fell over. There came the sound of a deep voice laughing, somehow carrying over the popping of sap filled trees as they exploded. Huge points of black rock shot into the night air, seeming to move closer and closer together until a scream of pain could faintly be heard. A few seconds passed and nopony moved.

The rocks all fell away, seeming to transform as they crumbled. Much of the forest in the immediate area had already burned away entirely leaving black skeletal figures of burned trees. Ash fell in great piles everywhere and the air shimmered with the heat. Another shadow flew across the sky and the crowd began to turn and run.

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The flying chariot landed in front of the retreating ponies and Princess Luna climbed out. "What happened here?" her voice had taken on the deep resounding quality that was her 'Royal Voice'. The strange blue unicorn from earlier spoke into her ear, filling her in on what the ponies knew. "This does not bode well. Stayest thou here while I examine the scene." She spread her large black wings and flew into the cloud of ash.

She returned a short time later, visibly upset. "Still nothing!" she yelled in frustration. Everyone shot questioning looks at her but she ignored them. She returned to the unicorn who had spoken with her earlier, "you, why have you all stopped extinguishing this blaze?"

"Your majesty," he said, bowing his head low, "the fire was too hot for the water to reach and the pegasi were being struck by the energy that creature was releasing. We instead took precautions to keep Ponyville from burning."

"Very well. We should be able to do something about it now though." Luna flew in the air, her black horn glowed and the water from the river flowed into the air around her. She flew around, directing streams of water at the edges of the blaze, shrinking it into a more manageable size. The unicorns began helping as they could get close enough to the fire and soon everypony else was able to join in.

Many ponies were burned or suffered injuries from falling trees and limbs, but the fire was soon put out. "I think you can handle it from here," Luna said as she released the last of the water. "I must return to Canterlot and make my report." She vanished in a swirl of shadows and a flash of light.

They began the arduous task of cleaning up the debris from the earthquakes and fire. Ashes had found their way into everything, but the worst of it was washed away by a rainstorm the pegasi created. Aureon stood on a roof, directing more clouds with his magic. His cutie mark was a simple raincloud. His magic was more flexible than most unicorns. He could manipulate weather like a pegasus and could even walk on clouds. It seemed to come in rather handy when things got lit on fire, 'seems to be happening a lot lately,' he thought as he washed the soot off town hall.

Spike looked down at his scales. Every crack was filled with soft black powder and he had a dirty sheen. Rarity walked up and her horn glowed, the grime fell off of her and Spike and they surveyed the area, seeing the extent of the damage. Little had happened to the buildings themselves, by the entire sky had been blotted out by clouds of ash and the usual backdrop of the forest was completely wiped out.

Spike was about to say something when he felt his stomach bulge. He burped and a swirl of green flame flew out with a scroll. He opened it and read the note.

"Princess Celestia wants us to meet her at the library tomorrow. She says she has something important to say." He continued scanning the letter, "and she has news on Rainbow Dash!"

"Well at least something good can come of all this. Now if we only knew where everypony else was." Twilight had left for Pinkie's about a week ago and hadn't talked to anypony since. Applejack had been missing for almost as long and Fluttershy vanished the day before. 'Come to think of it,' Rarity thought, 'when was the last time anypony saw Pinkie?'

They wandered around for a while, asking if anypony had news of them, but nopony did. Three forms seemed to materialize out of the ashes on the ground.

"Spike, Rarity," they yelled running forward. The grim was washed away in streaks starting at their eyes and continuing down their cheeks.

"Oh girls, you're all right," Rarity swept them up in a huge hug, tears pouring down her face. Spike jumped in and everypony fell over, glad to be back together after so much had happened.

"I'm sorry I left sis," Sweetie Belle said, "I should've told you where we were."

"No, it's perfectly understandable. But you should've at least told us you were okay."

Applebloom cut in, "well didn't Fluttershy tell ya?"

"No, we haven't seen her since she flew off to look for you three."

"She found us at the tree house," Scootaloo said, "we made her Pinkie promise not to tell where we were, but to say we were okay."

"Wait, then where did she go," Spike was very confused, "And why are there burns on your manes?"

Rarity saw that there were indeed huge patches missing from their manes and tails, "what happened?"

"The fire spread to the orchards-"

"But we all managed to put it out just in time," Applebloom said, looking momentarily happy.

"Then we went to see if Zecora needed any help." The three fillies paused here and their eyes filled with tears again.

"Sh-she didn't make it out in time," Scootaloo said, looking downwards, "it looked like she'd been trapped in her house while it burned around her."

"Let's get you girls home," Rarity said, pulling them along, a stern look crossing her face, "we've all been through a lot and we'll talk about it in the morning."

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Everypony was too upset to sleep so they all huddled together in Rarity's huge bed until the sun started to come up. After a while, they all fell asleep. Their legs were kicking and they all cried out almost constantly in their sleep as they relived the last few days in their dreams.

They woke up feeling unrested and even worse than they had when they went to sleep. Several times in the night somepony had knocked on the door trying to find out who was missing and who was lost in the fire. Spike, managed to keep from waking everypony up as he answered the door, but, each time he left, whoever he'd been closest to began crying out a little louder until he came back.

Rarity sat everypony down around the table. Nopony could handle much more than water, but even that was a struggle because there was so much soot filling each mouthful, even after it went through the water purifiers Rarity had on her sink. They all began to discuss everything that had happened recently, from the girls' discovery of Spike and Rarity, to the fire and Zecora's death. They also talked about where everypony could be.

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Awww, I didn't want Zecora to be cooked alive. :( So, more of this chapter coming up next, I've got to get to sleep and I haven't published a chapter today. Otherwise this would be a good six or seven thousand words probably.

For those of you who care, the blue unicorn, Aureon Skyhorn, is my first attempt at making a pony (he's been replaced). His talent, as it said, is basically that his magic gives him the abilities of a pegasus. I felt like putting him in.

Review, review, review, review, make muffins, review, review, REVIEW! MAKE MORE MUFFINS!

Breaking Dawn

If I had time with the last chapter, this would have been part of it and it would have been ungodly long. Hopefully this one won't end up that long. (If some of you don't like the parts that set up for Pinkie but don't include her, skip this chapter.)

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Rarity, Spike, Sweetie Belle and her friends sat around the table in Rarity's kitchen. The fire the night before had completely exhausted them, even after they went to sleep they only woke up tired and confused. They had spent the last two hours trying to make sense of everything that happened. Everypony seemed to be a little more under control now and they wondered what they should do next; the pegasi were still cleaning the town and surrounding area with scattered rain clouds, the Apples had managed to fix up the damaged parts of the orchard, even without Applejack or Applebloom's help and most of the rest of the town was busy trying to replant the Everfree Forest.

Spike felt a strange buzzing in the back of his head. He looked around and noticed that, as his head turned, the strength of the buzzing changed. It was loudest when he was staring at the corner. That didn't seem to mean anything so he kept looking. He happened upon the clock nearby and the buzzing stopped. It said 11:58 in glowing green letters.

"Oh no!" Spike jumped up startling everypony. They had already been watching him as he looked around the kitchen seeming confused, but the sudden movement made everypony jump.

"What?" Rarity untangled herself from her stool and looked where Spike was pointing. "It's almost noon what abo-" Her face lost all color.

"What?" Sweetie Belle asked, climbing out from under the stools that were knocked on top of her.

"We were supposed to meet Princess Celestia at the library at noon. We can't find anypony else and we were supposed to bring them."

"Ah can go check the farm real quick for Applejack," Applebloom volunteered.

"I'll zoom down to Fluttershy's cabin real quick and see if she's there. She probably hid from the fire."

"And I can go look for Pinkie at the Sugarcube Corner, maybe her and Twilight will be there this time. They said they would." Spike began to leave the room. "Stall the princess Rarity; we need a couple of minutes."

"Okay, but do hurry. Sweetie Belle, come with me." Rarity stuffed the scroll with the princess's instructions into a saddlebag and left the room, leaving Sweetie Belle to follow.

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A huge flash of light appeared in the library and a whirlwind caused books to fly off the shelves. Celestia and Luna stepped out of the fading doorway and into Twilight's bedroom. She looked around at the dark dusty room.

"That's odd, she's usually so concerned with appearances." Celestia said, examining a set of footprints Spike had left after coming home late a few nights ago.

"Well, given what's happened you can hardly expect the place to be spotless."

"No, she should be here right now. And you don't know her as well as I do Luna, if she knew we were coming and didn't have the place at least dusted she would have a panic attack. Besides, look at this layer of dust on the floor, nopony has been here for days."

"But your message went through to the dragon, you said so."

"Then he must not be in a position to give it to Twilight."

The door to the library slammed open and Rarity ran in, her face red with the unaccustomed exercise. Sweetie Belle trotted in behind her, closing the door softly. "Okay Sweetie, they could be here any moment. We just need to clean the place up a little and make a story for why nopony else is here. Got it?"

"Yup," Sweetie Belle picked up a broom and began sweeping the doorway clean of dirt.

"I do too," Celestia said, coming down the stairs. Luna trailed behind her, smirking a bit at the unicorns' obvious discomfort. "So where are your friends, I said that I needed to see all of you urgently."

"To be honest your majesty," Rarity said, giving a bow, "I don't know. Spike went off to see if he could find Pinkie and Twilight, Sweetie Belle here had friends over and they went to look for Applejack and Fluttershy."

"Didn't they get my letter?" Celestia raised an eyebrow. She was now standing directly in front of Rarity.

Rarity launched into a quick explanation of what happened over the last few days, beginning with finding Spike and ending when Spike remembered the appointment. Luna burst out laughing when Rarity briefly described the crusaders' intrusion; Sweetie Belle's face turned a mixture or red and green. She still shuddered at the memory.

Just as Rarity finished talking, the door opened again and Scootaloo rushed in on Ol' Blue. She slid to a stop and began talking, seemingly oblivious of the two alicorns she had just sprayed with dirt. "No sign of Fluttershy. Her cottage is okay but even Angel said he hadn't seen her since she left to see you."

"Who is Angel?" Luna asked. Scootaloo turned to see who had spoken and saw the princesses standing there with a layer of dirt being brushed off their sides by a frantic Rarity.

"I uh- I mean-" Scootaloo was too shocked at not noticing them earlier to talk.

"It's quite all right," Luna said, gently pushing Rarity away. Her horn glowed and the dirt fell off. "Luna, Angel is a rabbit that lives with Fluttershy, the yellow pegasus with the element of kindness, he is her unofficial caretaker."

"Ah, I remember now," Luna had briefly seen Angel when she came to Ponyville during Nightmare Night. Twilight Sparkle was trying to convince Fluttershy to leave her cottage when Luna noticed a shape in the upstairs window. A rabbit had been standing there smacking the blunt edge of a machete against his paw. He pointed downwards and shook his head. He slid his paw across his throat, the meaning quite clear to Luna: don't touch her.

"Maybe I can find her if I try," Celestia said. Her horn began to glow again and a small circle appeared in the air in front of the ponies. It began to show Fluttershy's pink mane, zooming out slowly, but then the colors began to run. It no showed Fluttershy's face as well, but at this point the image had run too much to see anything. Even the window itself began dripping; small rainbow drops pattered against the floor. It shook violently and imploded, leaving Celestia shocked. A deep laughter resounded through the room accompanied by a light giggling.

"I'm guessing that wasn't supposed to happen," Rarity said, seeing the shock register on Luna's face as well.

"No," Celestia croaked, "to somehow break that spell, whoever did it had to know only realize that we were looking, but they also had to know how to break the spell and be strong enough to drain my magic. Even Discord at his strongest couldn't break that spell, though he tried many times."

Everypony tried to think of what this could mean when the door opened again. Spike and Applebloom ran inside, Pinkie was close behind them.

"I found Pinkie, but she says she hasn't seen Twilight since yesterday." Spike said as he came to a stop, panting.

"And there's still no sign of Applejack," Applebloom wasn't breathing as heavy as Spike, despite running much farther; she was covered in a light sheen of sweat.

"This can't be good," Luna said, startling Spike and Applebloom, "only two of the elements are present. With all that's happened lately I fear the worst."

Pinkie was sitting a little way behind everypony, seeming to blend into the shadows. Her eyes seemed to change to a bright red occasionally and her mane was darker than usual. Every now and then, somepony would glance at her, confused by her lack of Pinkie-ness; most just put it up to stress over what had happened.

"There's something I should have warned all of you long ago. Listen up my little ponies, for it seems this concerns you much deeper than I first thought."

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Pinkie Pie woke up suddenly. She and Pinkamena were curled up in their bed in the Sugarcube Corner; the true, hidden one that so far only two other ponies had seen, neither lived to tell. Fluttershy was sitting in a pile on a nearby chair. Pinkie gave a luxuriant stretch, waking her counterpart who copied the gesture exactly.

Pinkie sat up and looked at her clock. It was wavy and had no numbers or hands on it, merely moving shapes that jumped around in random squiggles.

"Oh wow," pinkie said, amazed that so much time had gone by.

"What is it," Pinkamena asked, glancing at the clock.

"We took Twilight almost a week ago. I think ponies may be starting to catch on to the fact that we've been gone so long."

"It would seem that way," a light knocking noise echoed through the room.

Pinkie jumped up and began climbing the wall. She reached the ceiling and flipped open the light. Inside was a small tunnel that led into her bedroom at the Sugarcube Corner most ponies saw. She came through the tunnel and heard Spike calling her name through the mail slot on the front door.

She went downstairs and opened the door. "Hey Spike!" she said loudly, "watcha doin?"

"Princess Celestia said we're all supposed to meet her at the library," he said frantically, "I got the note last night but it was too late to do anything with it and now we're supposed to be there in," he paused and looked at the clock hanging on the wall, "FIVE MINUTES AGO!"

"Well we'd better hurry then," Pinkie said, cheerier than usual after her week-long vacation with her friends. She hopped along happily for a few hooves then stopped, a funny feeling came over her and she got an itch in the bottom of her back right tooth on the bottom. 'Somepony's watching me,' she thought, her sing-song voice even sounded eerie in her thoughts.

She strained and was surprised to learn that she could feel Pinkamena doing the same. She could vaguely see an image of the library floating in front of Pinkamena. In the image she saw both of the princesses, Rarity and the cutie mark crusaders. She gave a final push and the window vanished with a small pop.

Pinkie opened her eyes and noticed Spike was tugging at her leg. "Come on," he said, "we're already late. We don't have time for… Pinkie things right now Pinkie."

"Okie dokie lokie then," Pinkie hopped off again, pulling Spike along even as he tried to let go. Every bounce made his head hit the ground until he somehow slipped off Pinkie and flew through the air, crashing through the library's door.

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"So how long have you known about this," Rarity asked, upset that Celestia could have tolerated such occurrences in such a peaceful place.

"As I've said," Celestia spoke slowly, her soft tone hiding her impatience with the flustered unicorn, "this all started about fifteen years ago. Nothing I've done since has even given me a hint as to what could be happening." She gestured at the puddle of rainbow liquid on the floor. "Given what happened earlier with the spell, I think we can safely assume that whatever that thing is, it has your friend Fluttershy."

Rarity gasped, "but Fluttershy wouldn't last a second against something like that."

Spike suddenly felt very cold, he had just learned that he broke Fluttershy's heart unknowingly, not once but twice, and now before he could say anything, she was gone beyond any hope of rescue.

The cutie mark crusaders were horrified. Fluttershy had been one of their favorite mares and now she was… gone. They crept over to a corner to make plans to find the monster that had taken Fluttershy; whispering so as not to be discovered by the adults. They failed to notice that Pinkie was in a corner very near theirs and had heard every word.

"I think Rainbow Dash may have suffered a similar fate," Celestia said, "her disappearance was exactly like those we had found before. I hesitate to say it, but we fear that something may be targeting you ponies specifically."

"Whatever do you mean?" Rarity asked. Nopony noticed Pinkie smile a little here.

"Think about it," Luna said, as she spoke small pictures appeared above her head of Rarity and her friends, "Rainbow Dash was taken a few weeks ago," a red 'X' covered her face, "then we had no disturbances until recently Fluttershy was taken," another 'X', "and both your friends Applejack and Twilight Sparkle have been missing for some time correct?" White question marks covered their faces. "Other than this, we have had no news of any movement here for a few months."

Pinkie nodded, she had plenty of supplies stored up, she only needed a little now and then to prepare for a sudden end to collecting ingredients, like now. She didn't gather things very often, usually only when names floated out of the cauldron as they had been doing a lot lately. 'As they did before I went to bed last night,' she thought.

The cutie mark crusaders had agreed on a plan. The young fillies snuck out the door, being careful not to alert anypony. As the door closed, Pinkie stepped forward, trying to ensure that nopony noticed them leaving.

"We have to do something," she said, now glad that she had taken those acting classes years ago, she couldn't even rely entirely on her natural talent anymore. She made herself cry and she put an angry look on her face, "we can't let this keep happening to ponies." She allowed herself a small smile on the inside; she had played the emotions just right. She even gave a few sniffles when she paused between words.

Celestia looked at the small pink pony. Her eyes had filled with tears as she spoke passionately about saving her friends. An idea struck the ruler as she listened to Pinkie's plea. "Maybe there is a way. If we put out some… bait. Maybe we can lure this creature out and together Luna and I can capture it, or at least discover its hiding place and rescue any ponies trapped inside."

"Bu that would be suicide," Rarity exclaimed, "surely anything that could defeat you so easily for so long would have no problem killing a normal pony like us."

"Yeah," Pinkie said, pushing herself further into the charade, "if we can't even slow the thing down, how can you catch it?" She wasn't expecting the answer that followed.

"The bones that we've found shows that it like to… play with its victims. None of them are pleasant. We've known where to find it for quite some time, or at least, a general area. We just need to leave a trap and put a tracking spell on whoever is left there."

Luna stepped in, "could we not also seal a spell into that pony's flesh so that when they are harmed they are teleported to safety? Then when you and I move in to attack, that pony would be out of harm's way."

Celestia thought about it for a moment, "Yes I suppose that would work. Now we just need somepony to leave as bait. But they must know that there is a strong chance that they will die."

"Sister," Luna said, pointing out the window, "that pegasus there, I've seen her before. I doubt much harm would come if she was hurt in any way. Perhaps we could convince her to do it."

Pinkie looked where Luna was pointing and saw Derpy flying by with a large bag full of mail. She had a tray on her back piled high with muffins and was busy following a line of bugs.

"No," Celestia and pinkie said at the same time. Celestia pretended not to notice the small pony, "she's a rather… special mare around here. I'm afraid that I cannot go into detail here but suffice it to say that if she were harmed there would be some very angry powers working against any who had a hoof in her injury. She is under protection that even Discord feared to affect when he escaped."

"Yes," Pinkie said quietly, "no one touches the derp."

"What?" Rarity said turning towards Pinkie. She had been watching the grey pegasus move through a crowded area, somehow managing to stay with the bugs and not drop a single muffin… even while she tipped over carts and knocked ponies aside. She was soon joined by a small similar looking unicorn filly.

"Nothing," Pinkie said. In her mind she flashed herself a symbol she had discovered long ago. It was created with two half circles with their curves touching; slash marks connected to the top of each semi-circle and extended away as they sloped down. /)*(\ A similar symbol passed through Celestia's mind at the same time, this one had half-squares rather than circles though /]*[\.

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The cutie mark crusaders snuck through the piles of ash. Much of it had already been washed away but large piles still remained for disposal. Small trees had already sprouted and a few groups of animals had returned to the destroyed forest. They still knew the area fairly well and knew where they were going.

A special clearing in the woods had been labeled taboo by every foal in Ponyville ever since a huge mound of bones had been found within it. Nopony had ever seen anything or anyone enter that area and most foals believed it to be haunted. The few who had grown up since the area became taboo called it 'childish fears', but they still managed to talk their way out of ever going near it.

The girls knew that this is where they'd find the monster attacking everypony.

They had just reached the edge of where they knew the clearing to be. Even the ponies replanting the forest had made sure to leave this place clear, the ashes were still here and bodies of animals lay twisted on the ground. Even if their eyes had been closed the fillies would've known the place. They could feel vileness radiating out from it; a foul smell seemed to fill the air.

"Boo," yelled a familiar voice from behind a large carcass. Pinkie Pie jumped out and scared the girls.

"Pinkie," Scootaloo asked as she laughed nervously, "what are you doing here."

"Yeah," Applebloom said stepping forward, her tiny face scrunched in confusion, "and how'd ya' get here so quickly?"

"Do you wanna know a secret girls?" Pinkie glanced from side to side. They all nodded and she made them Pinkie swear never to tell anypony. "I know where the monster is, I've known for a long time. But if I told anypony it would find out. Plus nopony would ever believe me. I need your help to kill this thing before it can hut anypony else."

Pinkamena led the girls through the hidden tunnel; she had repaired the doors before retiring the previous night. It wouldn't do to let anypony know where the tunnel was. She laughed on the inside. It had been so easy to fool the three fillies into trusting her, she merely had to shrink herself down and act like her original and she had them eating right out of her hooves.

She led the girls through the twisting tunnels and into the funhouse. As they stepped into the main room, the fillies looked around, recognizing where they were instantly.

"Pinkie," Sweetie Belle asked, "what's going on?"

Pinkamena laughed sinisterly and closed the door behind them, locking it and swallowing the key.

The crusaders began running frantically trying to find a way out. They suddenly found themselves frozen in place. Their heads snapped to the side to watch Pinkie.

Shadows bloomed around her as she changed. One second she was Pinkie, small pink and innocent; the next, a hulking shadow pony whose cruel fangs dripped an unknown crimson liquid. Steam seemed to erupt around her as she laughed. "Please, call me Pinkamena." The lights flashed off and somepony screamed.

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And thus ends Chapter 19. I hope you enjoyed it. For those of you who have noticed, I've started putting real book/movie titles as chapter titles and I'm planning on continuing that for a while. I just finished reading Princess Molestia not long ago so that should give you a hint as to what you can expect in later chapters (not the next one though).

Review, review, review, favorite, subscribe, review. And, for those of you subscribing/favoriting but have messages turned off… you get an angry face cuz now I can't say thanks for reading to you. So mmmphf *sticks out tongue*

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Pinkie: Does this mean I can come out now?

KN: Do you still have a spoon?

Pinkie: Noooo~ <3

KN: Well the chapter is done so you can't really do anything until tomorrow. You may as well go to bed now.

Pinkie: Awww, but it was just getting good.

KN: yeah, well I wanna finish it too, but I hafta sleep. I'll let you out but you hafta promise no more biting.

Pinkie: *cuddles* okay

(Just so you ponies know, I have these conversations in my head all the time when I'm working on this story so I felt like putting them down. You don't like it, skip my ridiculously long author notes. But just so you know, Pinkie's cuddles are the bestest /)^3^(\)

Dungeons and Dragons

This hit me while I was waiting for Word to load… MLP: FiM- My Loving Pedo: Fondling isn't Molesting… must-watch -this-show *drools*

Also, it seems official. I have Pinkie Pie (not Meanie Pie or Pinkamena) hanging around with me when I write… so cute and fluffy. /)*3*(\

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My name is Pinkie Pie, (Hello!)

And I am here to say, (How ya' doin?)

I'm gonna make you smile,

And I will brighten up your day!

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Pinkie's voice floated out of the darkness, "Eenie meanie miney…"

The crusaders managed to huddle together and were peering around frantically, trying to find out where the pony was. Suddenly, from in between the three fillies Pinkamena's voice yelled, "MOE!"

Sweetie Belle screamed as she was carried off. She could feel the wind pushing back her mane, causing it to flutter wildly. The air rushed past and she felt herself round corner after corner. The sounds of her friends following after died away quickly.

"Come little one, we will have such fun!" The huge form carrying her continued on at its reckless pace, seeming not even to turn at the corners. Small droplets began hitting Sweetie Belle and she realized she was drooling. She wiped it away quickly, but could still feel a cold sliminess where it had been.

They eventually came to a stop in a cool damp area. "Rest now," the haunting voice said as it grew quitter, fading as it moved away. "And if I were you, I'd leave the lights off."

Sweetie Belle could still hear a faint laughter even when the creature was long gone. She began to feel around, hoping for some clue as to where she was and what she was n. It felt strange and squishy, yet oddly firm. It was most and there was a faint stench in the air.

Sweetie Belle pushed as hard as she could, feeling all of her energy rush into her small, untrained horn. She managed a feeble glow and, in the short burst of weak pink light, saw enough to chill her to the bones.

She was sitting on a mound of ponies. Many were missing their heads while more were completely skinned and gutted. She had managed to catch a glimpse of one pony who still had a cutie mark, though most of the rest of her skin was gone, Sweetie could tell it was her classmate: Silver Spoon.

She began to whimper softly, alone and terrified. Her stomach was twisted in knots and with each squelch beneath her she fell more and more unclean. She silenced herself when she heard a snuffling in the direction Pinkamena had carried her in from. She didn't want to attract any more attention than she already had.

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It doesn't matter now, (What's up?)

If you are sad or blue, (Howdy!)

'Cuz cheering up my friends

Is just what Pinkie's here to do!

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The lights flashed on. "Where is she?" Scootaloo and Applebloom yelled at the same time. They began running around yelling for Sweetie Belle. They ran in circles for a few moments then crashed head first into each other.

"Hold on a second, hold on," Applebloom pulled Scootaloo next to her. She had been about to run around yelling again. "We need to think of a plan. We know that there's an evil monster here an' it got Sweetie Belle. We know that it killed Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and maybe even Twilight and Applejack. And, it can change to look like different ponies. There's nothing we can do here. We should try to leave and get help."

"What are you saying?" Scootaloo couldn't believe that Applebloom was trying to get them to abandon Sweetie Belle. "We have to try and save her." She jumped up and started running down a nearby hallway but Applebloom grabbed her.

"Stop," Applebloom spun the pegasus around, "if you just run in there, do ya' think ya' can beat the monster who killed Rainbow Dash and escaped from Princess Celestia for longer than we've been alive?"

"No, but," Scootaloo made a vague gesture towards the hallway.

"Ah know, but we can't help her right now. We need to get help. We shouldn't have come here anyways; we just got ourselves into more trouble."

Scootaloo shrugged weakly and began walking towards the door. Tears dripped from her eyes and hit the floor as she went, trying not to waste time looking back.

"Here," Applebloom said, throwing Scootaloo a cart used for moving the larger cakes, "yall can go faster alone than ya' would if ah was there with ya'. I'll stay here and try to find Sweetie Belle, you go get help."

"I can't leave both of you," Scootaloo's voice was barely more than a whisper, "I can't."

"Look, the sooner yall leave the sooner ya' can get back with help and save Sweetie. I can try and leave a trail so ya' know where to go if ah get caught." Heavy footsteps sounded through the hallway farthest from the two fillies. "Go," Applebloom ran down another hallway.

"But-" Scootaloo shook her head. Her eyes narrowed and she jumped on the cake cart. "I'll do this and I'll get back in time to save them." Her wings began buzzing like an engine and she shot off through the huge double doors and into the tunnel.

Applebloom watched her go, a strange feeling of loss washed over her and she began running. She kept yelling and making lots of noise as if Scootaloo was still with her. She paused for a quick rest and knew that her scheme had worked. She could faintly hear stealthy movements just around every corner after she turned it. She knew she was supposed to hear them; it was all part of the game.

Scootaloo buzzed through the tunnel. She noticed splatters of red along it and strange black puddles. Mist rose from these and she somehow knew that touching them would be like touching half melted slush. Huge hoof-prints were embedded in the floor regularly causing the cart to bounce and jerk as it sped along.

Scootaloo soon reached the tunnel's end and shot through the doors. Just as the cart cleared the hidden doors though, she felt herself grabbed by an extremely powerful force. She was lifted off the scooter and thrown into the ground. There was a loud smack and she sunk in several inches. She could feel her wings crumple as all her weight was thrown onto them.

Pinkie leaned over the orange pegasus. "And where exactly do you think you're going?" Pinkie asked. "Nopony said it was time to leave. Your party hasn't even started yet."

There was a crashing sound a little ways away. The cart had continued on and smashed into a tree. It was now stuck into the trunk, quivering after its sudden stop.

Scootaloo forced herself out of the ground and was alarmed to see Pinkie seem to teleport in front of her. 'How'd she get so fast?' Scootaloo thought. She pretended to limp as she walked towards Pinkie's waiting grin. She'd fallen out of Rainbow's cloud house enough to ignore pain a lot worse than what she was feeling now. She'd also been trained by Rainbow Dash. She couldn't do a sonic rainboom, or even get close, but she could go fast enough to beat most pegasi, even when she was on hoof.

Pinkie reached out, as though she was going to hug the injured filly. 'This is so easy,' she thought as she grinned from ear to ear, hooves held wide. Something seemed off about the limp. Pinkie lunged forward to grab Scootaloo, but she suddenly wasn't there.

"What the-" Pinkie spun around. Scootaloo was racing along, an orange and purple blur. She had already reached the tree where the cake cart had gotten stuck and was working at prying it loose. "No," Pinkie screamed as she charged at Scootaloo, "nopony leaves until their party is done!"

Scootaloo gave a huge tug and the cart slid out of the wood. It knocked her over and made a large gash where it hit her head, but she pushed it off and jumped on.

"I said no," Pinkie swung her hoof at the offending filly. Scootaloo managed to dodge it and it hit the handle of the cart instead. Where it hit shattered, but the rest of the cart flew onwards at a blinding speed, thrown by the ungodly strength of the pink pony.

Pinkie raced after the diminishing figure in the forest. Scootaloo, even with her wings injured, managed to steer away from every tree, every rock. She even managed to hop over a trench, doing a flip as she cleared the obstacle. Pinkie ran on, not caring what she hit. There was little left in the forest after the fire, but the ponies had done miracles in regrowing it; it now looked as though it had been growing for years. Saplings and rocks crumbled as Pinkie ran on, heedless of everything other than catching the fleeing filly.

Then came the cliff.

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'Cuz I love to make you smile, smile, smile!

Yes I do!

It fills my heart with sunshine all the while!

Yes it does!

'Cuz all I really need's a smile, smile, smile!

From these happy friends of mine!

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Applebloom could hear the hoofsteps getting closer. She continued running and making noise, trying to convince this 'Pinkamena' that Scootaloo was still with her. She came to a door that had a plaque on it.

Pinkie's Room

There were little balloons engraved on it as borders. She ran in the room and slammed the door.

Applebloom tore through the room, trying to find a place to hide from the incoming monster. She looked up and saw that the light was hanging like a trapdoor and above it was what looked like a brightly colored tunnel. She knew she couldn't reach or climb this so she slid under the bed; barely getting her head under it.

Pinkamena could hear her prey. It ran into a room just ahead of her. She rounded the corner, already knowing what room it was. "Well, well, well," she chuckled, "usually we have to beg the mares to go in there with us."

She melted down into a shadow on the floor and slid along into the room. As Pinkamena took her true form again she looked around. There was no sign of the fillies other than that they had been running around in here recently. She looked up and saw the tunnel hanging open. Fear gripped her.

"No," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "if they get out into the city, we are finished here." Pinkamena jumped straight up into the tunnel, narrowing her body as she went. She landed most of the way in the tunnel and slid up the length of it like a snake. Her swishing tail hit the bed, momentarily revealing Applebloom as she hid.

As soon as she was gone Applebloom jumped up and ran out of the room.

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I like to see you grin! (Awesome!)

I love to see you beam! (Rock on!)

The corners of your mouth turned up

Is always Pinkie's dream! (Hoof bump!)

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"Sweetie Belle," she heard a familiar voice call softly, a cracked laughter followed it, "Sweetie Belle? Are you there Sweetie? I just wanna play. Why won't you play with me Sweetie?"

She tried to stay as still and quiet as possible, but the shuffling sounds were moving closer and she knew it was only a matter of time before she was found. She knew from her earlier attempts at creating light that she was in a small room connected to a narrow hallway.

Sweetie Belle took a deep breath, there was only one thing she could think of doing to hide herself here. She pushed herself backwards, sinking into the pile of fetid corpses. Their stink rose up swiftly around her and she could feel cold slimy fluids mat her coat down. After living with Rarity she knew that these would stain her coat for a long time to come… if she could survive that long.

Sweetie Belle pushed her way through the pile until there were several 'layers' hiding her from anything that might be watching. She had left a little hole that she could see out of in case something did happen. She would come to regret this, she already knew.

The misshapen creature dragged itself along the hallway. It called for its friend, wanting to play. "Sweetie Belle," it moaned, pain was all it could remember. Pain was all that had ever been for it. But now it knew its friend was here and they could have, "so much fuuuuuun." It foamed at the mouth slightly, pulling its nightmarish form down the narrow hallway. "Sweeetie Beeeelle." It gave another round of its cracked laughter. 'So much fun, so much fun, so much fun, so much fun, SO MUCH FUN,' it screamed in its head, unable to vocalize its pleasure. It regained control, still screaming in its head, its eerie voice joined the chorus, "SO MUCH FUN! SO MUCH FUN SWEETIE BELLE!"

It entered the room and a thought crossed its malformed mind. "Sweetie can't see as good as I can," it said loudly, seeming to expect an answer from itself. It closed its eyes and concentrated. The room was lit by an even yellowish glow that seemed to have no source. Everything was even illuminated, leaving no shadows and distorting distances.

"We play hide and seek Sweetie Belle?" it said. It could smell her, so cute and small, but it couldn't find her. "One, two, three, five, eighteen-ten! Ready or not I coming!"

Sweetie Belle peered out through the hole in bodies that she'd left. She could see an abnormal yellow glow over everything and a 'thing' looking around on the floor in front of the bodies.

She nearly vomited, but managed to put her hooves up and hold it in her mouth. She knew the chimera would find her if she let it out so she forced herself to swallow it. Her mouth burned from holding in the acid and she could taste her breakfast again. Thinking of the food while covered in decomposing ponies nearly made her vomit again. The only thing that stopped her was the fact that she knew she wouldn't be able to make herself swallow it again.

On the floor in front of her was a creature that she knew had to be considered a crime against nature. It had a multicolored body that bubbled and rippled as the creature moved. It was very fleshy and resembled the bottom of a slug, slime included. Sticking out of it at strange angles were multiple sets of pony legs. There was a thick trunk at the top that could have been a neck. Fused together at the end of this were pony heads. Many were blackened and shriveled, clearly long dead. Others were still dead only… 'fresher'. A few still had the appearance of being alive but hung listlessly. The ones that were most active still stood high and were near the front. The foremost of these were Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy and Applejack; though Rainbow Dash's eyes would close for long periods of times every so often.

The thing began crawling up the mountain of corpses. As it stepped over her, Sweetie Belle could ear faint screams coming from within as though it were screaming without opening its mouths. A powerful smell washed over her, the rotting bodes smelled like flowers in comparison. Sweetie Belle was alarmed to notice that 'other' body parts had been formed just as haphazardly as the legs and heads.

Her mind flashed back a few days to when she found Spike and Rarity together and got mad at them, thinking they had been screwing; then to when she actually found them. As a particularly large stallion slid by, she found herself, not embarrassed by these thought as she had once been, but rather yearning for those easier, safer times.

Sweetie belle began crying softly, trying to hide her sniffles from the monster climbing above her. She had started calming herself down when she heard a strange crunching noise. The creature was eating away at the mound of bodies, still saying her name in between bites.

"Sweetie play," the monster said, its voice seeming not to come directly from any of the heads. "Sweetie wan play hide and seek so we play hide and seek." It tore the head off of a young looking pegasus corpse and swallowed it whole. "We find you Sweetie. We gon play have so much fun."

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But if you're kind of worried,

And your face is made of frown,

I'll work your heart and do my best

To turn that sad frown upside down!

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Can't believe that I haven't used the Smile Song until now. Hope you like the new chapter. More on the CMC coming up next I hope. Review, comment, fave, subscribe, whatever.

I have an announcement. This is the first chapter of the story published on the FiMfiction site. Meaning that the others on there were all written before I published this story there, this was written after I uploaded it there.

Pinkie says hi btw

And, to the three ponies who have been reviewing for most of this story, thank you. Timefather64, The Spectacular Venom, and NowImTaken /)^3^/)

The Fun Will Last Forever


Those who troll this will be eye raped. Those who read this and enjoy it have already been mind raped… it's a win-win :3 That being said, let's see where we left off.

Btw, Pinkie told me she wants to say something.

PP: HIIIIII EVERYPONY! Hope you like my parties; I worked very hard on them so everypony can have a good time. They're so much fun cuz they have treats and games and… oh Celestia! I just lost the game!

KN: PINKIE! Now I lost too. B( Go away Pinkie.

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What is this place

filled with so many wonders?

Casting its spell

That I am now under

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Scootaloo was still hurtling forward when she suddenly realized there wasn't any more ground under here. She looked back and saw that she had shot off the edge of a cliff, it was rapidly dwindling. Her wings were still too hurt from being thrown on them to fly. A strange angry feeling shot through her as she realized she couldn't fly anyways, not this high.

The ground rushed towards her and she saw her life flash before her eyes.

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Looking up into a kindly pegasus face. She smiled down on Scootaloo. "Mommee."

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Her first scooter. She buzzed her wings and rushed along the roads of Cloudsdale, running over several ponies and launching herself over the gaps between clouds.

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Sitting at a huge table, a cake in front of her, frosted purple like her mane. A big one stuck out of it. She blew out the candle and was about to shove her face in when her smiling parents handed her a card. She opened it, it was a brochure for flight school, the papers already signed.

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First day of flight school. Scootaloo couldn't even get herself an inch off the ground.

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Rejection letter. Her mother cried the whole way home. Scootaloo went straight to her room. All that evening, angry yelling. That night, crying from two different rooms.

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Scootaloo alone on the streets, her parents had kicked her out. Even after trying for a whole year she still couldn't even hover. 'Stupid pegasus purity,' she thought as she remembered the strange hooded pegasi who continued showing up at her house. The angry letters. The threatening phone calls.

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Starving, begging passers for money, or even a small bit of food. One pegasus even went so far as to order an entire pizza, spit on it, run it through the street and throw it away as she watched. He didn't have to pay for the pizza.

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Rainbow Dash sticking her head into the large box one evening. Scootaloo had been crying, remembering life before that stupid flight school. "Are you okay?" Rainbow had asked, seeming concerned for the abandoned pegasus. She had been alone for so long. She pushed Rainbow Dash away and pulled the box closed. Rainbow picked up the box and shook her out. She took a log look at the emaciated filly, "you're coming with me," and began to fly off. Scootaloo, completely broken by now started crying eve harder. Rainbow Dash turned around. "What's wrong?" "I can't fly," Scootaloo sobbed, knowing that this pony would leave her just like everypony else had. "Well climb on then," Rainbow Dash said. She took Scootaloo home and gave her the biggest meal she'd had in months.

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All her fun in Ponyville. So many memories with Rainbow Dash.

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Finding the note. Rainbow Dash was gone forever. Scootaloo knew the note was a lie, Rainbow Dash would've told her if she was going to leave. She would have taken her along. But she could only tell herself that for so many lonely nights sleeping under the cloud house that she couldn't fly up to get into. 'Rainbow Dash left me like everypony else did.' The thought hit her like a ton of bricks. 'Alone again.' Her friends found her on the ground in the same spot, still crying two days later.

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Celestia was standing in the library. "We think this is what happened to Rainbow Dash." Hope blossomed in Scootaloo's heart once more. But it burst almost as quickly. Rainbow Dash didn't leave her. She died.

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Scootaloo opened her eyes, watching the approaching ground. This was all Pinkie's fault. Pinkie tore away the last true love of Scootaloo's life. The closest thing she'd had to a family since she was abandoned and left to die. Her eyes hardened and she knew she had to get revenge for Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie dug her hooves in. She had nearly caught the fleeing orange filly when out of nowhere the ground ended. She screamed in frustration, how could she have forgotten about the chasm? She used to throw the leftovers off the cliff here. She watched as the pegasus plummeted. 'Oh well,' Pinkie thought savagely, 'out of life out of mind.'

Scootaloo began spinning. Her body flying in awe-inspiring flips and swoops as she moved her rudimentary cart as if it was an extension of her body. This is what flying felt like. This is what every pegasus but she had gotten to feel in their lifetime. Now she could too.

Pinkie watched, her jaw open slightly, as Scootaloo continued doing tricks as the ground neared, still hundreds of hooves below her. Scootaloo seemed to kick the base of the cart more savagely each time. Occasionally, Pinkie could see Scootaloo staring at her, the glare of pure hate visible even at this great distance. Scootaloo gave a massive kick and Pinkie could hear the boards splinter from where she was. The splintered cart spun wildly as Scootaloo began another flip. The cart ended up above her head, spinning furiously and her descent began to slow.

Pinkie watched in disbelief as the make-shift helicopter not only stopped the falling pony but began moving her farther from Pinkie as the drop began again anew, controlled though.

Scootaloo looked down. She was over the river that flowed straight through Ponyville. Even if Pinkie had a passage down to the river, by the time she got there Scootaloo would be long gone. She shot her legs above her head and planted them firmly on the damaged boards, stopping the rotation. She fell like a stone, hitting the water with a loud smack.

Bubbles swirled and Scootaloo came up, much farther along than where she had gone in. She'd managed to hold on to the cart, but by now it was nearly useless. She broke off a few boards and used the screws from the other boards to hold her hooves on. Scootaloo stood up and began buzzing her wings as fast as she could. The water shot along beneath her, thrown into twin plumes by her speed. A small flash of light came from just behind her, but she ignored it and kept going, exhilarated by the speed.

Pinkie watched as her prey not only survived the fall but had used the cart, Pinkie's cart, as first a scooter, then helicopter, then water skis. Scootaloo shot along and Pinkie knew she had no chance of catching her, even with Pinkamena's help. Unless… she contacted Pinkamena in her mind.

"Yes?" Pinkamena asked, sounding upset at being disturbed.

"Scootaloo is on the river."

"How'd she get out? I'm tracking her now. No matter, did she go off the edge?" Pinkamena was surprised.

"Yup, looked like something Dashie might pull."

"Why are so many ponies you know capable of so many things? Especially the pegasi it seems."

"Never mind," Pinkie was angered by her dark side's banter, "go through the tunnel and see if you can get her before she does anything."

"Okay, but I'm chasing young Applebloom. She just entered our room and… oh Samuel no."

"What?" Pinkie was alarmed. She had never heard Pinkamena worried about anything. As for who Samuel was, that was probably best left unknown. Pinkamena had found many things through her being an incarnation of darkness. "What is it?"

"The tunnel is open and the young Apple has disappeared."

"NO! We can't have two of them getting free in Ponyville! Wait, where's Sweetie Belle?"

"I left her with our experiment," Pinkamena's voice seemed to change. Pinkie knew she was going through the tunnel and had to change sizes to fit. "The, what do you call it, keeper."

"Ah, the cloning. Good, catch the two little whores and bring them back. They can't reveal our secrets, not when we're as close as this."

"Understood." Pinkamena broke the connection and emerged from the tunnel. "Young mistress Apple," she called, her deep voice reverberating off the walls of the Sugarcube Corner. Pinkamena winced, the walls had been soundproofed, but she still was wary of attracting attention.

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Squirrels in the trees

and the cute little bunnies

Birds flying free

and bees with their honey

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Applebloom could hear shouting from behind her as she ran. The huge shadow pony had gone up a tunnel in the ceiling and was acting like it thought she went through it. "As if ah could get up there," she said softly as the creature screamed her name.

She took turns randomly, trying to find her way back to the entrance. Princess Celestia had said she knew where the lair was, more or less, so maybe they'd be here and could help. She ran on, hallway after hallway. Some were short and straight, others seemed jagged or to end suddenly without reason. Few were lit, but most were dark, the light from the main hallway reflecting off hundreds of tiny beady eyes.

Applebloom heard a strange noise coming from one hallway. It sounded like Applejack, Twilight and Fluttershy. They were calling out for Sweetie Belle. "They're alive," she caught herself yelling. She jumped for joy and turned down the hallway, doing her best to remain hidden in case they thought she was the monster. The hallway was very narrow and had many twists and turns. Suddenly, the hallway grew extremely dark and she had to feel her way along. An odd stench rose from the floor and everything felt as though it had a layer of slime on it.

"Sweetie Belle," she called softly, "anypony, are you there? I heard voices, it's me Applebloom." A scuffling noise up ahead told her she was heard. It sounded like a huge crowd of ponies, but at the same time there was a squelching sound that she didn't recognize. A strange chorus of cries rang out, "who that? That Applebloom. Wanna play Applebloom? Keeper love Applebloom. Have so much fun!"

She knew something was horribly wrong. Just up ahead there was a doorway with a dim yellow light pouring out of it. She peeked in and saw a huge mass of what looked like ponies fused together. Most were dead, many were near; only a few were still alive. One was Applejack.

Applebloom saw this and could smell the fetid odors of the rotting yet living flesh of the beast. It had turned towards the doorway and was climbing off of an immense pile of corpses. Applebloom could make out a small purple blob under one of the thing's hooves. It shifted and Applebloom saw Sweetie Belle buried in the bodies. She mouthed one word, run! Then pulled her head a little farther into the slime of decay, very green in the face.

She tore down the hallway. Huge squelching noises came from behind her as she ran. She could hear her name being called out by the horrible symphony of Pinkie's victims. "Applebloom! Wanna play Applebloom? Wanna play Applebloom Sweetie Belle? We have so much fun! SO MUCH FUN!" A strange gargling noise echoed through the hallway as the voices trailed off.

Applebloom had just reached the main hallway when a green slime splattered in the wall next to her. It sizzled and smoked as the wall disintegrated. The voices sounded hoarse now. "Applebloom! COME PLAY!" Another acid wad struck the wall near her. "Come play Sweetie Belle and Keeper Applebloom!"

She ran on, ignoring every closed door for fear it would be locked, every dark hallway for fear of pitfalls or dead ends. Applebloom ran. The Keeper ran faster.

A loose floor board shuddered as Applebloom ran, she could see the entry room just ahead. She felt the Keeper's steaming breath on her flanks as she ran, a few drops of stinging liquid fell on her and she cried out in pain. She didn't dare slow down. She looked back quickly and saw multitudes of hooves reaching for her so she jumped. She hit the floor and dropped a few feet.

The rest of the floor was now level with her eyes. Applebloom looked around and screamed. Under the floor were millions upon millions of tiny black bugs that began swarming over the blood that fell from her flanks and back from where the Keeper's saliva had dripped on her. Huge rat-like creatures tore through the insects, swallowing them by the hundreds. The rats were twisted and were nearly as big as Spike. Looking around more, still screaming at the mass of living darkness before her, Applebloom could see large spiders. All at least the size of an average foal; bright green with jagged red stripes. They preyed upon the rats in their never ending land of chaotic darkness.

"Applebloom, we play teeter totter?" The creature lunged forward and landed on the protruding board with a smacking sound. Applebloom was pulled out of the lair of horror and flew through the air.

She shrieked and spun as she flew, unable to control her movement or to even slow herself down. She crashed into the wall by a window. The window shook, but Applebloom could see only rock on the other side of it. The wind rushed out of her and she lay where she landed for a few seconds, unaware of the creature advancing on her.

Pinkie grabbed the yellow foal's head. "Gotcha now," she laughed. "I came to check on Sweetie, but here I find you instead. Pinkamena told me you were in the Sugarcube Corner and Sweetie was here. Did she get you two mixed up?"

Applebloom glared at the pink pony. "As if ah'd tell ya' anything." She realized that she was looking straight into pinkie's face, but neither was looking up or down. She looked around and saw that she wasn't standing on the floor. She was still on the wall, though it didn't feel any different.

The Keeper yelled in joy as it ran into the room and saw Pinkie. "Pinkie! You play Sweetie Belle Applebloom and Keeper! Pinkie come play, Pinkie come play! So much fun, so much fun!"

"Quiet baby," Pinkie said softly, "you're giving mommy a headache again."

"Pinkie play, Pinkie play," the creature continued quietly hugging Pinkie.

Applebloom began walking up the wall while the two were distracted. It didn't feel any different than walking on the floor. It didn't even look much different. She put a hoof on the ceiling and pushed, it felt like pushing on a wall, but when she put both front hooves on it, she found herself feeling as though she was doing a hoof-stand. She rolled and found herself on the ceiling, looking up at Pinkie and the Keeper.

"Mommy loves you Keeper," Pinkie crooned, rubbing under the creature's many chins, dead and living alike. "but she's bus now, okay. We play later."

"Pinkie play Keeper later." It put her down. "Pinkie, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle here!"

"Yes, I know. Why don't you go find Sweetie Belle while I get Applebloom, then we can all play. Okay?"

Pinkie looked up at Applebloom and flashed a wicked smile. "Isn't this place fun? I even can change the gravity here." Pinkie jumped into the air and landed on the ceiling hooves first. "it's so much fun." She gave one of her usually infectious laughs, snorting and giggling like crazy. "Oh by the way," she said as Applebloom began running away down the wall, "that was the Keeper, I made him. He gets to be part of all of my friends. I wanted to have all of them back but it didn't work, so I made him instead."

Applebloom was now standing in front of the door. She looked at Pinkie who continued talking as though nothing was wrong. Shaking her head, she kicked the door open and ran outside. A large hole was in front of her and she fell in, hitting her head on the edge, nearly biting her tongue off.

She fell in darkness for what felt like hours, coming to a crash on a hard stone floor. Her vision blacked out immediately and a crunching noise filled the air.

Pinkie looked into the hole, satisfaction on her face. "They never look where they're going do they? Well, better go check up on the others." She walked over the hole as if it were solid ground. As she passed, it became solid ground. She nodded slightly at seeing this and trotted down the tunnel, more parties already being planned in her mind.

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Hoooooooneeeeeeeey!

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Sweetie Belled cringed as the beast continued to climb over the bodies, crunching noises coming from its many heads as it ate its way through the corpses. It kept coming close to stepping into her hiding place. She was about to try and run for it when she heard Applebloom calling down the hallway.

'Oh now,' she could feel her face pale, 'she doesn't know about the monster.'

The creature looked around. "Who that? That Applebloom. Wanna play Applebloom? Keeper love Applebloom. Have so much fun!"

Applebloom peered through the doorway as 'Keeper' turned around. Sweetie could see Applebloom lock eyes on her. Run, she mouthed silently. The creature yelled with joy and began stumbling after Applebloom. Fear showed on her face and she galloped away down the hallway.

Sweetie Belle waited in the pile for a little longer, waiting for triumphant roars or screams of pain. When none came, she climbed out and managed a cleaning spell Rarity had taught her a few weeks before. She cleaned the fluids out of her mane and coat. She gave her tail a quick snap and launched the grime off of it.

The glow in the room had left with Keeper, but she could still remember where to go. Sweetie Belle began walking quietly down the hallway, listening for any sign of fellow travelers of the hallway.

She could hear the faint sounds of heavy squelching steps far off, but nothing seemed to be nearby. Sweetie Belle turned corner after corner, trying to follow after Applebloom and Keeper without being discovered. She hoped that Applebloom was heading back the way she'd come, then they could escape together. Scootaloo had probably already been sent for help, she knew Applebloom could be counted on in tough situations.

She saw a familiar, though twisted and disproportionate, entryway in front of her. She saw Applebloom walking around on the walls. "What the hay?" She put her hooves on the wall and found herself falling down onto the wall, not strong enough to support herself for long without all of her hooves; Rarity considered exercise unnecessary and unladylike.

She climbed around, amazed at being able to do this unaided. Sweetie belle froze when she heard Pinkie talking. "Yes, I know. Why don't you go find Sweetie Belle while I get Applebloom, then we can all play. Okay?" She cringed as she saw Keeper running full speed through the doorway, barely fitting without breaking the doorframe.

"SWEETIE BELLE! KEEPER, SWEETIE, APPLEBLOOM PINKIE PLAY NOW! HAVE FUN!" It didn't notice her, standing horizontal above it.

Sweetie Belle lay on the wall, heart pounding, until long after the Keeper had left and all sounds of its happy yells had disappeared. She climbed down and looked for Applebloom. There was only one clue: Applebloom's bow was on the floor of the entry tunnel, right outside the door. There was only one set of hoofprints in the tunnel going out and they were too big for Applebloom.

'Where could she be?' Sweetie thought, turning down the tunnel. 'I'll go get help; maybe the princesses will be able to help.'

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Oooh, what a magical place

and I owe it all to the Pegasus race

If I knew the ground had so much up its sleeve

I'd have come here sooner, and never leave

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Pinkamena tore through the Sugarcube corner, bent on finding the fillies who had escaped into it. "Where are they?" she screamed as she punched through a wall. The door was stuck and she thought they might be hiding within. It was just a broom closet where Pinkie kept their balloon.

"Hey Pinkamena," Pinkie's happy voice shot through her head.

"What?"

"Applebloom is here with me. I don't think she used the tunnel."

Pinkamena glowered, she'd never been wrong before. NEVER!

"I don't think I closed the tunnel this morning when Spike came to get me, I was in a rush."

"I'm coming back."

"No, find Scootaloo, she did go on the river, I SAW that. Don't let her tell anypony what's happening okay?"

"As you wish." Pinkamena glowed brightly and shrunk down to normal pony size. Pinkie would attract attention from her friends and the princesses, due to the plans being laid, so Pinkamena changed her appearance. She turned a deep violet with a bright red mane. Her cutie mark changed from three balloons into a rainbow patterned cupcake. She snuck out the back door and jumped, pushing off the ground as hard as she could.

She landed on the outskirts of Ponyville, startling the mail mare who had just been sitting down to eat a muffin. 'Now to find the little twerp and end her,' a small thrill rippled through her body at this. Derpy shrugged and went back to her muffin, Dinky had baked some fresh cranberry ones last night and they were as good as anything Derpy had ever made. 'Maybe she'll get a muffin cutie mark,' Derpy thought happily as she shoved her face into the overly large muffin. Crumbs flew everywhere as Pinkamena scanned the area, choosing to ignore the gray pegasus.

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Yes, I love everythiiiiiiiiiing!

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XD this song so doesn't belong here.

I wrote the Scootaloo part extra fast. It was like when Pinkie first started telling me how the story was supposed to go; only it wasn't Pinkie. I think it might've been RD, but she's dead now. Whoever it was, they didn't say anything, they just took over.

I know I've been focused on the CMC lately. It will branch out more in the next chapter, I promise. I may even make it a Spike and Rarity focused chapter, idk.

Loose Ends

Yay, new chapter! And only two days later than I wanted :3 As I promised, we're returning to Ponyville… Celestia knows how long though.

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Rarity closed the door to the library behind her. The princesses were still making plans with Pinkie on how to catch whatever had been killing so many ponies. Spike was sitting off to the side, listening. He had volunteered to be used as bait to draw out the mysterious evil. "Somepony," he said, tears filling his eyes at the news of Twilight's mare-napping, "has to pay for this." He had dug his claws into fists so hard that blood began dripping from them, small green drops falling and sizzling on the floor. Rarity had noticed the crusaders were gone and had left to find them.

"They really shouldn't be out on their own right now," she said, carefully avoiding the inky black puddles that were left from the pegasi's cleanup. "What with the disappearances and the fire, we all need to stay together."

Rarity wandered around town, calling out for the fillies. Whenever she ran into somepony, she'd ask if they'd seen Sweetie Belle or her friends; nopony had. She was beginning to get very angry. "We only sat there and listened to how our friends were taken by a monster that defeated princess Celestia and they still decide to go run off."

As she was walking along, Rarity noticed an orange and purple blur on the river. It looked like Scootaloo but she was going too fast to be sure. "SCOOTALOO!" Rarity screamed, her mane was frizzy from the excessive amounts of water in the air and she had been walking for hours. Her hooficure was ruined and she was going to have to take several baths to get all of the mud out of her beautiful coat.

The blur on the water changed directions without slowing. Rarity could see Scootaloo's face now. She was headed straight for Rarity and she looked… different. Rarity saw that her sister wasn't with the orange pegasus. "Scootaloo," she yelled, "where have you been and where… are…" Rarity trailed off. She realized that Scootaloo wasn't planning on slowing down. She was hooves away from Rarity and if anything she was going faster.

Rarity started to retreat from the river's edge, but it was too late. Scootaloo launched herself up the river bank, boards were stuck to her hooves, but they flew off as they came into contact with the ground. She flew through the air, her wings still buzzing, and crashed into Rarity with enough force to knock them back into a nearby building.

"Rarity," Scootaloo said thickly. Rarity could see she had been crying. It looked like the only reason she'd stopped was that she just didn't have any left in her. Her breaths came in huge bursts as she spoke. "Rarity, it's got them. It's got Sweetie and Applebloom!"

"What does?" Rarity had a feeling she knew, but she desperately hoped it was something else. 'Please let her say they were in the forest again and they found another cockatrice, please let it be something safe like that.'

"The monster, the monster found us. It looked like Pinkie, but it changed! One second it was Pinkie, the next it was a huge monster. The lights went out and Sweetie Belle screamed. When the lights came back on she wasn't there anymore and the monster was gone too!"

"No, not Sweetie Belle," Rarity felt a sinking in the pit of her stomach. She'd seen some of the remains found in the clearing where they thought the monster to be, if Sweetie Belle had to go through any of that…

"Wait," a thought occurred to Rarity, "where's Applebloom?"

"She made me leave. She stayed behind to try and find Sweetie. I don't know if she made it. I went back outside and Pinkie was at the door, I think it was the real Pinkie this time. She tried to kill me, but I managed to stay ahead of her. Then I fell off a cliff and managed to water ski back here."

"That couldn't have been Pinkie," Rarity said, terrified at the thought of somepony with Pinkie's talents killing ponies." She's been with the princesses this whole time. "There's no way she could have gone that far out before you got there."

"It doesn't matter," Scootaloo said, she had herself under a little more control now, but her voice still came in little hitches, "we need to send somepony in after them. Who knows what they could be going through right now."

Rarity tossed the small filly onto her back and took off for the library. "This… is why… you girls… should… heh… should listen to… us!" She wasn't used to running let alone carrying a filly around on her back. Even the light weight of the small pegasus was more than she was accustomed to.

"Yeah… I know…" Scootaloo had finally stopped crying, she was still worried about her friends but she knew crying would only waste more of her energy. She was already exhausted from having pulled the crusaders to the clearing and then having to come back so fast. She lay down as well as she could on Rarity's back. Even with the constant jolting, it was fairly comforting; her fur was soft and silky form all of her hair care products. Scootaloo tried to rest her wings; they still ached from when Pinkie had slammed her down on them. 'No, it wasn't Pinkie,' she thought, 'it was another one of those monsters, or maybe even the same one. Pinkie would never do this to her friends.'

As they passed the Sugarcube Corner, Rarity had to stop for a rest. Scootaloo tried to climb off and spell her for a bit, but as soon as her hooves hit the ground she collapsed. She managed to sit up, but she could already tell she wasn't going to be doing anything active for a few days, she was just so tired.

Scootaloo looked around as Rarity caught her breath. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, other than the remains of the huge fire from the night before, but something seemed to catch her eye. She looked up and could see what appeared to be a shadow lying across Pinkie's window. The ones around it had the lights turned off and the curtains mostly drawn. On Pinkie's window, the curtains were wide open and there was only blackness in the window itself.

Scootaloo watched, something tugging at the back of her mind, suddenly the darkness seemed to shift, it didn't move, it was almost as though a pattern had been pulled across it. There were no noticeable differences it had just moved.

A voice seemed to echo across the orange pegasus's mind, but before she could understand what it was or what it was saying Rarity pulled Scootaloo back onto her back. "We're nearly there," she huffed as she began running once more, "maybe we can save them before it's too late. Who knows, the others may still be alive as well." A voice deep down seemed to tell both of them that there would be no remains of their friends, but they pushed it away and hoped for the best.

As they neared the library, Scootaloo suddenly realized what she had heard in her head. It was the same voice that had haunted them as the lights went out in the twisted replica of the Sugarcube Corner. It was Pinkamena's voice. "I'm watching," it had said, the echoes resounding through her mind even now.

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Sweetie Belle walked along the tunnel, listening carefully for any unwelcome things from either end. She didn't know what the strange 'Keeper' wanted, but she knew it wouldn't feel good. He also knew she had to avoid Pinkie, if that really was Pinkie this time. She hoped it wasn't.

She emerged from the tunnel into the clear daylight that filled the still regrowing forest. She breathed deeply; even with the small remains of the ash and soot in the air it still smelled much better than the twisted house of pain below. Sweetie Belle looked around, Scootaloo's scooter was still there, but wheeled tracks were dug deeply into the ground both in and in front of the tunnel. She began to walk forward cautiously, but tripped in a large hole in the ground. It was in the exact shape of a small pegasus, she could even see deeper sections that must have been made by the wings stuck out behind the pegasus. 'Good,' she thought, still too scared to make noise, 'Scootaloo did get out, but why is her scooter here and where is she?' She saw a strange cut in the thick trunk of a tree that had somehow grown to nearly full height since that morning.

A few pieces of wood lay scattered on the ground, but more tracks left the tree, heading away from the thicker parts of the forest. A trail of destruction was easily visible. Sweetie Belle decided that this must be where her friend went. She noticed, as she followed the tracks, that there were hoofprints doubling back from there and they were fresher than the wheel tracks. She also noticed that more hoofprints le way from the clearing entirely and these were even more recent, some still had grass bent into them. 'Maybe it's a good thing we tried to learn how to track,' Sweetie thought, 'now I know where not to go.'

She followed the tracks for some ways. Rocks and saplings lay shattered all over the ground and she could see a few inclines that had shallow tunnels bored through the as though something had been going too fast to bother going over the extra ground. The young unicorn had hoped against hope that she would find Scootaloo at the end of the tracks, then they could go get Applebloom and warn the others, but as she found the end of the wheel prints, she found herself on the edge of a cliff overlooking the river. She could see more pieces of wood lying on the banks and a couple could still be seen floating in the slower parts of the winding blue ribbon.

She sighed and turned around. She was going to walk back the way she had come when she heard a rustling in the trees. Thinking quickly, she grabbed a low hanging branch and jumped over the edge. It creaked a little, but it held and she found that the top of the cliff was an overhanging ledge above a bowl like depression. She began swinging, the crackling sounds growing louder, and let go of the branch. She had timed it poorly though and barely managed to grab the ledge.

She dangled in space, held only by the barest edge of her hooves. She knew one wrong twitch would send her falling and that she wouldn't survive the impact. The rustling had stopped and the light sound of a pony walking across the grass told her that she needed to hurry up and move. She strained against the downward pull and managed to pull herself up, inch by inch. The rough ledge scraped against her stomach and cut through in a few places. They were small but they dangerously pulled at her attention and willingness to continue. Soon though, she was enough on the ledge to flop over and slide her rear legs up.

She saw the tip of a pony's head look over the cliff and she pulled back against the wall. There wasn't as much room as she had thought but she still knew it was impossible for anypony to see her unless they were next to her.

Pinkie's voice floated down. "I was sure I heard her come this way. Maybe I was just thinking of little Scoot. There's no way she could have gotten away without me seeing, besides, she'd never survive that fall." A deep inflection came across her voice.

"She came this way, she's here right now. She merely cannot be seen mistress."

Sweetie gasped, but quickly covered her mouth. Pinkie seemed to hear, "well," she said, her voice back to normal, "maybe I should leave her then. After all, that's what I would've done if you hadn't told me."

"Sounds fair enough, after all she won't win." The deep voice seemed neither pleased nor displeased with this. It sounded as though it was just stating facts. There was something in it though. Sweetie recognized it from when she heard Rainbow Dash talking about a stunt or Twilight spouting something she had read. The voice was completely sure, more than that; it knew that it was right. Sweetie Belle's face turned even paler, though she couldn't tell. She could feel a strange lightheadedness as the blood left her though.

Pinkie giggled and walked away. "Bye Sweetie," she said as she left. The lone crusader could hear the impact from every time Pinkie landed as she hopped away. "Have fun getting off the ledge."

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Celestia faced her sister and the small pink pony. After the white unicorn, "Rarity," Pinkie supplied, had left, Celestia had put all present into a trance so that they could communicate faster. She waited until the mare left because she noticed the younglings were gone and that Rarity would be extremely worried when she noticed. She also had a feeling that they would depend upon Rarity finding them.

"So," Celestia's majestic voice resounded through their minds, "it is set then. Spike, you will take your place in Pinkie's contraption. It will be powered by my sister and I and Pinkie will spring the trap once our mysterious enemy arrives."

"Can we be sure of victory?" Luna asked, her voice slipping back into the Royal Wheeze she was still trying to get away from, "IF WE CANNOT WIN THEN WE SHALL NEVER HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE! EVEN IF WE SURVIVE!"

"It's okay," Pinkie's voice said, "My stuff always works. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

"It better," Spike's voice was cold and bitter. He was completely changed from his usual happy self. Twilight had always been like a big sister to him, most of the time she was more like his mother. Somepony had taken her away, and he was going to make sure they regretted it for the rest of their life, as long as he could make it. Fluttershy's disappearance also weighed heavily on him. He stomach was still knotted from learning of her true feelings and not being able to apologize for hurting her so much.

"CALM YOURSELF SMALL ONE," Luna hesitated before continuing, her voice softened but it was filled with bitter resent, "No matter what the cause, anger never serves. I thought I had a good reason just like you do, but I allowed it to twist me and I was sent to the moon for a thousand years as a result. I doubt anything that will happen along the path to come will be so merciful as that."

They snapped out of their trances as Luna finished. Her thoughts had turned to the dark memories of events that still haunted her. She had led an army of shadow creatures against her sister and nearly destroyed Equestria as a result. Countless lives had been lost for something they hadn't known or even suspected was an issue. She had felt the pain as each was destroyed by her sister's power combined with the elements of harmony until she lay broken on the ground. Her body wracked with the pain of a thousand deaths. This rushed by as Celestia quickly broke the mental connections. The last thing Spike saw was a pale, barren landscape; devoid of life and shelter. The Earth had filled much of the sky and a strong feeling of loss and anger came from this.

Spike was shaken by the visions. "Was that-"

"Yes," Luna stared at the ground, a trail of wetness coming from her eyes, "that was when I turned. Do not let such a thing tempt you young dragon, do not!"

Pinkie was in awe. She had seen memories of her dark mistress when she was still all powerful: Nightmare Moon's rise and original fall. The others seemed to take her shock for a similar feeling to Spike's; Pinkie was glad the mental connection was no longer active. She managed to secure the memories in the part of her mind that housed Pinkamena's connection to her, keeping them in a way that both her and her partner could view at any time. Pinkie shook from the sheer pleasure of having had the privilege of sharing in her goddess's mind, even if only for a little while.

Celestia snapped her hooves, drawing everypony's attention. "We must begin preparations." The clock had barely moved since Rarity left, yet they had already made plans, drawn and redrawn strategies and blueprints and had determined exactly how to play their hand.

Pinkie hopped out the door, "I better get to work then." The door closed behind her. Spike glanced out the window; she was already out of sight. He turned to the princesses, ready to make himself as appetizing to the monster as they could.

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Pinkie galloped down the street. Everypony froze as the pink streak shot by, knocking over anything loose and causing Derpy's mail bag to fly open, letters spilling in even more areas than usual. She climbed through her window at the Sugarcube Corner, not wanting to waste time with the stairs and doors.

Pinkie ran to her bed, pulled open the secret passage to her hideout and jumped through; she fell quickly but landed neatly on her bed as she came out of the light. She checked up on Pinkamena and found her following the crusaders; they were nearly at the clearing. A quick understanding flashed through them and Pinkamena rushed behind a rock in the clearing and changed into her smaller Pinkie form.

Pinkie ran down the hallways as fast as she could, jumping over the hidden pits and dodging all of her pets. She didn't have time to play vet right now so she thought it best to avoid them. She found herself looking into the main room as the crusaders entered with Pinkamena. She jumped as high as she could and landed softly on the ceiling.

Pinkie waited until the lights went out and ran by. She could feel Pinkamena's mane as she ran past with Sweetie Belle, it brushed against her and Pinkamena ducked her head quickly to avoid dislodging the party pony. Pinkie ran through the door and down the escape tunnel, moving back down to the floor as she went. She climbed up on the entrance and waited, sooner or later one of the fillies would run out and she'd catch them.

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Pinkamena had just learned that none of the fillies were where she thought they were. As furious as she was, she knew she had to keep a level head. Applebloom had been caught by Pinkie already and Scootaloo was nearing the town. She had left Sweetie Belle under care of the Keeper, so now all that remained was recapturing the small pegasus. She changed her form and launched herself to the outskirts of Ponyville. She landed by a small gray mare. Derpy dropped her muffin, but Pinkamena paid her no attention.

She walked quickly through the town. She ignored everypony's stares. She was a mare they had never seen in town before. They all wondered at her cutie mark. Even pinkie didn't have a cupcake as a cutie mark; they could only imagine how well this pony could bake. Pinkamena could tell their thoughts and smiled to herself, if only they knew that she had been baking for them all along. A few wondered at the fact that she had a rainbow cupcake, she paid them no heed. A few ponies recognized it as the kind Pinkie had been selling lately, but none of them asked about it. A few went so far as to assume that she was Pinkie's mentor, it would explain why her presence seemed so… distracting and unusual.

She noticed Rarity walking along looking for the crusaders. She decided to follow for a while. She didn't really care if she had to take the unicorn and the pegasus together, neither would present much of a challenge. 'Of course,' Pinkamena thought with a wince, even being nearly invincible she could still remember the pain inflicted by misjudging the last of Pinkie's friends, 'maybe I should play it a little safer.'

She drew back a little more and followed at a distance of several blocks. She could always smell where Rarity was so she had little worry about losing her. Soon another smell joined the sweet lilacs of Rarity. This smelled of fear and perspiration, an odd mix of cinnamon and oranges hung around just underneath it. She knew Rarity had found Scootaloo and she was wary. As she entered the town, she could feel the power emanating from the library in the middle of town. The princesses were watching and she didn't want to draw their attention… yet.

She retreated to the Sugarcube Corner and waited for Pinkie to return.

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Pinkie left the cliff where Sweetie Belle was hiding. It wouldn't be any fun to take them too quickly. She did, however, let the white filly overhear her conversation with the Oracle. She could actually smell the fear coming from the hidden ledge. She had known about that for years, she carved it herself to sit and enjoy cupcakes while the moon rose, giving her a view of her goddess's profile and allowing them an easier path of communication.

She wandered around a bit until she returned to the clearing where her hideout was. She shrugged and went inside; she had some more work to do before she had to make appearances in Ponyville to keep suspicion down.

Pinkie got out her sewing machine and set to work. As she went, she found a small golden object wrapped in Fluttershy's mane. She pulled it out carefully and looked at it, amazed that it had survived the destruction needed to kill the small yellow pegasus. It opened easily and revealed a small purple clipping that she instantly recognized as being part of one of Spike's scales. On the opposite side there was a small picture of Spike and Fluttershy at a party.

Anger flared up inside the pink pony as thoughts raged in her mind. "Has he been cheating on Rarity with her?" She screamed at the Oracle, pushing the remains of Fluttershy's head on the floor. The Furmites gathered around it but were wary not to touch something the mistress had thrown without commanding them to eat.

The Oracle answered as calmly as ever, "do you really think Spike capable of something like that? Or Fluttershy for that matter?"

"No, but I also didn't expect Fluttershy to escape Pinkamena and nearly kill me… twice."

"Fair enough. No, Spike wasn't aware of her feelings, not until a few days ago at least, but she didn't know he found out."

"How long has she liked him?" Pinkie asked, picking up the pink maned head and placing it back on the table. She felt a small wave of sorrow for Fluttershy. She knew she was bad about jumping to conclusions and she knew what rejection felt like. She also knew it was worse when that somepony didn't even know they had rejected you. But that's what cupcakes were for, though Fluttershy wouldn't have known about that. Trixie did now, but it was too late for her.

"Do you remember how happy she was when Twilight and Spike moved in and how unusual it was to you that she was so happy about strangers? And then how she retreated into her cabin when it became common knowledge that he liked Rarity?"

"That long, how did I miss it?"

"Even I can't answer how you missed something like that. Of course, nopony else knew either, so it's not like you're alone in this."

"Yes, but I notice everything."

"Apparently not."

Pinkie wanted to lash out at the Oracle but she didn't know how to harm a source of power residing in oneself. She doubted it would tell her. She grew angry at having missed something so obvious, but her thoughts cleared as an idea dawned. She turned to the sewing machine with new vigor, determined to have her plans ready by the time her plans topside came to fruition.

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Applebloom woke up. She was in a deep pit made entirely out of a strange black rock. It was warm, but harder than any metal she'd ever bucked. She realized that she had a startlingly large number of comparisons for this. The only light source came from a small glowing ball of energy that stayed just above her head, out of her reach.

She lay down on the floor, her legs ached as though she had sprained them and, looking up, she probably had, given the size of the fall. Her ribs pained her as she moved and she could feel the jagged splinters in a few that told her they were broken. She recognized the feel from when Big Mac had been hurt during apple bucking season a while back.

She cried out in pain as she examined her body for other injuries. She had strained a leg; sprained two hooves, the pain greatly increased after bucking the walls, and had two broken ribs. A third might be broken as well but she couldn't be sure.

Applebloom looked around. There wasn't much room for her to walk, only a few hooves of clearance on each side of her, and the pit was empty of everything other than the yellow pony and her mysterious floating light ball.

The rock splintered a little near the bottom as she lay on the floor. It formed itself into grates and she realized that she was moving downward very slowly, almost too slow to tell. A loud, pain-filled moaning came from the grates. As they became more exposed and easier to hear, Applebloom realized they weren't just moans of pain. They were cries of hunger, primeval calls of the need for something dangerous to feed. Something that had been locked up deep in the ground for a long time that was very hungry and wouldn't wait much longer. They stopped for a second and restarted with a renewed fury. The calls now had an urgency that spoke of their new knowledge that they wouldn't have to wait much longer to be filled.

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Mwahahaha! What shall happen next?

Yeah, it's all jumbly-wumblied up, but now you all know what was happening the whole time the last two chapters were going on, plus a little more. :3

For those reading this on FiMfiction .net, if you have faved this or commented that you like it, gimme a thumbs up. I don't like how close the thumbs up/thumbs down ratio is.

Also, big piece of business, a little while back I gave a shout out to some readers on Fanfiction .net, one of them Timefather64, wrote a story called "Hear the voices? Of Samuel". This is where Pinkamena's statement, "Oh Samuel no" came from. I'd advise reading it. It's good and you'll understand why she said it :3 (also for any fanfic readers reading this on fimfiction as well, [looks at Dalek] post a hello below so everyone can see how awesome you are /)^3^(\)

Next chapter: The Trap (name might change if I think of a pun or movie/book/song/game title that could be used instead.)

Coming up in Business is Boomin'

-"No! that can't be possible!" *twitches uncontrollably* "You can't get away with this! You don't know what you're doing!"

-"Freedom! Freedom once more! I'm coming ponies, make sure you're ready!" *evil cackling*

-"We are both free sister, free to experience joy once again!" *licks lips* "Such sweet, tasty joy."

-"Oh Samuel what have I done? What have I unleashed?"

-"Pinkie noooo!"

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-"Fluttershy? But, how?"

-"Spike, I-"

The Trap

Wow, this is a groundbreaking chapter. It will be the first one that I've ever written in more than one sitting. (I'm going to bed very soon but I wanna start the chapter anyways.) EDIT: took three sittings to finish, usally takes one.

Never expected the story to get this long or this popular. Thank you everypony who reads this garbage, especially those of you who pretend to like it. :3 If you read the author notes every time, you get extra points.

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Applebloom huddled against the side of her cage. The floor of the black stone pit had sunk down to where the strange stone grates surrounded her. She could see a mass of shadowy figures moving around in the darkness. They pressed against the grates, moaning, drooling, teeth gnashing. They all seemed horribly distorted. A few came into the range of her meager light and she could see ponies. Not everything was as it seemed though.

When viewed in the light, the pony figures would seem to explode, only to be replaced by some new monstrosity. After a matter of second all of the figures had changed. Spines, tentacles, tails, wings and claws all smashed against the smooth stone seeking to gain a grip. One particularly large creature had nine tentacles, bat wings and a huge alligator mouth. He was big enough to completely encircle the stone cylinder with his mouth. Three spiny tongues lashed against the sides dropping a strange smelling yellow fluid that smoked and burned as it came into contact with the rock. The rock was undamaged, but with the burning saliva falling ever faster it was only a matter of time before Applebloom was covered in it. She knew she probably wouldn't last much longer after that.

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Rarity burst into the library with Scootaloo still on her back. As they entered, Rarity fell onto the floor breathing heavily. She wiggled a little bit to make Scootaloo get off. She rolled off Rarity's back, still too worn out to stand up.

Celestia looked at them and raised an eyebrow. "Where are the others?" Her voiced flowed over them like a cooling breeze and they felt a measure of strength returned to them. Luna merely glanced at them before turning her attentions back to Spike. There weren't any noticeable changes, but Rarity knew they were getting him ready to be used as bait.

"Tell them Scootaloo," Rarity said, nudging the orange filly, "tell them just what you told me."

She quickly related the story to the princesses, trying to include as many details as she could remember. When she got to the part about the flash of light, Rarity glanced at her flank and gave a small squeal.

Everypony jumped; they had been listening intently to Scootaloo's story, trying to find any usable clues. Rarity pointed a hoof at Scootaloo's flank. "What? What is it?" She turned around and around rapidly trying to see what everypony was looking at.

Spike sighed and grabbed her head. "Stay with me on this one," he said, slowly turning her head. She saw her flank and nearly deafened everypony with her squeals.

"OMIGOSHIT'SMYCUTIEMARK!" A small blue helmet was there, a skateboard crossed with a scooter made the background. Scootaloo began jumping around excitedly, nearly knocking Celestia and Luna into the records they had brought for the investigation. Spike grabbed her once again, but found himself pulled along as she bounced.

"Argh!" he complained as she nearly threw him off again, "it's like trying to catch Pinkie Pie! Somepony hee-" his yelling turned into screams as Scootaloo suddenly stopped. Spike's momentum carried him across the room and through a window. A few seconds later he slammed the door open, glass still stuck in his scales, he stomped over to the window and opened what was left of it.

Scootaloo still hadn't seemed to notice that he'd been on her in the first place. She stood, an expression of horror dawning on her face. Celestia tried to ask her what was wrong and she burst out crying. Everypony did their best to stop her, but soon gave up when their attempts only made it worse. Luna sighed and her horn glowed. A small box appeared around Scootaloo and it began to shrink rapidly, constricting the pegasus. It vanished with a pop and Scootaloo stood there twitching.

"Now please little one," Luna said calmly, "tell us what's wrong."

Scootaloo rushed through her story. How Pinkie had met them and showed them the hideout and how she suddenly wasn't pinkie anymore. Then, when Scootaloo got out, another Pinkie had been at the door.

"What could that mean?" Rarity asked, "two Pinkies? And one of them a monster? But wasn't Pinkie here with you?"

"I don't know what it could mean. Celestia said, but Pinkie Pie left here not long after you did. She rushed out to begin work on the plan, or at least, that's what she had said."

"Maybe I should go see," Spike said. He quickly held up a scroll he'd been scribbling on. "If it really was her, I'll send this to you and you'll know. Scootaloo can show you where to find us so I should be all right. Right Scootaloo?"

"Yeah, I think I can remember. It's the clearing."

"What clearing?" Rarity asked, looking confused.

"THE clearing," Spike said, a look of understanding crossed his face, "you now, the one with… the… you know."

Rarity's eyes shot open. She turned to Scootaloo. "You mean to tell me that the three of you went looking for a monster by yourselves and you went there?"

"Well where else would we find a monster?" Scootaloo asked defensively.

Spike left while they still argued about the crusaders taking too many risks and never listening to anypony. Spike sighed as the door closed behind him, cutting off much of the yelling. If it really was pinkie, he'd have to move quickly to keep her from covering her tracks.

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Pinkamena looked through the window of Pinkie's regular bedroom. She saw Spike leaving the library with a strange scroll. She focused and could hear his thoughts, or, at least, his intentions. She shrunk down, hiding away her darkness and quickly ran downstairs. As she ran, she updated Pinkie on what had happened.

"Don't worry," Pinkie said, "I'm nearly done down here.

"Using the full extent of her speed and strength, Pinkamena began putting together the machine that Pinkie and the princesses had agreed on. She had one last detail to see to before it was finished when Spike knocked on the door. Pinkamena opened it, trying to act natural. Or at least, as natural as one could act while being Pinkie Pie.

"Hiya Spike," she said, the cheer in her voice all too genuine. She'd had so much fun the last few days. "You ready to get that mean old meanie-mean meanie-pants who's been hurting our friends?"

"Yeah," he said, pulling a cylinder of paper away from his mouth and sticking it behind his back. "I was, uh, just coming too… too, see if you needed any help." He looked around the pink mare and saw the nearly finished machine sitting in the middle of the floor. He let out an appreciative whistle. He'd never seen so intricate a trap. Added in with the fact that it'd been built by an extremely hyper pony in just a few short hours, Spike was thoroughly impressed. Even more so when he realized there were no tolls anywhere in the room.

"Nope, I'm almost done. Just go tell Celestia and Luna that it's almost time."

Pinkamena gave a twitch as a small vibration went off in her head. She'd gotten a Pmail. She thought about it for a second and could hear her counterpart's voice. "Hey Pinkamena, it's me. I just finished Spike's present. Make sure everything is in place to use it."

She quickly drafted a reply and sent it. "No time, the trap is about to be set. Get ready."

"What was all that about?" Spike asked, looking into the pony's eyes trying to find something wrong. "You were shaking and your hooves were flying around in the air. You were making little sounds that were almost like words but seemed to change more the longer you heard them."

"Oh," Pinkamena said, quickly thinking up a plausible excuse, "It's just a Pinkie sense. It means something really good is about to happen… well, here it does."

"Oh good," Spike wiped a claw across his face. They were walking down Mane Street. Pinkamena had somehow gotten the contraption finished, folded up and placed on her back while Spike wasn't looking; that is to say, when he blinked once or twice. He ignored this and continued, "I was afraid something might go wrong and I'd be eaten by that horrible thing. I want to avenge Twilight and everypony else but I really don't want to be eaten."

"Don't worry," Pinkamena said, a grin stretching across her face, "I'm sure this will go off without a hitch."

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Sweetie Belle climbed back up the cliff. She had to dig her horn in to carve out footholds, but she was soon back at the top. She was still shaken by what pinkie had said. The sureness of pinkie's other voice had started her thinking earnestly that there was no way for them to beat her, that Pinkie would be completely unstoppable.

Sweetie began the long walk back towards town, she was nervous about following the paths, but if Pinkie had wanted her dead, she would have gotten her at the cliff. So she walked. After a little while, Sweetie came across the scooter that the crusaders had left when they first neared the clearing with Pinkie's lair. She thought about it for a moment.

"Well," she said to herself, "it wouldn't be good to leave it here. And it would help me get back faster." She shrugged and climbed onto the scooter. She began to push off, "how hard can it be? Scootaloo does it all the time." She hadn't gone more than a few hooves before she somehow managed to completely flip the scooter over.

She climbed out from under it, whining a little about how she scraped her knees and how stupid the scooter was. Sweetie gave the scooter one last look and left it where it was, limping slightly from the pain in her knees.

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Pinkie looked up from her sewing machine. She was done, the stitching was exact and could only be seen if you looked very closely, closer than anyone should be looking at any self-respecting mare.

"Oh Fluttershy," she giggled, holding up her masterpiece, "even now you're so soft and cute!" Fluttershy's lifeless head flopped around as she held up the skin. "Now let's go see if everypony else thinks so."

Pinkie wrapped herself in the soft yellow skin, arranging the fluffy pink mane around her face just like Fluttershy always had it. A slight smell lingered from letting it sit for a few hours, but Pinkie just had to rub a few rabbits on herself before it went away. "Note to self," she said, "use stronger bunnies next time." She wiped the crimson liquid off her new outfit and threw the deflated looking rabbits on the floor, their blood pooling around them where Pinkie had rubbed too hard.

She went back to her bedroom and jumped into the tunnel, remembering to close it behind her this time. As she walked along, she decided to check up on Pinkamena before she got there. 'Oooh,' she thought as she went to talk to her dark-side, 'she returned my Pmail.' She listened to what Pinkamena had to say before turning around angrily.

"This is the worst part about having a double," she complained, "things never happen when they're supposed to. Now we have to get to work before I can test out my new costume." She sullenly started back for her real bedroom, the one Applejack and Fluttershy had been so confused by.

Pinkie walked back through the Sugarcube Corner. She paused for a moment to put her outfit away and check on Applebloom. "Hellooo" she called, looking through a window. It opened upon a vast underground chamber filled with misshapen creatures. Giant beasts cobbled together out of the parts of Pinkie's many victims. Everything turned around at almost the same time. The wild howls and shrieks rose in a terrible cacophony. They saw who it was that had drawn their attention and instantly silenced themselves, fearing rebuke. Only one had not noticed their mistress.

She climbed through the window and walked over to the center of the chamber. A huge alligator with bat wings and tentacles sat trying to bite something immensely large. "Gummi," she yelled swatting his nearest tentacle, "bad, bad Gummi! Nopony told you to do that!" He suddenly released his grip and let out a little whine. His eyes were slightly watered from the rebuke.

"Don't you touch that again or you're grounded mister!" He gave his giant head a little nod. Pinkie sighed, "change back." All of the chimeras began shifting until they once again looked like a huge mass of ponies. "Now, you know dinner is never until I open the cage. Don't let me catch you trying to sneak bites again or else I'll hafta take your dinner away."

Applebloom looked up weakly, she was in pain from her many injuries and she could see small nubs of bone almost poking through her skin from the broken ribs. "Pinkie," she said, more of a breath than an actual word. "Help… me."

"What do you mean silly-filly?" Pinkie asked hopping back over to the cage. "You look just fine to me." She reached through and tickled one of the distorted lumps on the small pony's chest. As she tickled, the skin broke and the bone punched through into the air; a sickening popping noise split the still air.

Applebloom's eyes began to glint in the near darkness. A small rush of breath came from her mouth. It came again and again, slowly increasing in speed and volume until her hysterical laughter echoed from every surface. As quickly as the mad laughter began, it grew and changed once more until Applebloom was screaming.

Pinkie screwed up her eyes as the sound pierced her ears. There was no way that those sounds should be able to come out of such a small filly, even the sonic rainboom had been quiet in comparison. "Stop," Pinkie yelled, smacking her hoof into the cage. The screaming only began turning back into laughter, the pitch only increased as it grew louder. "I SAID STOP!" Pinkie reached a hoof in and slammed it down on another of the bone nubs.

There was a loud snapping noise and a long white object pushed out of Applebloom's side. Her eyes widened and she somehow began laughing even harder and faster. Enraged, Pinkie began hitting every nub, soon there were several white spears protruding from the young pony's sides and blood poled around her; still she laughed.

Pinkie screamed, the laughter echoed off the insides of her head and rebounded time and time again until she threatened to burst. Her eyes bulged out and she could feel blood vessels bursting. The volume continued to increase, the cave now shaking with the force of Applebloom's descent into madness. Pinkie whirled and struck the stone cage with a roundhouse kick. The obsidian bars shattered and Pinkie leapt inside. She slammed a hoof into Applebloom's head. Her eyes took on a glazed look and the laughter stopped.

Applebloom's head slumped to the side; a light laughter still came from her slightly parted lips. Pinkie slung her over her shoulder and stomped out of the cave. "Samuel am I glad that's over. Who knew you had it in ya?" She gave the unconscious yet laughing filly a small shake. "Let's see what else you can do."

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Luna, Celestia, Spike and Pinkamena arrived in the clearing where they all knew the killer to be hiding. "Pinkie," Spike said, "maybe you should do something so we can tell you're you, because Scootaloo said when they were here they were attacked by two ponies who looked just like you."

"A wise suggestion," Luna said. Her horn glowed briefly and a crescent moon appeared on Pinkie's chest. She stared at it in amazement. "Oh, it's nothing," Luna said, misreading the pink pony's shock, "just a little thing I made up when I first became nightmare Moon. It's merely an easy way to tell followers apart from other ponies so that they could find each other without my help."

Pinkamena stared at the mark on her chest. Gratitude ran through her, mixing with pride and anger at seeing the mark. She was more than just happy and being granted this mark. It was the ultimate sign of Nightmare Moon's trust and respect for a follower. This marked her most faithful, her highest in command; though Luna wouldn't expect anyone to know that, those granted it had been killed long ago and that left only Luna to know of its full meaning… and Pinkie Pie of course.

Pinkamena was angered at seeing the mark too. She was furious at Luna for acting as if such an honor was a trivial convenience just because she no longer wielded power. Even more, she was angry at Luna for daring to use the mark in the first place; she may once have been the goddess Nightmare Moon, but she was no longer.

"What's wrong Pinkie?" Spike asked. He saw that she was growing very angry while looking at the mark. "It's not like she's saying you worshipped Nightmare Moon, it's just so we can tell you apart in case another Pinkie shows up."

"R-right," she said, quickly rearranging her features; she didn't want anypony to find out how deeply that had affected her.

Luna and Celestia watched the exchange with mixed feelings. Luna had, of course, told Celestia all he could of her time as Nightmare Moon and thus Celestia knew of the marks. That this pony seemed so affected by the mark seemed to mean something; as did her seemingly endless supply of energy and her ability to ignore the laws of physics whenever she seemed to want to.

A quick conversation whizzed between the two princesses minds and they nodded at each other. This warranted watching. In the meantime, they loosened a few barriers in their minds just in case he coming fight deviated from the plan at all.

Pinkamena quickly set the giant trap she had constructed. She tried to talk to Pinkie while she did it, but Pinkie seemed to be occupied with laying an ambush around the clearing so she turned to her work. After a few moments, the trap was complete.

Spike climbed up into the spot he had been told to sit in and a glowing piece of rope tied itself around his limbs. An apple shot into his mouth and a fork and knife materialized next to him. The trap shimmered briefly then vanished leaving the impression of a simple stand with a note asking for peace in exchange for the gift of Spike. Celestia, Luna and Pinkamena hid themselves in a large bunch of bushes and tried to minimize their ethereal impressions so that nothing could find them.

Pinkamena knew she was supposed to act as though she was clueless about ethereal impressions so she pretended to listen to Celestia's lecture on what the spell she and Luna were preforming would do. "Basically," Celestia said after a few minutes, "it makes sure that our essence can't be found. That's what's used to find anything with spells o smelling or anything really. It will be as if we are no longer here."

They stayed in place for a little while before Pinkie contacted Pinkamena. "I'm ready," she said through their mental link, "get set to get out of there."

"Will do."

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Intermission

This is our, jingle for Goldfish, crunchy little Goldfish,

The only snack that smiles back until you bite their heads off.

Did you know they're made of real cheese,

Even though they look like fishies?

The snack that smiles back, Goldfish!

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A strange laughter echoed through the clearing. It began soft and quiet, a small giggling of a school filly who was enjoying herself on a day off. It quickly rose and fell; an eerily harmonic sensation that sent shivers up the spine. It paused for a moment. Silence fell. Everypony looked around, trying to find what had made the sounds, each casting suspicions on their suspects.

A round of crazed laughter shot through the trees surrounding them. It wasn't very different from screaming. The only way they could tell it was laughter and not screaming was the crazed joy that lay beneath it.

A small yellow figure drug itself through the undergrowth. Spike spit out the apple in his mouth. "Applebloom!" he yelled, "what happened to you?"

She pulled herself along. Her eyes flashed in the afternoon sun and they whirled madly in their sockets. She continued her laughter, bubbles forming along her mouth, slightly pink from the trickling blood. A red trail oozed from behind her, a grotesque impersonation of a snail. Several long, white blood streaked ribs stuck out from her back. They waved in the air with each movement; Spike thought of the flags ponies sometimes waved during parades.

She saw Spike and let out a scream. Her face filled with fury and she jumped to her hind legs, bat wings burst into existence around her.

The three ponies in the bushes stared at the new development. "What in Celestia," Luna began. Celestia hoofed her without looking away from the small pony. Her legs had just begun shooting upwards making her insanely tall.

Pinkamena was surprised. 'Pinkie didn't tell me about this,' she thought, 'she knows I love to watch her experiment.'

Applebloom jumped forward. Her body was rapidly growing to fit with her legs, her head elongating to resemble an alligator's. She landed on Spike and began tearing at hid bindings with large, wicked looking barbed claws at the ends of her wings. She placed her growing jaws around his head and bit down lightly She could feel the pulsing warmness of his sun-heated blood pulsing beneath her, tantalizing her, begging her to drink. She had her orders though.

Applebloom whirled around and threw Spike. He screamed as he flew through the air. Luna's horn began glowing as she prepared to save the purple dragon. Celestia placed a gilt hoof on her shoulder and shook her head. They couldn't afford to reveal themselves yet.

"Why didn't it work," she hissed at Pinkamena.

"Because," she said glaring at the white alicorn, "that was supposed to be he safe spot from a different sized monster. It was supposed to be trapped before it got there."

Applebloom let out a strange roar; the snarl was punctuated by vibrations of her continued giggles. She turned towards the bushes where the ponies were hiding. "Quick, into the actual trap," Pinkamena said, "it was designed to be unbreakable. If we hide in there, it won't be able to get at us."

Celestia and Luna nodded, this was probably a trap. But, even if it was, they could still use their magic to escape if need be. Applebloom jumped in their path as they ran for the now revealed contraption; pistons jumped and fans whirled as it bounced and wiggled in place. Pinkamena threw a rock at her, causing her to turn her head towards the new distraction form her pain.

"Run," Pinkamena said, "I'll distract her, just go and use the plan!"

Luna and Celestia nodded and jumped into the trap. It closed around them, a huge mesh ball made entirely out of streamers. It was only one layer thick and it had an incredible amount of give for paper, but no matter what they couldn't seem to break it open. Celestia's horn glowed and she teleported outside of the trap before quickly materializing back inside. "We can still leave," she informed her sister.

Applebloom froze, she had been chasing Pinkamena, but she now stopped and sat down, shrinking back to her normal size. A small pink figure walked out of the woods as Pinkamena sat down by Applebloom, watching the two princesses.

"Hiiii everypony!" Pinkie said cheerily as she joined Pinkamena and Applebloom, "how's it goin?"

"The trap worked perfectly," Pinkamena said. She grinned as her face began to run, features dripping and distorting until a huge shadowy figure sat just behind the pink pony.

"What is the meaning of this?" Celestia yelled. Both Pinkies had a crescent moon on their chest. The Pinkie who had come out of the trees had a silver one and the large shadowy version that had transformed had a glowing black one.

"Sister," Luna gasped, "look!"

Celestia knew she meant with her inner eye granted by her magical abilities. She closed her eyes and saw a series of invisible bridges connecting the two marked ponies. "No, it's impossible. I killed them all."

"I swear sister," Luna said as Celestia glared at her, accusations flying from her without the mundane need for speech, "I knew nothing about this. She must have done it while trapped on the moon. All I remember from then is the loneliness and darkness that filled me."

"She sure did," Pinkie said, bouncing over to the cave. Applebloom had crawled back of the way she'd come, pausing every few hooves to lap at her trail of blood. Pinkamena stood impassive, a massive ebon block against the rapidly growing plants of the forest. "It was sixteen years ago tomorrow that she blessed us."

"I thought the other one acted strangely at the mark," Luna said.

"What mark?" Pinkie asked. She realized there was a strange glow coming from her chest and she looked down. Her face paled and she looked up to see a nearly identical mark on Pinkamena. "She blessed us?"

"Yes," Luna and Celestia flinched as the deep voice resounded through the clearing, "Though she didn't mean it as that. It was because Scootaloo told what she knew about us. They expected look-alikes to come, so she marked me to keep them separate."

"How are you separate?" Celestia asked, looking momentarily scared. "Or is it that you are two ponies?"

"I was wondering that myself," Luna said, "though they cannot be multiple ponies as my spell would only have affected one. Somehow they split their essences."

"It's a long story," Pinkie said. She placed a hoof on the streamer-mesh ball that the alicorns were in, "and it's time for you to go bye-bye so it will have to wait."

Luna and Celestia smiled at this. "Is that so?" they said as one. Their horns glowed and they fazed out of existence. Pinkie waited for a minute, tapping her hoof against the ground. They reappeared in the ball, their smug looks evaporating quickly. They tried again and again, pouring more and more power into each attempt. When their fifth attempt resulted in an explosion without them even disappearing they quit.

"How?" Celestia asked.

"I don't know," Luna was panting from the extensive use of magic. "At most, they should just be as powerful as two of my old 'gifted' ponies. But that still shouldn't even be enough to slow you down, let alone completely stop the both of us easily."

"Simple," Pinkamena said. "We were gifted by the Oathkeeper, so a fragment of his power resided within us, ever growing to match that of his actual power; power that was second only to yours and Nightmare Moon's. His power came from Nightmare Moon, so a small piece of that was within us as well, still growing to match its original's power. That's why the old 'gifted ones' grew as powerful as they did. Their strength was growing to match their creator's, Nightmare Moon. Then we had fifteen years for the power to grow, the others only had a few months at the most before they were hunted down. Our powers have matched that of the goddess's; Nightmare Moon's full strength."

"Yeah," Pinkie giggled, "then when we got the elements of harmony and I struck down the weakened false idol that was Nightmare Moon, her power flowed into us, latching on to the only remnants of itself that lived nearby. The same thing happened when you found and killed the Oathkeeper twelve years ago. Then, when we split, the power somehow doubled itself."

The princesses could only stare in awe at the claims of such power. Nightmare Moon had only been defeated by Princess Celestia's full power combined with that of the elements of harmony, and that had even been close to failing. If what Pinkie said was true, then her and her double would have the equivalent of nearly five times this strength when it was at its fullest.

"T-that's impossible," Celestia said, "there's no way for any one being to be that strong."

"Well," Pinkie said, "teeechnically we're two ponies now."

"No sister," Luna said, "based on what I can remember from that evil power, they're absolutely right."

"I'm always right," Pinkie said, bouncing happily. "I have- oh that's right, I forgot to count him."

"You mean-" Luna began, looking horrified.

"You didn't," Celestia stared at her sister in amazement.

"Yup," pinkie giggled, "she gave me the oracle. But for some reason only I can listen to him, not Pinkamena."

Pinkamena drew away from the growing shadows of the trees. "The hour grows late. We must hurry or we will not have the required time."

Pinkie sighed, actually looking sad. "You're right; back to business." She turned to the trapped rulers. "We won't be able to play right now, but we still have to get you home, so I'm going to have to collapse the trap." She pulled on one of the strands of the odd streamers and the ball began shrinking rapidly, compressing the two immense equines.

"Stop," called Celestia, "you don't know what you're doing!"

A flash shot through the dwindling gaps as the ball morphed into the shapes of the princesses. The ball was now beginning to crack their bones as it continued shrinking to a more manageable size. A second, brighter flash filled the air and the trap burst open.

Celestia flew into the air, "FREEDOM! FREEDOM ONCE MORE!" She began twitching. Her teeth chattered together rapidly as though she was cold. Her pupils had shrunk to small dots and her eyes were instantly bloodshot. "I'm coming everypony! Get ready!" She let out a trailing cackle that slowly dwindled down as she paused for breath.

A similar yet darker form flew up next to her. "We're both free sister. Free to experience joy once again." She ran a long tongue over her lips. "Such sweet tasty joy!"

"Oh Samuel," Pinkie said. Pinkamena was hurrying towards her. Her wings were quickly forming, though not fast enough to draw attention form the strange alicorns, "what have I done."

A huge smile covered Celestia's face, teeth seeming to grow with the crazed grin. Her mane blew around her quickly. It pooled and reached out for Luna, grasping her around the waist. Luna's mane mirrored these movements almost exactly and they flew off towards the town.

Pinkie turned to the Oracle. Her face paled as she received her answer. "Is it what I think it is?" Pinkamena asked, withdrawing the invisibility illusion from around her and Pinkie.

"Yup," she said, rubbing her flanks. They still grew stiff at times from the last time this had happened. "They're back."

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I did it! (\^3^/) I brought in Molestia and Lunaughty. They gonna be so much fun /)^3^(\

Omigosh what could happen next? I'm hoping to have another chapter up tonight, though I may not be able to until the morning.

Also, I noticed something. Eleven of you readers have favorited this, but only four have given it a thumbs up.... math may be my strong point but I'm fairly sure that I'm not the only one who sees the problem here.

Captured

So much fun coming ^ ^ Go read to find out more.

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Rarity and Scootaloo sat in the library. Celestia had ordered them to stay put until they finished with the trap. "It wouldn't help things if you were there," she had said, "it would just add to the risk." Scootaloo had tried to argue, but Rarity silenced her with a hoof. She shook her head. "She's right you know, we aren't strong enough to hurt this thing, only to trip up the princesses as they work."

Now they sat, unaware of anything that was happening. The minutes ticked by painfully slow. "What's taking them so long," Scootaloo began to shake a little, "something went wrong I just know it." Dark thoughts raced through her mind, images of Spike lying twisted on the ground, Celestia impaled on a tree, Luna's head gathering dirt as it was kicked around. Pinkie confronted by her one obstacle: pain and sorrow.

Rarity looked over at the clock, it had only been ten minutes since Pinkie had left with the contraption. "They probably aren't even there yet." Rarity felt something press against her flank. She looked down and saw Scootaloo pressing into her; wetness spread around the filly's face. "It's okay, just be patient. If this thing couldn't even keep you from getting away then I'm sure the princesses together can beat it easily."

Scootaloo didn't say anything, but her hold on Rarity got a little looser. Rarity had an idea. "Twilight was telling me a little while ago about viewing spells, so I could keep track of my orders; remember, they kept getting in all muddy and-" she shivered, "-dirty." Scootaloo looked up and nodded, it turned out that the orders were delivered by a confused gray pegasus with a habit of crashing into things. "Well, we can use it to see where Sweetie Belle and Applebloom are. Maybe we can even see what's happening in the clearing."

Rarity concentrated. Layer upon layer of magic formed in her horn moving into a complex pattern of power. She focused on the last, most complicated piece and released the building pressure in her head. A glowing ball appeared in the air and began to bubble. Soon it was almost as big as Scootaloo and an image began to develop. As the colors slowly came in, it showed Sweetie Belle.

Her hooves were dragging as she walked and her head was lowered. She looked ready to fall over and there was dirt covering her body. Twin trails of dirt free fur came from her eyes, a slight moisture still glistened there. She gave a heavy sigh and looked up. Rarity let out a small burst of energy and the picture moved with Sweetie's eyes. She was just outside Ponyville. She managed a small cheer but then resumed her slow pace towards home.

"Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo yelled the name and jumped up as it showed she was near town, "let's go get her, she must be exhausted." Before Rarity could say anything, Scootaloo ran out the door. Shaking her head, Rarity followed.

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Sweetie Belle trudged along the road, she looked up. 'Almost home,' she thought; she didn't have any energy left to talk. She could hear what sounded like talking, but she couldn't see any ponies around her. She looked at the ground as she walked, careful to avoid any rocks, she knew if she tripped she wouldn't be able to make herself get up.

A low rumble came from in front of her and she lifted her head a little. Sweetie could see a strange dust cloud on the road ahead. She was too tired to care. She gave a start when she heard her name being yelled. She peered closely at the coming dust cloud. "S-Scootaloo?" she said quietly. Her vision began to blur and her steps faltered. Sweetie Belle fell over, a small poof of dirt rising up around her small form as she fell.

"Sweetie," Rarity yelled, her sister had fallen and she didn't look well. She and Scootaloo ran forward, quickly covering the last of the distance separating them from the small unicorn. Rarity picked her up and laid her gently across her back.

"Are you okay?" Scootaloo asked, concerned for her friend. A small moan escaped her lips but she didn't open her eyes. Scootaloo grew very worried, but Rarity stopped her from doing anything drastic.

"I'm sure she's fine," Rarity said, taking the sticks out of Scootaloo's hooves, "we'll just take her back to the library and make sure she's fine."

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Celestia flew through the air, her teeth rattled against each other quickly. She looked around, searching for her target. Luna flew alongside her, laying the plans.

"We need to find a way to keep them from running away this time," Luna said.

"Yes, the white marshmallowy one was quite enjoyable. I look forward to seeing her again." A long tongue ran along her lips. "I've missed this so."

The two alicorns flew along. "That's it," Luna said, "we left them in the library."

"Oh, did we?" Celestia's grin stretched from ear to ear, "so kinky."

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Pinkie and Pinkamena stared after the shrinking figures of the former rulers of Equestria. "This can't be good," Pinkie felt very nervous at having to recapture the two deviants.

"Didn't we destroy those two long ago?" Pinkamena asked.

"I thought we did, but I guess we didn't."

"They could be a problem, don't you think?"

"Yeah… maybe we can use them though."

"Ooh you devious little pony you." Pinkamena turned to go into the hideout to prepare. Something made her pause, "what happened to Applebloom and Spike?"

"Spike?" Pinkie thought for a moment, "he's… somewhere. The Oracle isn't being very clear on it. As for Applebloom, I think she's inside."

"Oh good, that will make things much more interesting."

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Rarity and the two fillies were back inside the library. Sweetie Belle was fine, she just needed to rest. "It's a good thing she got away," Scootaloo said, "I'd hate to see what she'd look like if she stayed."

Sweetie Belle's eyes opened a little bit. "Scoot, is Applebloom okay?"

Rarity walked over to her sister. "We don't know, she hasn't been here yet if she did get out." The filly's eyes closed at this and her breathing grew heavy. "That doesn't mean she isn't okay though, Sweetie. We'll just have to see where she is."

"That's right," Scootaloo said, "you only looked for Sweetie Belle. Quick, look for Applebloom."

A second ball of light appeared in the air and it morphed into a large, flat circle. Color flooded into it and it showed Applebloom.

She still had a few ribs sticking out of her back where Pinkie had pushed them. She was beginning to grow pale as the blood continued to pour out from her wounds. She was laughing hysterically; she didn't even seem to breathe in. Suddenly, an object descended on her neck in one quick motion. The pink hoof hit Applebloom's neck and continued downward. There was a loud cracking noise. It sounded wet, almost like breaking a branch that had just come off a tree. Small white splinters poked out of the skin and more blood joined the growing trail as Applebloom's body continued walking. It took a few steps more and collapsed.

Pinkie's face filled the window. "Hi guys," she said with a little giggle. "You should probably watch out, you'll have company in a minute." She waved a hoof and it cut through the glowing image, leaving a blank streak in the image. A few more waves of her hoof and nothing was left other than a small dot of light in the air. "Time to make some cupcakes," Pinkie said cheerily. The last of the light vanished and the three ponies were left staring at the bookshelf that had been behind the window.

"It WAS Pinkie," Scootaloo said, running for the door. She was stopped as a wavy blue light came under the door. It rose up and twisted around the handle. With a loud click the handle was pulled off, the lock somehow following. The door swung open to show the grinning face of Celestia. Luna stood just behind her. Their eyes had shrunk to tiny points surrounded by bright red lines of blood.

"Hi girls," she said, grabbing the three of them with her mane, "ready to have some fun? Why don't you come with us?" She placed a strange emphasis on come, almost making it sound different. Luna's mane flowed over and began stroking the captive ponies.

"Oh dear Celestia," Rarity said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"Yes?" Celestia said, drawing her close. She licked her lips as she eyed Rarity's shapely flank.

"Oh, please no. Not again!"

"What is it?" Scootaloo asked. She was getting more and more worried as the enchanted hair began rubbing at her wings.

"Let's just say," Rarity said, trying to keep Celestia's mouth away from hers.

Celestia forced her mouth over Rarity's. Her tongue slid around, tasting the diva's mouth. She began forcing it down her throat. Rarity tried to pull away and the fillies watched, starting to remember how they had found Spike and Rarity before. Luna stepped forward, "I'll tell you when you're older." She laughed and began to pull the two crusaders out of her sister's grasp, her mane now rubbing uncomfortably at the girls' haunches.

A hissing noise filled the room and even Celestia pulled her face up to investigate. A small round object was sitting on the floor, a cloud of green smoke shot from it. Luna leaned in and smelled the gas, she fell over on the floor, legs twitching. As she fell, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were thrown into the middle of the cloud. Their twitching legs kicked the ball and it shot towards Celestia. She tried to run, but as she opened her mouth to pull away from Rarity, the ball lodged between her teeth and she could do nothing but breathe in the strange gas.

Pinkie stepped into the library, a mask was pulled over most of her face. "Well," she said, her voice muffled by the gas mask, "it's a good thing we took a couple sets of riot gear when they closed down our last party."

A shadow entered behind her. "Yes, I do so love these… what do they call them? Shotguns." Pinkamena pulled back at the pump and discharged one into the ceiling. A series of tiny holes peppered the wood and dust rained down. Pinkie giggled and Owlicious woke up.

He had been sleeping on a nearby bookshelf and the noise had kept him up. He opened his eyes and took in the scene before him. Thinking quickly, he tried closing his eyes and pretending to be asleep. Pinkie bounced over to him and gave him a strong look. "Hey buuuuuddy," she said, bringing a strange metal pipe near him. "Nighty-night!"

The barrel spat hot lead at the owl. He felt each piece of shrapnel as it tore through him. He fell to the floor, a broken bleeding mess. His wings and body looked to have been torn by a rabid timberwolf and he bled quickly, staining the pure white fur of the three ponies nearest him. As his vision went black, he called softly, "who?"

"It's Pinkie, silly!" She said as she finished reloading. She pulled the stock of the gun up to her shoulder and pulled the trigger once more. The gunshot rang out, silenced by the thick wooden walls around them. Blood sprayed the windows, but nopony noticed. They were all out of the town; Celestia had ordered an evacuation before they went to the clearing.

Pinkie licked the blood of her hoof. "I hadn't expected him to spray so much," she said as she picked up a wing lying near her on the floor. She bit into it, not seeming to pay attention. Her eyes shot opened and she began chewing slowly. "Mmmm," she said, "juicy!"

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Spike woke up. He was stuck half in a tree somewhere outside of Ponyville. He struggled to pull himself out, but gave up after a while. He sighed and flopped down. He was lost, alone and stuck in a tree. "How could this possibly get worse?" he said, letting out a small puff of smoke in his irritation.

"Hiya Spike," somepony yelled behind him.

"And it gets worse," he said, smacking a claw into his face.

Derpy flew over slowly, her daughter Dinky was trotting along on the ground, keeping an eye on her mother. "You need some help."

Spike almost said no, he could still remember the last time he'd gotten help form Derpy; he even had the scars to prove it. "Yeah," he said, "can you get me down?"

"Sure thing Spike," she bit down on his tail and began pulling. Spike let out a yell, but could feel himself slipping out. A light splintering noise came every time he moved, his scales carved little grooves in the tree. Suddenly he was free… and supported only by Derpy biting his tail.

They fell toward the ground, spike screaming and Derpy reaching into her saddlebag for another muffin. The two landed, Spike side down. Derpy climbed off him and rubbed her nose, it had been smashed into Spike when they hit the ground. Spike rubbed the four horseshoe shaped marks on his back, Derpy had landed there too.

"Thanks," he said, rubbing his back, "bye Derpy, bye Dinky." He began to leave. He looked back and saw Derpy smiling, shoving muffin after muffin into her mouth. Dinky looked after Spike, she seemed worried about something.

"You okay?" he asked. She gave him a nod and a smile. He shrugged and began walking away. He looked back, Dinky was also eating the muffins, but every now and then she would look at Spike. The closer he got to the town, the more worried she looked.

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Yeah, shorter than usual and it doesn't seem as good as the other chapters, idk. The next chapter should be back up to par.

So, who saw the Royal Wedding today? *squee* I loved it!

Okay, I think I'll start on another story idea soon. Breaking away from my norm, it will have absolutely nothing bad in it. We will join Pinkie as she plans and throws a party. I'm also going to try and work on "Sorrow's Downpour" today.

Okay, readers, please give me your thumbs TT^TT please? the negatives have offcially passed the positives and this has twelve favs, that means some of you need to hit thumbs up... plz? For Pinkie?

Of Molesting and Horn Polishing

I would like a brief moment of silence to those Pinkie has killed over the course of this story. Before we begin, let's remember these ponies: Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Applejack, Applebloom, Berry Punch, Inkie Pie, Pinkie's parents, Owlowiscious and most of a forest….. thank you, and I'm sure the victims thank you as well.

Anyways, time to go write about the painful deaths of colorful cartoon ponies… wow, it sounds really bad when I put it that way.

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Rarity felt herself being tugged around. A thick strip of rough cloth was tied over her eyes and an odd taste was in her mouth. "What's going on," she asked, or rather, tried to ask. She had gotten no farther than 'wha-' before something long and wet slipped into her mouth. She felt warm gusts of wind on her face, regular and moist. Rarity cried out and began beating her hooves at the large warm thing lying on her. She heard a familiar humming noise and her hooves were pinned to the floor, though nothing touched them.

Celestia shifted her weight. The white unicorn was still so soft and tasty. It was like playing with a giant marshmallow. After a few minutes, the mare woke up and tried resisting so Celestia was forced to pin her limbs down. She leaned back and looked and the small succulent creature before her. An odd shiver ran through the alicorn and she licked Rarity slowly, starting at her stomach and moving up to her face. She expertly hooked her tongue around the blindfold and pulled it off. It wouldn't be any fun for her to be the only one to enjoy this.

Rarity stared in amazement at the figure above her. "Y-your ma-majesty," she said before Celestia forced her tongue into Rarity's mouth. She slid it around, fully enjoying the taste. Rarity began to squirm as the unpleasant feeling of the princess began forcing its way down her throat. Celestia's hair began to flow around her and began pooling by Rarity's flanks. It began rubbing, softly at first but getting harder and faster the whole time, slowly moving more and more between the two ponies.

"Rarity-" a voice came from somewhere to the side. She managed to pull away from the horned pegasus for a moment and looked over. She quickly noticed that she was in a large copy of Pinkie's bedroom except that everything was distorted and the furniture appeared to be on the walls and ceiling. A large black and blue figure was crouched over something lighter and more colorful; two somethings.

The glowing blue mane shifted for a moment and Rarity caught sight of an orange hoof. Strands of a purple and pink tail were wrapped around it. Then a lighter blue mane wrapped around her face and pulled it back to the side. Muffled cries came from where she saw Luna, but Rarity was too distracted to pay much attention. She could remember what happened the last time one of the princesses was 'set free' like this. 'I hope they don't do anything too bad to the girls,' she thought as Celestia began shifting. More weight was placed on Rarity's upper body as the princess began grinding against her.

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Pinkie watched everything from her control room with Pinkamena. She noticed a flurry of movement to her side and quickly slapped the dark pony's hoof. "Not while we're on the clock," she said without looking away from the glowing window Pinkamena had conjured up. "I know they're good at what they do, but that's why we put the cameras there."

"If you insist. I fail to see why we have to wait for them to finish before we get to play."

"Because we both know we enjoy it," Pinkie said, slapping Pinkamena's hoof away. It had slowly been moving back towards its original position, "and because it makes it easier to set up."

"But I like 'em feisty," Pinkamena joked, the humor sounding very strange coming from her deep, grating voice.

"You didn't much like it when Fluttershy beat you up," Pinkie answered quickly. Pinkamena seemed to darken and Pinkie smiled. "Oh-ho suh-nap!" A loud crash punctuated her words.

"Be silent," the huge shadow turned away, "tell me when they finish."

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Celestia stood up. The soft one was asleep; there would be no more enjoyment from that one, though she had lasted much longer this time. The alicorn was nearly satisfied. She looked over and saw her sister. The two fillies she had were being used in turns. Once one would fall asleep, they would change places, the first one being shaken awake just as the new one was falling asleep. "Sister," Celestia said walking over, "would you mind sharing?"

Luna didn't spare her sister a glance. Without missing a beat, her horn began glowing and a door appeared in front of Celestia. There was a light rapping at the door before it creaked open revealing Celestia's bloodshot eyes, the pupils still dilated to mere pinpricks. "Share sister, there are so few ponies here."

"Well thou werest the one who forget to check the area before we began. Besides, the fussy one was your prize, remember? Go enjoy her." Another door flashed into being, this one extending the length of the room, floor to ceiling.

Celestia turned back to shake the unicorn awake, but there was nothing on the floor. She shrieked in outrage and, turning, found a hole in the door her sister had conjured. She stuck her head in and collided with Luna who had tried to do the same. "WHERE ARE THEY?" Luna asked, her royal wheeze becoming more pronounced in her anger, "WE KNOW THOU HAST TAKEN THEM!"

Celestia saw that the fillies were gone. "I don't know where they are," Celestia said, "mine is gone as well."

The two rulers searched the room and soon found a door that was unlocked. It swung open silently and they stepped into a dimly lit hallway, the lite chattering of insects resounded from the walls and floor boards. Beady red eyes pierced the shadows, staring hungrily at the new arrivals. Celestia licked her lips, eyes half lidded, and took a step forward, her hips swaying as she moved.

The eyes seemed to widen and the hallway went silent. She took another step forward and claws scraped against the floor, eager to flee from these horned ponies.

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A sharp pain woke Rarity. She felt a tight pressure around her hooves and stomach. Her head was held down, but by something much softer. The pain in her side increased and she felt her heart beat much faster. It hammered against her ribs and her eyes shot open. She felt wide awake.

"Hey sleepyhead," Pinkie said setting down the vial of green liquid, "I almost had to use a full shot to wake you up. Nopony ever need that much." Pinkie giggled and began fiddling with a small round box.

'That's so tacky,' part of Rarity thought as she tried to look around, 'nopony has hat boxes anymore.' She was slightly higher than level on a cold hard surface. Looking down she saw her hooves had all been strapped down with colorful straps. She recognized it instantly. While she had never worked with real leather, too gruesome by far, she had, of course, used fauxl leather [pronounced foal]. Every designer worth her cutie mark has at some point. By the slight variations in color in it, Rarity could tell this wasn't fauxl leather holding her down; it was honest-to-Celestia pony skin. She decided then and there not to look around the room any more.

Pinkie emerged from the box with a large amount of purple swirled tissue paper clinging to her head. She quickly blinked her eyes and the paper ignited, burning to nothing in less than a second. Pinkie smiled and revealed what had been hidden in the paper.

A small tiara sat in her hooves. It was crafted from beaten gold and resembled the tiara that held the element of magic. It was covered with small purple chunks that Rarity recognized from her many hours searching through buttons. The purple studs on the jewelry were bone. The color caught Rarity's practiced eye almost immediately; this didn't surprise her, she had once spent hours trying to find the perfect compliments of color for it. The bone was from Twilight's horn.

"Do you like it?" Pinkie asked bouncing with excitement. "I made it special all by myself. Well, Twilight helped a little but only 'cuz I can't grow a horn. Wouldn't that look silly, me with a horn? I'd be all like peeeew, peew! Crash! Wa-bang! Psheeew, psheew!" Pinkie ran around the room pretending to use magic.

She stopped in mid-jump and cocked her head as though listening to somepony. Pinkie placed the tiara on her head and closed her eyes; a scowl flitted across her face. She vanished in a swirl of pink and purple lights, reappearing by Rarity. "Enough of that," she said tossing it to the side. It hit the floor with a loud clang, slowly spinning to a stop like a fallen bowl. Its whirling sound echoed strangely in the large room, but Pinkie seemed content to wait until it had stopped.

Pinkie looked down on her friend and a hungry look spread across her eyes. "It's not done yet, but it will be soon." Pinkie slowly lowered a hoof to Rarity's face. The white mare squirmed and tried to hit Pinkie with her horn. The pink hoof continued its painfully slow descent until it rested on Rarity's forehead.

Pinkie worked her hoof up and down Rarity's horn. It felt strange at first, but slowly became more and more pleasurable as time passed. An image flashed into Rarity's head as she relaxed her body; the pleasure was too good to fight against. She remembered all of the night's where dates had gone farther than planned; much farther. Rarity began shaking her head again, trying to get Pinkie to stop, but the pink pony just began sliding her hoof faster and faster. Rarity fully collapsed as wave after wave of pleasure washed through her head. As pressure began to build, Rarity was distracted enough to focus on what was actually happening.

She took a deep breath and concentrated, trying to block out the luxurious feelings in her head. She thought back to her days as a filly in the big city. Her parents had made sure she could cast a few different self-defense spells in case somepony tried to kidnap a cute little filly like herself. She began forming layer after layer of magic in her horn. The result would likely blow Pinkies leg off as well as leave Rarity feeling drained for a few days, but it would be worth it. If it had worked.

Pinkie continued rubbing. She knew instinctively how to make ponies feel good and this, she knew, was one of the best ways to make any unicorn feel good. It was her way of apologizing about taking Rarity's horn while she was still alive. Rarity's expressions changed rapidly as she moaned with the pleasure. Pinkie smiled, she just loved making her friends happy. Especially one she cared about as much as Rarity. A strange tingling went through Pinkie's hooves as she continued rubbing. The white horn began glowing and Pinkie knew what was happening.

"Well," she said angrily, "if you didn't like it I would have stopped. Why do you think I left your mouth open?" She placed both hooves by the brightly glowing horn. She placed one on the side and felt a jolt of energy shoot through her limbs. She smiled; Rarity was pretty good at magic for somepony that only used it for sewing. Bringing her other hoof back, Pinkie swung it as hard as she could into the hoof holding the horn. The horn was ripped off of Rarity's head, leaving a large dripping hole. The horn clattered to the ground a few hooves away.

Rarity screamed in pain. A unicorn's horn is the most sensitive part of her body, especially when they're using it for magic. A cascade of blood poured down her face, cutting her cries short as she began coughing up huge mouthfuls of the copper tasting red liquid.

"Calm down you big foal," Pinkie said grabbing a bathtub plug. It was slightly green, though small patches of off white showed through; it had clearly seen better, and cleaner, days. Blowing on it a few times to make sure no germs got into her friends poor head, Pinkie quickly stuffed the plug in place. Rarity let out another scream. The tainted rubber burned white-hot against her raw flesh. Blood continued to force its way through the edge of the ragged wounds, though its flow was considerably lessened. The plug shook with every pulse of the frantic unicorn's heart.

Pinkie bounced over to the horn. Rarity's cries fluctuated, her amazing singing voice transferring easily into her screams. "Nice vibrato," Pinkie commented as though listening to an opera, "I wish I could hit notes that high." She giggled and picked up the bloody appendage on the floor. She gnawed at the meat stuck to the bottom.

"Wow Rarity," she said. Her voice was difficult to understand due to the large amounts of blood and drool pooling in the fur around her mouth. "I guess all those trips to the spa kept you nice and tender." She quickly stripped the horn of its meat and nibbled gently at the base as she continued. "I bet you'll make the bestest cupcakes." She set the horn down on a nearby cart and picked up the tiara, carefully placing it by the still bloody horn.

"Now then," she said, her face pulling into a grin, "what game do we get to play first?"

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A huge eye; the pupil a tiny black dot surrounded by bright red tracks. Teeth chattering, shivering moans. A painful force crushing her to the floor over and over again. Never stopping, never slowing. Her joints beginning to creak and groan under the intense pressure.

Scootaloo screamed as her eyes flew open. Nearby, she heard Sweetie belle do the same thing. She felt herself completely drenched with sweat and the ache in her hips told her what she feared most: it was more than a dream. The orange pegasus realized she was panting and tried to slow her breathing, but that only caused her to let out a jaw cracking yawn. 'How much did that take out of me?' she wondered.

She was surrounded by intense darkness; she could almost feel it pressing in on her; a thick breathing canvas of ebon that drained the spirit. She shook her head, trying to dispel the memories. "Sweetie Belle," she said as loud as she could manage, "you here?"

Sweetie heard her friend yell. But couldn't bring herself to answer. After what they had just gone through together, Sweetie didn't think she ever wanted to talk again, but Scootaloo persisted. The small unicorn tried to answer, but her voice broke almost immediately in a silent croak. She concentrated, focusing the last of her energy in her horn. A tiny marble sized ball of light came into being lighting up the immediate area.

"Sweetie Belle," she heard from her left, "thank Celestia you're okay."

"No," her voice was cold and hard, it almost surprised her into silence again, "never thank that thing for anything again."

Scootaloo could feel the ghosts of pain from their recent experience. "Sorry, force of habit."

"Where are we?" Sweetie asked, her voice falling back to a whisper.

"I don't know, I woke up at about the same time you did. Thanks for the light though."

Sweetie grunted; the small amount of energy needed for the light was almost too much for her. "No-eh- problem, Scootaloo." She felt more sweat forming on her coat and knew if Rarity saw her she would never hear the end of it.

They looked around the room, Sweetie's faint light cast a pale glow across everything. They were in an empty room. Water dripped steadily from a large crack in the ceiling. A large brown puddle had already formed and taken over a large area. Fetid smells wafted off of it and the water thrummed with a hidden presence.

Scootaloo managed to climb to her hooves. Her body ached and she was almost too tired to stand up. She stumbled over to Sweetie Belle and flopped onto the floor. "I'm scared," Sweetie said. She shivered violently as though cold.

"Don't worry," Scootaloo answered, her voice uneven. She tried to sound reassuring, to copy Rainbow Dash's constant confidence, but she couldn't manage to sound very convincing. Just thinking about the cyan mare brought painful memories to mind and reminded Scootaloo what was probably going to happen to her and her friend. "I-I'm sure we can find a way out. We did last time, didn't we?" A small wave of confidence worked through the two fillies.

"Yeah," Sweetie said, her trembling minutely less, "we did."

"So I'm sure we can get out now, especially if we work together."

"Wait," a strange conversation came into Sweetie's mind. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped as she remembered just what had happened when she left the last time. "They're just playing with us, or at least, they were."

"What do you mean?" Scootaloo felt herself growing cold as her newfound confidence left as quickly as it had come. It left her feeling emptier than she had before. She had a strong feeling that Sweetie Belle was right.

Sweetie Belle told the orange filly all about what had happened in her escape, from seeing Applebloom get caught to Pinkie finding her at the cliff. "She knows where we are and when everything happens. She let us escape."

With the despair came darkness. It fell back upon them heavily; Sweetie no longer had the energy or drive to create the werelight. As the utter blackness returned, the two ponies managed to crawl closer together. They held each other tightly, afraid of what lay beyond their vision. Huge rumbles echoed through the stone and they could feel eyes on them. Every few seconds the sound of claws scrabbling across the stone could be heard and the darkness seemed to pulse with life; horrible, twisted facsimiles of life that existed only to pervert nature.

The darkness was total; the fear, complete. The dripping of the water could still be heard, as could the muffled cries of the two fillies as they lay cold and alone, trapped far beyond hope of aid.

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I apologize for the slowness of my updates lately, it's been rather hectic. I should be able to upload two chapters tomorrow and maybe even one for my other story "Sorrow's Downpour". Over the weekend I should be able to finish up both of these stories and then I can begin work on my other story ideas next week.

Also, sorry NowImTaken. I said I would try to include the little quotes from future chapters at the end of the chapters. I would've liked to do that, but the chapters aren't planned in advance, so it doesn't really work out. I may try and include that in later stories though; they shouldn't be as sporadic. If you noticed, one of the quotes I used hasn't taken place yet. It probably won't for another chapter or two.

I'm going to do a brief contest. I have been having more and more trouble coming up with fitting chapter names lately, so if you have an idea for a chapter name for the next Pinkie scene, lemme know and I may just use it *squee* (It will be used in Chapter 27 where the three main scenes from this chapter are continued.)

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS STORY PLEASE! (It's big so it stands out :3)

Alone(?)

Omigosh! I was lookin at the reviews on and I noticed that today is the monthiversary of my story *squee*

Happy monthiversary to you and you today

I can't believe you're already a month old time sure flies doesn't it well it seems like only yesterday you were born. But now you're a month old today, hey!

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Spike wandered through the streets. Nopony was in sight, they had already left when Luna announced that there was a strong chance the town would be destroyed. He scuffed his feet as he walked and kicked a small pebble. The ground was still covered with puddles, though many no longer were stained with ashes. The pebble landed in an almost clear puddle with a quiet splash. The ripples spread out making the edges of the puddle ripple against the surrounding dirt.

Spike sighed; he wasn't used to being alone. There was always somepony with him that he could talk to, even if it was just Twilight. The silence that filled the town pressed against his ears, it felt almost as though somepony had tied a cloth around his head and was tightening it.

A strange pulsing beat echoed around him, he tried running when he first heard it, but he found that the faster he ran, the faster the beat sounded. He was forced to stop after a short time and found the beat slowed to its original pace. It seemed to get quieter the longer he listened, but he notice a sound behind the louder, more pronounced pulses; it made him think of rushing water. "Is that-" Spike remembered something he had learned from Twilight shortly after moving to Ponyville.

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'Hey Twilight,' Spike yelled, he was waving around a large orange shell. It was spiral shaped and had tiny knobs covering its otherwise smooth surface. 'What is this thing?'

Twilight sighed; she had been hoping to spend a peaceful afternoon studying the tidal pools. Pinkie had suggested a trip to the beach since it was starting to get hot and everypony had agreed. Most of them were off splashing around, but Pinkie was sitting in an excavation she had somehow dug into a sand dune. It had been made to look like some kind of shrine and there was a large statue made out of shells. Twilight shrugged and walked over to the small dragon, Pinkie was being Pinkie and everypony else was swimming so she would have to look at shells with Spike.

She floated the shell over to her ear and listened closely. The soothing sound of crashing waves came in one ear. In the one she had the shell over, a similar sound could be heard.

'What are you listening to?' Spike asked looking at the shell confused.

'Nothing, it's just that I've read that you can hear the oceans in these. It's a conch shell, probably a Lobatus gigas.' Twilight launched into a complicated explanation of how they were formed and what they were used for. Spike ignored most of it and looked at the shell he took back while Twilight began drawing diagrams in the sand. 'True conches are marinegastropodmollusks in the familyStrombidae, specifically in the genus Strombus and other closely related genera such as Eustrombus.'

'Hear the ocean?' He placed the opening of the shell against his ear and could hear a loud rushing noise, like a swift river. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on just the sounds. It did sound a lot like the huge amount of water in front of him. He looked at the hell in his hands, 'this is so cool!'

'I know,' Twilight exclaimed, 'most ponies just see them as regular old shells. They don't take the time to learn about the different kinds and shapes and-'

'No Twi,' Spike said, cutting her off before she got too excited, 'I meant the sound not… whatever that is that you were drawing.' A huge mass of lines filled the sand depicting different shells and their makeup, both structurally and chemically and even a few pictures of happy faces poking out of the shells.

Twilight looked sad, 'nopony ever wants to learn about this stuff,' she grumbled.

'That's cuz it's boring.' Spike began rubbing his claws along the edges of the shell; the bumps and ridges tickled the cracks between his scales.

'Yeah,' Twilight asked, a small glint in her eyes, 'well then maybe I shouldn't tell you about the pearls.'

'Wait, these things have pearls?' He saw a way to get Rarity's attention. No mare could resist a huge claw-made pearl necklace.

'Yeah, they sometimes make pearls; the really valuable kinds, like the pink and black ones.' This was true, but Twilight tried to hint that such pearls were common.

'You're not messing with me are you?' Spike asked, feeling uneasy about the grin he could see Twilight holding back.

'Spike,' she said, getting herself under control, 'would I lie to you?'

'Well you did tell me that you knew what you were doing and that you could make a sandwich without burning down the kitchen.'

'That wasn't a lie. I just miscalculated how strong that spell would be. There's a difference.'

'Whatever Twilight,' he said, walking away, 'I'm gonna go find some pearls. Later.' He spent the rest of the day digging up shells and breaking them open. By the time they were ready to go home, Pinkie had joined in and together they had found a small fortune in pearls.

Twilight was rather irritable the entire way back. She had been hoping that Spike wouldn't find any and that she could have laughed at him digging for hours, nopony calls her boring, but instead he and Pinkie found enough to get Spike a kiss on the cheek from Rarity. Spike walked along, the bag of pearls slung across his back. He had several shells in his claws and he kept switching between them, trying to see which one sounded better.

She had an idea. It wasn't very good but it was all she had. 'Spike, you know you can't actually hear the ocean. It's really just the blood in your head.'

'What?' Spike looked at the shells, a frown on his face, 'then why can't I hear it right now?'

'Because the shell focuses the sound to where you can hear it.' She continued talking, using as many big words as she could. She used her magic to keep Spike awake and listening the whole two hour trot back to the library. By the time they were back, Spike's voice was hoarse from yelling to everypony they passed that he needed help and wouldn't they please save him?

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Every detail of that painful talk had been burned into his mind. That entire night Twilight had smiled and mumbled in her sleep. Spike kept catching phrases like, 'not boring' and 'kumquat bagels'. His brain hurt for days.

He finally recognized the sound following him though, it was the silence. It had gotten so quiet that his pulse sounded loud to him now. That's why it was becoming less and less noticeable. He let out a deep breath and swiped a claw across his forehead. He was safe…-ish. At least, he wasn't being followed by some huge monster or goblin army with drums or clowns or anything like that.

Spike looked around, the growing shadows seemed to taunt him. He could see daces in some of them. They reached out with their shadowy tendrils eager to bite the young dragon and feast upon his flesh. He screamed and ran away. His jumbled mind had just enough presence to remember that Rarity, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were in the library. He found himself turning his steps to run there.

The library was different. He couldn't tell how though. By the time he had reached it, he had slowed to a walk; he was just too tired to do much more. The sun was beginning to set and it changed the shadows, made them seem almost alive. All of the buildings were deserted, nopony else was in town, but something seemed different about the library. Its windows seemed to watch him; their darkness filled the young dragon with a sense of unease. The door was slightly open, but so were the others around him. Why then was he afraid to approach.

As Spike neared the door, all of his senses told him to run, hide, to flee from this place. His body told him evil was present, but he knew Rarity was supposed to be hiding in the library and he'd rather die than leave her again. He pushed the door open wider cautiously, expecting an attack, but nothing happened. Spike wandered through the library, he could feel something watching him; its glare boring into him with every step. He faltered and let is foot down without moving forward. He nearly fell and there was a loud crunching sound, like jumping into a pile of leaves. Something wet covered his foot. The cold slimy feeling slipped between his scales and the smell that rose up set off an alarm in his brain: DEATH-DARKNESS-FLEE-UNSAFE!

He shook his head. Rarity was here and he was going to get her before he went anywhere. Reaching over, he turned on a nearby lamp and looked to see what he had stepped in, though his instincts already had told him almost everything he needed to know.

The claws of his feet had sunk deep into the middle of a large red chunk of meat on the floor. The large number of brown feathers told the rest of the story; Owlowiscious was dead. A strange singed smell hung in the air, nearly overpowered by the stench rising from the dead owl's pierced organs. Blood had pooled across a wide swath of floor and Spike could feel the corpse stiffening as he stared in horror. If he didn't pull his foot out soon, it probably wasn't coming out.

Spike found it odd that he wasn't crying. He usually got so emotional whenever something really big happened. He realized his limbs felt heavy and his head seemed very distant. 'I'm in shock,' he thought as he looked around. Everything seemed to take on a dreamlike quality. He recognized the symptoms from when Twilight had gone crazy about pony biology, but it seemed different from what he'd expected. It was almost like he was asleep.

He pulled his foot out of his late friend and continued on. If something had happened to Owlowiscious, then something even worse could be happening to Rarity. Or already had. The thought was enough to make him rush onwards.

Spike had checked every room several times and was going back through for a fourth time to make sure he hadn't missed anything. Sobbing began echoing from upstairs in Twilight's room and Spike froze. 'Who could be here? Could I have missed a room?' The crying sounded familiar, but it wasn't anypony Spike had been listening for. The princess had said she was gone, that the monster, whatever it was, had taken her and there was no hope for her. They had gone to the clearing and tried to confront the creature but instead a deranged, corrupted form of Applebloom burst out of the trees and threw Spike dozens of miles easily and almost instantly.

He slowly walked up the stairs, careful to keep them from making any sound. He crept over to the door and placed one claw on the handle. Careful to keep from making any noise, he twisted it slowly and began inching the door open.

A yellow pegasus sat on the bed, head in her hooves. She was crying deeply and her pink mane was disheveled, several patches in it seemed darker than usual and there were several burns on her skin.

"Fluttershy?" Spike said, his heart beginning to climb to his throat, "I-i-is that you?"

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Pinkamena watched from the shadows. Spike was back in town; he was alone and seemed nervous. "Time to have some fun," the shadow pony said, its fangs bared in a nightmarish semblance of a grin.

She twisted her hooves; they appeared to rip open and long barbed claws shot out. She clenched these new talons and they extended even farther, rough fingers forming at the bases. Pinkamena looked at her new claws and smiled, "time to play Spikey." She raised her arms straight out to the side and felt each claw hook into the fabric of the shadows around her. Twisting in a flurry of motions, Pinkamena assumed full control of these primitive shadows; their struggles did little against the supreme will power of Pinkie's darkness. The shadows morphed into the figures of nightmares, faces and demons shown to Pinkamena long ago by Nightmare Moon; the faces of their allies in a world long dead. The shadows began reaching for Spike, their claws extended, grasping for the living flesh.

Pinkamena followed him easily; his heartbeat was a deafening thunder in the ocean of silence that was Ponyville. His fear rose from his tracks in great waves, but something else was there too. "Loss?" the great demon asked itself quietly, "What could be the youngling's regrets?" Thinking back, Pinkamena remembered what Pinkie had found out while disposing of Fluttershy. "Ah yes, maybe we can have fun after all."

Not long after, Pinkamena was back with a freshly made Fluttershy costume. "Some of our best work," she said with a nod of appreciation. Even with all the abuse Fluttershy had taken, her skin still looked almost flawless. The only problems were size differences in the head and neck that required some small holes and the burn marks where she had cauterized her wounds after being released. "Let's see if it can fool the short one."

Pinkamena shrunk down to Pinkie's size and slipped the costume on. She climbed in through the window of the library and lay on the bed. She fell into character quite easily; she'd had a lot of time to see into the pegasus's mind during their encounters. She sobbed loudly, trying to seem as pathetic as possible.

The footsteps below stopped and she could almost hear his questions. Slow footsteps sounded on the stairs, to her sensitive ears it sounded like he was stomping. He moved to the door and opened it slowly. Pinkamena gave no sign that she'd heard him. She continued the act, trying to stay in character for as long as possible.

"Fluttershy? I-i-is that you?"

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"Oh Fluttershy I'm so sorry!" Spike threw himself at the bed. All of his regrets came flooding out. All of the times she had taken such good care of him when he got sick, all of the kind smiles, the gentle laughs; he knew now that it was more than her usual kindness, she had truly cared. But he hadn't noticed. He hadn't even tried to look for any signs. He knew he shouldn't blame himself, but it was hard to after hearing her cry about it. "I didn't know you felt like that about me. I heard you and Rarity talking about it and I listened in, but before I could talk to you about it you disappeared and then there was that huge fire and the princess said you were ponynapped and oh my gosh I'm so sorry."

"Oh, don't cry Spike," Pinkamena said in a flawless imitation of Fluttershy, "it's okay. I forgive you. I'm just sorry that I didn't say anything to anypony." She reached into the mass of pink hair that curved around Fluttershy's delicate face and pulled out a small golden heart. "Can I show you something Spike?" She asked, her voice filled with Fluttershy's gentleness, her own cold tones hid deep beneath the caring.

"What is that," Spike asked. He still had his arms wrapped around Fluttershy. He really hoped she had forgiven him for rejecting her, even if it wasn't on purpose. He could almost remember seeing something like it when he had been watching Rarity and Fluttershy talk at the boutique.

"It's just something that I've always kept with me. I got it after the party Pinkie threw when you guys moved in. I hope that's alright with you." She opened it and saw the picture of Spike on Fluttershy's back. They were both smiling but Fluttershy looked happier than anypony could ever remember her. Spike noticed this now and buried his face in Fluttershy's mane.

"I'm so sorry," he said, "can I ever make it up to you?"

"Just come with me," Pinkamena said with Fluttershy's gentle tones, "I know the prefect thing for you to do."

They left the library and reentered the streets. Spikes fears had been forgotten, his concern over not finding Rarity where he should have and finding Owlowiscious dead were gone, Pinkamena had made sure of that the same way constrictors would mesmerize their prey to feel no fear before they could strike it.

Spike was so happy. He had apologized to Fluttershy for ruining her happiness and now he could go make things better. He just wished he had known about this before everything had gotten so bad, he could have made her so happy. She deserved it after all. "So where are we going Fluttershy?"

"Oh, you'll see soon enough. Just be patient… um, please?"

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Ugh, sorry it took so long. I kept getting distracted. Okay so I don't know If this is good news or bad news but I will not be able to finish this story over the weekend like I had hoped. It may just make it through to next weekend, though I can promise that it probably won't get much farther.

Remeber I want to hear as much about this as you will tell me.

TELL ME ABOUT MY STORY PEEPS!

(also give me your thumbs)

A Game of Death

Welcome back. Are we going to play now? Do you have the strength to make it through my games? Can you handle the penalties of losing? Don't worry, we're all friends here. We all love you. In fact, we love you to death.

WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS LOTS OF VIOLENCE REGARDING FILLIES! IF THIS OFFENDS YOU, SKIP IT!

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"Oh Raaarity," Pinkie called as she turned away from her cart. An object was hidden between her hooves. "Guess what we get to play first!"

The white mare was in excruciating pain. Her horn had been ripped off and replaced with a moly drain plug to quell the bleeding. She heard Pinkie and began shaking. If her horn hadn't counted as a game, then what would?

Pinkie produced a large scalpel. "We hafta practice, but then I have a really fun game for us to play." She squished her face between her hooves, "aren't parties just the best?"

Pinkie walked over to Rarity's flanks and began studying them like a sculptor deciding where to begin. 'Or a butcher finding the right cut,' Rarity thought as another wave of pain shot through her head. Pinkie gave a slight nob and placed the blade of the scalpel against Rarity's flank. The cold metal pressed against her, icy cold, yet somehow burning hot.

It slid through her skin easily, the white fur parting before the unyielding metal. Rarity screamed as the white hot feeling of the blade slid through her. It sliced a nerve and her leg began to kick out, but the straps held it too tight for it to go far. The sudden motion caused Pinkie's hoof to slip.

"Rarity," she complained as the scalpel ripped a jagged line through her hip, "be more careful. I hafta fix all of this later." A large flap of the diva's skin hung down; blood was flowing quickly from this new wound and her leg felt as though it was on fire. Pinkie turned back to her work, "Oh hush, you did it to yourself."

Pinkie finished tracing a circle around Rarity's cutie mark and set the scalpel down. She held her hooves in front of her face for a second, focusing on them. She gave a little twitch and plunged the tips into the edge of the cut she had just finished. She carefully worked her hooves under the skin, each movement making a sound like tearing cloth as the layers of flesh separated. Rarity screamed and tried to squirm away, but was held fast by the straps. Right before she pulled it all the way off, Pinkie caught Rarity's eye and gave a little wink. She shot her head forward and grabbed the flap of skin between her teeth. Sitting back up quickly, the skin came free, tearing off a large hunk of meat in the process. Pinkie carefully pulled this off and offered it to Rarity.

Rarity stared at the glistening redness by her snout. 'Eat myself?' she thought, nausea rushing through her. She turned her head away and Pinkie shrugged. She stuffed the meat in her own mouth and walked to Rarity's other side. She repeated the whole process once more. Rarity knew what to expect and she prepared herself to keep her hoof from moving, but nothing happened this time.

Pinkie stood up, two cutie marks held in her hooves. She placed them on the cart by the horn and tiara and surveyed her work. Nice clean cuts, except where the leg had twitched. Very little blood came out of the cuts themselves, but where the meat had been torn out there was a lot of bleeding. Pinkie shrugged, she had plenty of shots to handle it if something went wrong.

Pinkie picked up a remote and pressed a button. A nearby wall opened up revealing a huge window that looked into a small room. Several chains hung from the wall and there was a small throne in the middle facing the chains. "Whoops," Pinkie said, dropping the remote, "I forgot to set up the game." She picked up a large needle and shoved it into Rarity's stomach.

The needle slid in quickly, but she could feel it catch on her organs as it slid. Pinkie slowly depressed the plunger, pushing the strange red serum into her. "Nighty, night," Pinkie said with a smile. Rarity's vision began to blur and everything seemed to spin. The pain in her flanks and head flared momentarily, but left with her sight.

The white head slumped to the table. Its thick purple mane cushioned the thud like a large pillow. Pinkie nodded. "Time for some real fun."

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Scootaloo's head shot up. It was still dark, but she could hear something coming closer; something big. She shook Sweetie Belle awake.

"Hm- huh- wha?" Sweetie Belle sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Something was wrong. She couldn't see! She shook her head, memories of the past hours already returning. "What is it? Is something coming?"

"I think so," Scootaloo said, "but I don't know what."

"Here, lemme try making a light again." Sweetie Belle pushed with her horn. She felt the magic begin to move in little patterns that made her think 'light'. The small orb of yellow light that she conjured illuminated the room showing the fillies that they were still in the same place, but now there was a door and loud thudding sounds came from beyond it.

"Get behind me," Scootaloo said, "If something happens, I'll make a distraction and you can run."

Sweetie Belle wanted to argue, but she knew that living with Rainbow Dash had affected Scootaloo. She was almost as loyal to her friends as the cyan mare. She gave a slight nod and they both faced the door, ready for whatever might come.

The door opened slowly and Scootaloo ran forward yelling. Just before she reached the door, she realized that nothing was there. A loud snarl, followed closely by a scream echoed behind her and the orange pegasus whirled. A large alligator-like creature had jumped out of the water at the back of the room and was pulling Sweetie Belle in with it. "Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo charged forward and kicked the creature full in the snout.

It continued moving backwards, a slight grin splitting its huge mouth. Row after row of teeth were revealed as it laughed at their weak attempts. The mistress had given it one task, when the door opens, take a filly and distract the other. As usual, the mistress's plan had worked perfectly.

Scootaloo began kicking at the beast's eyes, but before she could land a good kick, a pink hoof wrapped around her chest, pulling her away. Scootaloo looked up, unsure whether to fight the new arrival or ask for help. Pinkie's huge smile filled her vision. She tried to cry out but Pinkie shoved something into her mouth. It was warm and dripping and it tasted strange, almost like it was metal.

"Hi Scootaloo," the pink mare was nearly bouncing with excitement, "ready to have fun?"

Scootaloo spit out the strange lump in her mouth. It splattered onto the ground with a sickening smack, blood splashing against the orange filly's hooves. "What was that?

Pinkie pretended to think for a moment, "I think that was Fluttershy, I can't remember for sure."

Scootaloo began bucking at the pony behind her, but each time she hit her hooves collided with what felt like a stone wall. Her hooves began to crack ominously, but she continued bucking. Pinkie sighed. She pulled out a tattered rag that had a strange looking vapor rising from it.

"Tell me Scootaloo," she said pressing the rag into the small pony's nose, "does this smell like chloroform to you?"

The purple eyes rolled back and Scootaloo slumped against Pinkie. Pinkie let her drop and moved over to Sweetie Belle who was now being held under the water by the immense alligator creature. "That's enough. Give her here; I need to go get the game ready."

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Rarity was shot back into consciousness by a large needle protruding from her chest. Rarity noticed a few smaller needles in her stomach. These had small happy faces on them and she realized that in the areas immediately around them, she couldn't feel anything; the sensation was spreading. Pinkie stood over her, a large smile on her face.

"So Rarity," she said, "I heard you like horror movies. Tell me, would you like to see one first hand?"

Rarity shook her head frantically, fearing for the worst. She was no longer strapped to a table, but was instead sitting in a large chair. She could see that the hoof rests were made of something he easily recognized as bone. She stopped thinking about the chair before she looked to see what the plushness underneath her could be. She was very close to the large window now. It seemed tinted slightly, though it didn't make sense to have a tinted window underground like this.

Pinkie grinned and produced a large tray of cupcakes. She was sitting on a large ball-shaped mass of color. At first Rarity assumed it was a beanbag chair. After a few seconds she realized it was covered in cutie marks. "Are you ready to watch the first ever episode of?" She produced a remote and turned off the lights around them.

"One way mirror," she explained, "I don't want them to see us. It could ruin the fun." Pinkie produced a large hind leg out of nowhere and began gnawing at the base. She made little slurping sounds and red juices began running down her face. Rarity nearly vomited when Pinkie tried to get her to try it.

Strange music began to float through the room and Pinkie froze. The music stopped and a voice began talking. Pinkie, perfectly synchronized, copied it. "Get ready to play Voooooltaaaaage Jeeepardyyyyyy!"

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Scootaloo woke up. Her neck was very stiff and she seemed to be in a large stone chair. The room she was in was lit by dim yellow lights and sobbing came from in front of her. She opened her eyes and looked around. Thin lines seemed to follow her vision and, reaching out to touch them, Scootaloo found that they were wires. They connected to a thick metal collar around her neck and wound, in a coil, to a tiny hole in the wall nearby. She gave the wires a little tug, they dug into her hooves leaving thin red lines; she gasped, but didn't feel much pain.

Scootaloo stood and began looking around the room. Almost immediately she noticed a large sheet covering one wall, the sobbing came from behind it. Gripping it in her teeth, she gave a huge tug and felt it slide loose. The huge expanse of cloth billowed down revealing the figures of two small fillies chained to a wall. Applebloom was awake, her eyes full of tears, she was shaking violently. The other filly was unconscious. Sweetie Belle was chained to the wall. She was forced into a standing position and her chains had large spikes on them that dug into her legs.

"Applebloom," Scootaloo said running to her friend, "Rarity's spell showed Pinkie killing you."

"Scootaloo!" Applebloom jumped up and tried to hug her friend but was stopped by the thick chains. "Thank Celestia somepony else is here. Ah thought Ms. Pinkie was gonna kill me."

"We're not outta here yet Applebloom," Scootaloo said, "we still need to find a way to get out of this stuff."

A voice echoed down from the ceiling. "Contestants, arrrrre yooooouuuu reeeaaaaadyyyyyyyy?"

"Ready for what?" they said in unison.

"Ready to play Voooltaaaage Jepardyyyyyyyy! Scootaloo, you have ten minutes to decide which of your friends to cut open. All three of you have a key somewhere in their body, just look for the 'x'. One key will open the lock for Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. The others will open yours. You must choose which friend to kill and which to save; if you don't make a choice within ten minutes you all die."

"What kinda game is that?" Applebloom whined, "Ah don't wanna die and ah don't want any of mah friends to die neither."

"Yeah I won't kill my friends," Scootaloo said angrily. The voice didn't respond, but a giant timer appeared on the ceiling. It was counting down the seconds rapidly.

"Oh, who do I choose, who do I choose," Scootaloo didn't know what to do. She couldn't just cut open someone she knew. But then it was worse, whoever she didn't pick would know that she killed somepony that they both knew and loved. Things would never be the same.

"Pick me," Applebloom said, "you both thought ah was dead anyways." She pointed at a large black 'X' covering her stomach. "Just cut in there and free Sweetie Belle. She never has to know."

"But you'd have to be awake and feel all of it," Scootaloo said, trying to delay picking one of her friends. "I don't think I can do that."

Applebloom sighed. "Ah didn't want to suggest this, but ah don't think ya could kill me even now. Sweetie Belle is out cold. She won't feel a thing, plus with those chains on her, she wouldn't be able to walk or anythin' for a really long time."

"You're right. But I don't think I can," Scootaloo was fully crying now. The tears ran down her face matting the short orange fur against her body. "I can't."

"Well it's that or do it to yourself, and I really don't think ya can do that either."

Scootaloo steeled herself. "Okay," she said spying a large knife nearby, "I can do this. We can make it up to her somehow but right now, she's the only choice we can make." Scootaloo picked up the knife and looked at the blade. "Dull. Of course, what else would it be?" he didn't notice the smile rising on Applebloom's face.

Scootaloo turned to Sweetie Belle and pushed the knife into her stomach as hard as she could. It slid in slowly, the organs making a sick popping noise as they were punctured. Crying, Scootaloo pushed the knife in all the way and began pulling down. "At least she can't feel anything," she heard Applebloom say. She was taking this as hard as Scootaloo it seemed. She was crying so hard it was almost as if she was laughing.

Blood poured out of the thick rip in Sweetie Belles' stomach. It mixed with spilling digestive fluids and created a noxious puddle on the floor. But there was still no sign of a key. Scootaloo began digging faster with the knife, wanting to spend as little time doing this as possible. But after a few frantic pulls, the knife became lodged in a bone and snapped in half.

Scootaloo stared at the hunk of metal in her hoof. There was absolutely no way to cut with it now. That meant, she shivered, that she had to do this all by hoof. She slowly pushed her hoof into the gaping hole in the white unicorn's stomach and began moving it around, trying to find the key. After what seemed like an eternity, Scootaloo found it. She had had to push into several different organs, but found the key in one of Sweetie Belles lungs. Scootaloo had started twitching violently as she dug and couldn't stop herself from taking quick ragged breaths. She knew she would never forget the feel of her hoof sliding though the small pale body for as long as she lived.

Scootaloo ran to Applebloom. Her hooves were covered in blood and other fluids all the way up to her shoulders. She held the key in front of her. It was shaped in a delicate spiral ending in a jagged spike, almost like a strange drill. She looked over Applebloom's lock, but couldn't find a hole that fit the key.

"What the buck?" Scootaloo was confused. This was supposed to be the key to open up Applebloom's locks. Shaking her head, she ran over to Sweetie Belle and tried her locks. They were exactly the same as Applebloom's. "What the hay is going on here?"

Applebloom had a slight smile on her face but covered it quickly and said, "Try your lock."

Scootaloo's heart dropped. If she had just done that, only to free herself… The key slid in easily. She turned it and the lock clicked open. She thought back to what the voice had said. "Applebloom." Her face had lost all color, "Applebloom. I think the two of you each had a key for my lock. But that means that… your key is…"

"Inside of you?" Applebloom raised an eyebrow. "What now?"

Scootaloo was torn. She had just killed Sweetie Belle to save herself. She hadn't known it at the time, but that was what she had done, pure and simple. She couldn't' leave here, not after what she had done. She could never live with herself. Besides that would mean leaving Applebloom and she wasn't going to lose her again. "No, not again." Scootaloo tore the knife blade out of Sweetie's spine and walked over to Applebloom. She thought she heard a squeal as she took the knife, but knew that was impossible. Sweetie Belle was unconscious and by all rights should be dead by now. She was in a better place.

"What are you doing?" Applebloom asked eyeing the blade.

"What I should have done in the first place." Scootaloo shoved to blade into her own stomach, right at the center of the 'X'. The pain was instant and unbearable, but Scootaloo continued pushing, clenching her teeth as the pain began to overwhelm her. She lay down within easy reach of the yellow filly. "Free yourself and get away from here. Avenge Sweetie Belle and everypony else. I've done what I can to make it up to her."

Scootaloo could feel herself slipping away and she realized Applebloom was laughing at her. A door opened and Pinkie bounced in giggling. "Oh wow, I didn't think it would work that well." She said as she stopped by Scootaloo. She could see the hatred in the young filly's eyes and was eager to seize upon it.

"Hey Scootaloo," she giggled, "wanna know something cool?"

She ripped off Applebloom's head revealing a mass of wires. "That wasn't the real Applebloom. But wait," she giggled, "it gets better." She walked over to Sweetie Belle. "This one was really awake the whole time. I gave her a special serum I've been working on. She was completely paralyzed, but she could feel everything much more than any normal pony could."

Shock covered the orange pegasus's face. She had torn her friend apart and killed herself… for nothing? "Oh isn't it so funny," Pinkie said rolling around laughing. "I just love plot twists." She looked at the slowly dying filly by her feet. "Thanks for killing her for me. I don't like cutting up little foals if I don't have to."

Scootaloo felt herself finally drifting away; all of her strength leaving through the rip in her gut. Her last thoughts were filled with hatred for the pink mare that had ruined everything she had. "Pinkie," she said weakly.

"Yes?" she was interested. Surely if Scootaloo had wanted to say something she would have just said it. 'Besides,' she thought, 'she shouldn't still have questions.' Pinkie leaned in; she couldn't understand what the filly was saying. "What was that Scootaloo?"

She whispered as quietly as she could and still be heard. "I said go buck yourself!" Scootaloo shot her head forward and clamped her teeth tightly around Pinkie's ear, digging her teeth in to keep the mare trapped. Pinkie's hoof slammed repeatedly into her head, trying to loosen her grip but it was too late. Scootaloo was too far gone to feel anything except her burning desire to hurt this thing that had torn her life apart.

Pinkie's lethal hoofs eventually finished the job the broken knife had started, but in her death throes Scootaloo's teeth clenched too tight for even Pinkie to pull apart. She began beating even harder at the orange head attached to hear ear and was rewarded with a series of cracks, though the head stayed clamped tightly. Giving a huge wrench, Pinkie ripped the head off, leaving a huge crescent shaped hole in her ear. The ends quickly began writhing and reforming, but that still didn't excuse the fact that that little shit bag had bitten her.

Pinkie gave the head a kick and it sailed through the nearby one-way mirror disguised as another wall. It smashed the greater part of the mirror and thumped against Rarity who was still tied to a chair watching everything that had happened. "So," Pinkie said waving a hoof at the scene around her, "see anything you like?"

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Okay, chapter 27 is done. The death toll has added two more and there are still several hundred on the way. Care to journey deeper into the madness of my visions and see more?

Oh, before I forget again. 'Voltage Jeopardy' was an idea given to me by Timefather64. Timefather, thanks for all the reviews and random conversations over the course of this story. Oh, and though it's been a little bit since I used it, thanks for letting Pinkamena swear to Samuel, saved me from thinking of somepony on my own.

The Shadows Grow

Sorry I haven't been updating much. Practice has me getting home around seven and by the time I do everything I need to, it's like nine-thirty ten o'clock and I can barely move, let alone type a decent chapter. I don't like football but it's a great way to get strong and get in shape so I do it. The spring season is stupid to me, two weeks, two scrimmages, no point to it what-so-ever. Game tomorrow so if I update it'll be pretty late, practice Mon-Thursday next week so no updates then either. Anyway, enough complaints, on to the story.

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Rarity stared at the grisly scene before her. She had been unable to look away. Pinkie stood over her, ready to force her to watch, but some unknown force kept drawing her eyes back. She watched in horror as her sister had been dissected while alive. "Sweetie Belle!" she screamed, trying to jump up and save the small unicorn. Her bonds held tight and she couldn't move more than a fraction of an inch.

Pinkie had already explained the situation to Rarity and even made her watch while she hid the keys deep in the three filly's bodies. She injected two large needles into Sweetie Belle, talking to Rarity the whole time. "This bluish green one here makes it so she can't move at all. It's like we hit her on the head only she's wiiiiide awake. And that red one keeps her nerves extra charged; it's like they had some of my triple coffee, sugar covered, double espresso protein bars."

Scootaloo finally found the key, not seeming to hear Rarity's cries as tears cascaded down her face. "Don't bother," said Pinkie tapping the glass, "soundproofed. It wouldn't do to let you interrupt. After all, you know how to win, that means if you told them you'd be cheating and nopony likes a cheater."

The twisted game continued. Scootaloo learned that the key to free her friends was inside her own body somewhere and she had just killed Sweetie Belle for nothing. She walked over to Applebloom and shoved the knife deep within her own orange stomach. "Free yourself and get away from here," Rarity heard through hidden speakers somewhere, "Avenge Sweetie Belle and everypony else. I've done what I can to make it up to her."

Pinkie turned to a nearby door. "That's my cue," she said with a little laugh. She emerged a moment later in what she had called 'The Gameroom'. "Hey Scootaloo," she said giggling, "wanna know something cool?"

The orange filly's eyes widened as Pinkie told her how she had just murdered her friend and committed suicide for nothing more than Pinkie's entertainment. She cried out, her eyes never completely leaving the pink mare. She mumbled something. Pinkie leaned in to hear better, but Scootaloo said it even quieter. As Pinkie leaned in very close, Scootaloo screamed, "I said go buck yourself!" Her head darted forward and she bit down tightly around Pinkie's ear.

Rarity watched the new dramatics unfold. She screamed as loud as she could, cheering on Scootaloo, but neither of the ponies in the room seemed to notice. One was too far gone and the other was… distracted. Rarity later decided this was a good thing. Pinkie had left the door open, so she knew the sound could easily be heard in the 'Gameroom' and she didn't think Pinkie would like it much if she cheered on her attacker.

Pinkie finally ripped the filly's head off of her hear and sent it flying through the huge wall of glass. The tempered glass seemed to explode more than break as the tiny orange and purple missile made contact. It shot through and smacked into Rarity. It fell into her lap and suddenly stopped. Pinkie stepped through the mountain of glittering glass shards and smiled at Rarity, her ear writhing and twitching as it reformed. "So," she said, advancing on the trapped unicorn, "see anything you liked?"

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Now a rainbow's tale isn't quite as nice,

As the story we knew of sugar and spice.

But a rainbow's easy once you get to know it,

With the help of the magic of a pegasus device.

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"Where are we sister?" Luna was getting impatient. They had wandered these halls for hours, never seeming to go anywhere. Occasionally something would appear nearby, twin lamps glowing in the darkness, but as soon as the eager alicorns approached, the creature, sensing a dark fate perhaps, would turn and run and no amount of chase would yield results.

"Stop bothering me," Celestia said. Her teeth resumed chattering once she stopped talking, "we both know this place is strange. Though it does seem familiar."

The princesses pressed onwards, their bodies demanding satisfaction, demanding the pleasure they had been robbed of when sealed away to 'preserve the piece' and 'protect the innocence of the citizens' and other such horseapples.

"Buck this," Celestia said as yet another pair of eyes vanished. She sent a wave of magic out of her horn. The immediate area was completely cleared by the immense blue wave. The walls vanished in a large circle around the alicorn, the floor also disintegrated. Hundreds of beady red eyes stared at the two strange figures who had somehow removed their hiding places.

Luna flapped her wings and ascended next to her sister. A huge wave of darkness leapt from beneath the ruined floor. The strange creatures seemed twisted relics of the outside world and in their fury they ignored the offenders' strangeness. Their one thought was on revenge for destroying their lairs. Holes dug long before any of them had seen the light of day. Holes from when they could still stand the light of day.

A bright glare filled the hallway and huge crowds of black, nightmarish creatures were swept into the air just below the floating princesses. "This pleases us," Luna said, her voice growing momentarily deep, "we should be able to enjoy ourselves for a long time."

With twinkling eyes, the twin rulers began moving the shadowy masses closer to themselves, licking their lips in anticipation. The squeals of terror beat insensibly at the eardrums as the creatures filled their new purpose.

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Let's delve deeper into rainbow philosophy,

Far beyond that of Cloudsdale's mythology.

It's easy to misjudge that floating city,

With its alluring décor, and social psychology.

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"Fluttershy, I'm so sorry," Spike still insisted on making things up to his yellow friend. He hadn't known how she felt and was almost as devastated as she must have been when he found out. He was so glad he had a chance to try and make it up to her.

"I know Spike, and I know I asked you to come with me so that I could help you feel better about it, but um, I'm sorry, could you please stop apologizing. It's very sweet, but I know that you're sorry and you had no idea that I felt like that." The small pegasus tried smiling at Spike, but looked away quickly; afraid that if she watched him much longer she'd begin crying.

"Well," Spike said, looking around. He had no idea where they were. Everything out here was still being regrown from the huge fire. Most of it was nearing its old height, but it still had much work left to do. A small cabin floated out of the light of the setting sun ahead. It seemed odd, not the type of place somepony like Fluttershy would ever dare go near, but it was Fluttershy so he knew it must be perfectly safe. 'Who knows,' thought Spike, 'maybe she built it herself.' "What was it you wanted me to help you with."

"Oh, you'll see," Fluttershy said softly as they approached the dilapidated hut, small pink shutters moved slowly in the light wind. They creaked loudly, but Fluttershy continued on unfettered by her usual fear. "I promise you'll like it."

They entered through a small wooden door, its hinges were orange with rust and a small poof of dust rose just by breathing near the walls. "What is this place?" Spike asked looking around. He was surprised Fluttershy would ever willingly enter a place like this, let alone hide something here.

A large table dominated the small dirty space inside. New looking steel counters covered the back wall and the floor seemed to be painted a dark red-brown color. The floor was sticky and the room smelled awful.

Spike gagged as he felt the first wave of warm stench wash over him. Fluttershy inhaled deeply and gave a little sigh. "Good to be back," she said as Spike began dry-heaving. His sensitive dragon nose picked up the smell much more than anypony else could.

'Lucky me,' he thought as he found himself able to sort through the complex odors. He froze; several of the smells were easily identifiable. Wet fur, urine and vomit were very prominent. "Fluttershy," he said, realizing why the floor was this color and why it smelled so awful .He pulled at his feet and they came loose with a quick snapping sound. The blood didn't want to let him go. It was so old and so eager for a new arrival to add to its obviously great pool. "What exactly did you say this place was?"

A loud grinding sound echoed through the room and a huge red mass fell on top of Spike. It smelled awful and it stuck to his scales. A few spines on his back had punched through it, effectively sticking him to the strange object.

Fluttershy looked at him and lifted a hoof. He cringed and tried to look away, not wanting to see the coming pain. "I'm sorry Fluttershy, I swear I didn't know. I really do want to make it up to you." He continued babbling, his words becoming less and less coherent with every sentence. "Please don't do it!" He cried as he regained his breath.

Fluttershy stood watching him, a small smile crossing her face. "Oh Spikey, you cute little dragon." She approached and placed the upraised hoof gently on his face. Pulling it up, she placed her lips on his. She kissed him deeply, though not as intimately as Rarity was accustomed to. He tasted something sweet, almost like honey, but beneath it was a bitter taste, one that both made his bod cry out for more and his mind cry out for escape.

She remained in front of Spike, head lowered lips around his for a short time. She broke away and lifted a hoof again. She began to reach behind her and placed it on her tail, slowly sliding it downwards. "So Spike," she said as her hoof descended slowly, "you wanna have some real fun?"

Spike found himself nodding; the strange object and smells already forgotten. Fluttershy gave a little giggle at this. A very un-Fluttershy giggle; one that sounded very… Pinkie Pie. Her hoof stopped moving and her face seemed to tighten for a moment. Suddenly, with a slight purring noise, the skin split down a tiny seam, pulling off like a very close fitting robe. The pink mane and hair revealed themselves with a large bounce and a small spill of confetti.

"Hi Spike," she said moving forward. The smell of cotton candy wafted towards Spike and more warning began going off in his mind. He knew he was in great trouble here, but he couldn't get up, not with the heavy weight on his back.

Spike felt a trickle on the back of his neck. He reached up a claw and wiped up some of it. His claw came away bright red and smelled like copper. He began gagging again as Pinkie placed the pegasus hide onto the bloody object on Spike's back.

"See?" said Pinkie as she finished reassembling the pelt on its old body. "It's just like pin the tail on the donkey only its pin the skin on the Fluttershy."

Spike wiped his mouth, he could hold it in no longer and now a stinking pool of vomit spread before him. Bile continued trying to rise in his throat as he spoke. His voice was hoarse from the sheer pressure his stomach had shot out. "How- how could you? How could you kill Fluttershy? Did you kill everypony else too? Why? Why'd you do it Pinkie? I never did anything to you so why did you have to take everything from me?" A thought hit Spike like a load of bricks.

"Owlowiscious," he said, his voice growing faint, "at the library. Rarity a- and the girls: gone. Owlowiscious dead and-and you were upstairs." His eyes flared; their green seeming to spout fires. A glow could be seen on the floor before him. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO RARITY AND SWEETIE BELLE!" He began to get up, the corpse on his back slowed him down, but he found himself able to ignore it more and more until he was moving with a speed and strength even Rainbow Dash would have to be proud of.

'Rainbow Dash,' he thought. "RAINBOW DASH! YOU KILLED HER TOO DIDN'T YOU!" His scales seemed to ripple and he began shaking violently. His limbs shot out, extending to be dozens of hooves long. His voice deepened until it grew to an earth shaking volume. "I'll kill you for this!" Such icy hate had never appeared in his heart, but he accepted it with joy. Pinkie had taken everything and now she would pay.

"Spike," she said placing a hoof on his growing leg, "you may want to stop for a second before you do something you'll regret."

He kicked her away, she felt much heavier than she should have, but his increased strength and rage allowed him to ignore this. "The only thing I'll regret is telling the princess that you couldn't be the killer."

A grin appeared on Pinkie's face as she stepped back. "Oh, then surely you won't mind if I join in your fun then." Spike charged, his immense bulk shaking the ground with every thundering step. Just as a claw was about to come crashing down on the pink mare, something happened. The air around her seemed to ripple and she shot up, easily towering over him. Her mane and tail hung straight and she looked to be made of shadows. She caught his descending claw in one hoof and flipped him over. He spun through the air, blowing many trees apart in his desire to return to stable ground.

"What- what the hay are you?" he asked. He barely registered the fact that Fluttershy's boy had split as his anger made him grow. It fell off while he was in the air and he hoped he could find it later.

"It's simple," Pinkamena said, now back to her full power once she had freed herself from form constraints, "I am the new queen of the night."

She charged forward and wrapped her strange shadowy hooves around Spike's head. A black vapor rose from her body and huge bat wings sprouted from her shoulders. Giving a series of slow, powerful thrusts, she picked up the large dragon and began gaining height. She suddenly stopped and reversed them so they faced the ground. Their heads were level once more and she planted a kiss on the trapped dragon. "For luck," she whispered and began driving them towards the ground.

A huge flat chunk of granite protruded from the dirt, easily a mile across. Pinkamena dove straight towards this, dragging Spike along as the G-forces began pulling back at him. They struck with the force of a meteor, splitting the hard rock all the way through and Spike's head seemed to collapse. Pinkamena pulled back just enough in the last few seconds to keep him from being killed instantly. They had lots of games left to play and she wanted to make sure there were plenty of ponies around to play.

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But with all great things comes a great responsibility,

That of Cloudsdale's being weather stability.

'How,' you ask, 'are thy up to the task?'

To which the answer is in a simple facility.

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Rarity slowly regained consciousness. She couldn't remember blacking out, but at this point it seemed fairly obvious that she had. She looked around. A huge sewing machine filled much of the room before her. Its immense gears whirring as a huge needle shot up and down too rapidly to follow. Pinkie stood just behind her a smile on her face and her hooves behind her back; the very image of a parent after giving their foal a wonderful gift and is now awaiting the reaction.

Rarity saw that, rather than string, the machine had been threaded with a thick chain. It rattled as the bobbin spun, releasing length after length of the cold, unforgiving steel. "So," Pinkie said, rocking back and forth rapidly on her hooves, "ready for your party? I knew you'd love it. It's fashioned themed. 'That's so Rarity,' I thought when I was building it. And look, I even got to test it before you woke up!" She produced a strange object seemingly out of nowhere.

A strange cloth covered it. As soon as Rarity realized it was similar to the other 'fabrics' she'd seen Pinkie with lately, she decided to stop scrutinizing it. Pinkie pulled the cloth off with a flourish revealing three small heads. A chain had been driven through them repeatedly, binding them together and causing thick gray goop to spill out. Looks of horror seemed frozen in place on all three.

Rarity nearly fainted as she beheld the faces of Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom once more. Pinkie threw it to Rarity but, being tied up, she couldn't catch it. It struck her head and Sweetie Belle's horn plunged into her already damaged forhead with a sickening squirting noise. Blood spilled out onto Rarity's head as Pinkie stepped on a button on the floor. "Let the party begin," she said looking more serious than Rarity had ever seen her. The sound of more gears began and Rarity felt her chair give a huge lurch before beginning to slide smoothly towards the flashing spindle ahead.

Before long, Rarity was immediately below the path of the needle. It seemed to hold itself in place before crashing down. Rarity screamed. She knew no more.

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In the Rainbow Factory,

where your fears and horrors come true.

In the Rainbow Factory,

Where not a single soul gets through.

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Sorry about the rushed ending. I should've been asleep an hour and a half ago but I wanted to finish this. Provided I can get the time, I will upload more tomorrow. I should get a good amount of typing done over the weekend so you'll be entertained then.

Okay, the whole thing about getting everypony's OC's. That scene should happen either in the middle/end of the next chapter OR the start/middle of the chapter after that. So keep an eye out for it and make sure I have your character if you want in. I'm pretty sure I couldn't find a couple descriptions I was sent so here's what I have: Timefather64, Scorpdevil, Lightenupmyday and NowImTaken. If you sent me one and your name isn't there, smack me and resend the description. I have lots of convos now and it's hard to find specific things in the many text thingies.

The Shadows Grow (Extended Ending)

Eight ponies down, six to go. Shall we continue?

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You can make it if you try with a hop, skip and a jump.

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Rarity pulled away. The strange object in Pinkie's hooves was simply ghastly. It almost looked like… like- "S-Sweetie Belle?" Rarity was even more disgusted. She could still see the look on Scootaloo's face as she learned that, not only did she kill her friend, but she had done it while she was perfectly aware. Pinkie shifted the object slightly and Rarity could literally see the look on Scootaloo's face. "You monster!" she yelled, "you're a horrible monster. But you'll get what's coming to you, oh yes. Someday soon you'll get what you fully deserve."

Pinkie stood stoically by, listening to the white mare scream and yell. She played with the filly heads almost absently, making the mouths and eyes move like little puppets. "Hey Rarity," she said looking up, a grin on her face, "catch."

The chained heads flew through the air at lightning speed. They spun as they went, the holes in the chain whistling eerily, the jagged sound cutting through the air. The struck Rarity's head just as Sweetie Belle's horn was coming to face Rarity. It plunged deep into her head and remained there. The heads shook violently after the sudden stop.

"Ready for some real fun?" Pinkie asked as she pressed a hoof against a button on the floor. Rarity was oblivious to this. She was blinded by the flood of crimson liquid pouring down her face. It ran down, filling her nostrils and even flowing through her mouth. She had opened it wide as she began screaming in pain, but was cut off by the flow of blood. She uttered a short choked gargle as the thick copper smelling liquid ran down her throat. She coughed violently, the increased pressure caused the blood to spurt madly and the heads began sliding loose under the force of the oncoming fluids.

Huge gears began spinning and a grinding sound came from under the floor somewhere. The chair Rarity was in shuddered and moved forward jerkily. It stalled for a moment and began sliding smoothly forward. Rarity found her fore-hooves unbound suddenly and began swiping at her face, trying to knock away as much of the blood as she could.

Three small severed heads fell to the floor, chains rattling as they bounced and rolled. Rarity swung madly at her face, the blood flying out in great sheets. Clearing her eyes, she could see that she was on a direct path towards the immense sewing machine she had noticed earlier; its needle rose and fell at such a speed that it was little more than a flicker.

She tried pulling herself out of the chair, or at least slow it down but without her horn or full use of her legs. She could do little. She began feeling extremely dizzy as the blood loss began to take its toll. Her head began slowly drooping as she lost the strength to hold it up. Darkness pushed at the edge of her vision, threatening to overtake all.

Rarity was now directly beneath the needle. It stopped above her, poised to drive down through her hooves. The chair slowed to a crawl, seeming almost not to move at all, though the portentous grinding of hidden wheels and levers told Rarity otherwise.

The huge metal spear shuddered and shot down, the string trailing quickly behind it. It pushed through Rarity's hooves easily, coming back up as though nothing had been in place to slow it down. The metal spear continued its pattern: down, up, pause, down, up, pause, down, up, pause. Soon, a thick line of rough black stitches made their way along Rarity's legs and up to her hips. Her body was crushed and broken from the repeated blows, but still the chair didn't stop.

"Spike," she cried, one final wail. It seemed to hang in the air as the chair and needle jumped into overdrive. She shot the rest of the way through, the stitching easily coping with the change in speeds.

Pinkie walked over to the still twitching corpse. She had died as the shaft punched through her organs, the power caused blood to shoot explosively from the many red lined holes on the previously pure white coat, but she hadn't full lost her connection to her body until the metal crushed her skull, the bone being too thick to allow easy penetration. Pinkie walked slowly and calmly, breathing deeply.

She enjoyed these moments. The smell of fresh blood, fear still hanging in the air. A trail of blood lay on the floor: the final testament to Rarity's death. It curved back and forth as it approached the chair, a result of Rarity's frantic movements. All around the dead unicorn was a large red puddle. It was warm, steam rising in the cold room where the sewing machine was kept to reduce overheating. The drip-drop of more blood pattering to the floor resounded through the room: the only noise in the deafening absence of the grinding gears.

Pinkie placed two hooves in the puddle and inspected them. Giving an experimental lick, Pinkie decided that it would indeed make amazing frosting. It was so delicious, she had always expected Rarity to taste funny, maybe be a little tough, but she had turned out to be soft and delicious. She couldn't have herself, she must have more. Pinkie soon found herself rolling in the puddle, slurping up as much as she could. The puddle shrunk rapidly, but Pinkie continued drinking. What's the fun in doing all of this work if you couldn't enjoy it?

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You gotta share

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Sorry about the length on this one. Almost out of time for it to be today and I'm just soooo tired from today (big day). Anyways, this is how I wanted to end yesterday's chapter. Tomorrow will have at least one full-sized entertaining chapter for you guys so yay! (But I will be very busy tomorrow DX)

Turning in now, happy Starwars Day, May the fourth be with you.

Escape and Capture

Okay, handwritten chapter, been a while since I've had one of these. Please, enjoy.

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The shadows twist and writhe within,

The evil now will surely win.

Abandon hope for all is lost,

In the darkness of the world of Lauren Faust.

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Spike awoke in the darkness. His rush of emotions had left at some point and he returned to his normal size. He sat up and rubbed his head, hoping the dull ache would fade away. The small dragon hissed and pulled his claw back. Just touching his head brought on a flare of pain and caused stares to burst before his eyes. His claw felt warm and sticky and he quickly began wiping it on the floor.

He was in a room that seemed to be made of stone. The floor was cold and covered with a gritty layer of dirt and pebbles that stuck to his claw as he wiped. It was completely dark and he stumbled violently after taking one small step. 'If I could just make a quick fire and see where I'm going,' he thought. He pulled in a deep breath and felt his chest expand rapidly. He was about to release the pressure when he noticed a strange quality to the air.

The air had an odd, almost oily, quality to it. He stopped quickly, something about the taste and smell of the weird gas were familiar. His instincts told him this was a substance that would easily burn. Spike thought back as far as he could and a hazy memory began to rise.

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'Okay Spike, now remember that you need to be very careful. One spark and this will all go up.' The purple unicorn filly carefully poured a large beaker full of a thin brownish liquid into a large pot that was being heated by a constant stream of fire form the small dragon. Just a week before they would have used a smaller, more focused heat source, but Spike's new fire breath was easier to use and didn't require a long, awkward explanation of why they needed fire in a book filled room in the royal palace.

Spike stemmed the green flow long enough to ask, 'why are we doing this again?' Twilight used her magic to force his head back towards the boiling liquid.

The unicorn, though still very young, had quite the developed vocabulary; to the extent that, when she launched into a complex explanation, though Spike could make out about one word in three, he only actually knew what a handful of them meant.

'Spike,' she said suddenly, startling him awake, 'are you even paying attention?' He had dozed off and woke with a start as she spoke. A quick puff of flame escaped him as he jumped to awareness. It shot straight towards the liquid Twilight had been experimenting with. Twilight's eyes widened, 'Oh Celestia, n-'.

The explosion powerful enough so that the vibrations caused in their tower room cracked the millennia old foundation. Twilight had been forbidden from preforming experiments without supervision. She was also banned from using fire in any way while at the castle. Her mane took more than a month to even start growing back. Everypony laughed at her and called her cue ball. Her brother even laughed for a long time. He started calling her Twilee because she reminded him of the kung-fu action star Hooves Lee. She blamed Spike for everything.

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Spike waved a claw through the air and could feel the gas push against him. 'It's so thick in here,' he thought, 'no wonder it's so warm when I breathe in.' Smoke billowed from his nostrils. He began remembering the explosion in its entirety; an idea took form in his head. His scales were toughened by now and he wouldn't even feel the flames form an explosion. The problem with his plan was that there was enough gas here to completely pulverize the rock for at least a mile in each direction. He could easily survive the explosion, but not the rocks afterwards.

He approached a wall and cupped his claws together, carefully keeping them airtight, though this was difficult to do without seeing. He placed his cupped claws against the smooth stone surface of the wall. Placing his snout into the tiny hole he had left, he inhaled quickly and let out a tiny controlled burst of flame. If any escaped, he was dead for sure.

The explosion, though small, was quite loud and nearly blew his claws off the wall. He'd been expecting this and was able to brace himself before being pushed away. Once the noise and force had stopped, he counted slowly to ten and removed his claws. A large hole shot deep into the wall and thick cracks ran outwards from it. He groaned as his exploring fingers slid across these. There was no way he could keep another blast in this.

Spike punched the wall in frustration and was curious to find that a good portion had crumbled away. The blast had weakened the rock to where it crumbled easily at the rough touch of his sharp claws. A few long minutes of scratching and kicking saw him out of the thick rock wall and into a kind of storage room.

A large jumble of objects lay on the floor including a large, oddly shaped rubber plug. He picked this up and turned around, shrugging. Spike jammed the plug into the hole and was surprised to find that it was an exact fit. Wariness began to overtake him and his eyes darted around for anypony that could possibly be a threat.

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"Life is anything that dies when you stomp on it."

-Dave Berry

"Hell is the possibility of sanity."

-Daria

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Pinkie and Pinkamena watched as Spike sat up. Pinkamena had taken the Fluttershy outfit and had tricked Spike. Pinkie had been looking forward to doing that herself, but she did get the crusaders and Rarity; fair is fair after all. 'Besides,' she thought, 'the memories are there and technically I did do it.'

"He was quite upset when he found out," Pinkamena said, an air of approval in her voice. She respected the virtues such as loyalty and honesty and even followed them in her own way. As a piece of the darkness she had come to understand the light and its abilities and found understanding in them. The light ruled for good reason and it was that reason that would allow for the rise of darkness once more.

"I figured he would. Spike gets so emotional all the time for emotions being all 'girly stuff'." Pinkie continued watching while she spoke. "C'mon Spikey, c'mon," she whispered, crossing her hooves. He began to inhale, ready to light his surroundings with his breath. A smile started to cross Pinkie's face. "C'mon, just breath out really fast," she whispered, leaning ever closer to the floating image of Spike.

By the time Spike finished pushing his way through the weak rock, Pinkie's mane and tail had lost all color and were perfectly straight. Pinkamena, on the other hoof, seemed bouncy and poofy how Pinkie usually was. "Pay up," Pinkamena said, "twenty bits." Pinkie scowled and hoofed the money over.

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"Evil is a point of view."

-ANNE RICE

"There is no flying without wings."

-French Proverb

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Celestia and Luna wandered through the halls. Through pure numbers the strange creatures they found had been able to sate them… so far.

"Where now sister?" Luna asked as they came to a split in the hallway. One branched off to the right, another to the left and another hallway went straight up.

"I do not know," Celestia's horn lit up as she explored the halls with magic. "They all appear to be the same."

A sudden grinding nose saved them from choosing. Thick steel doors slammed into place in every doorway including where they had entered from. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" Luna yelled, "WHO DARES ACCOST US IN THIS MANNER?" The only answer was a strange, echoing giggle. A small slit opened in one of the walls and Celestia quickly jammed her horn through it. She was rewarded with a yell of pain and surprise and it came back dripping with a crimson liquid. Celestia grinned and readied herself to do it again. A strong feeling hit Luna as the alicorn approached the hole. "No sister, don't!"

Celestia jammed her horn through the hole once more, this time it glowed with powerful magical energy. A quick snapping sound followed a metallic clicking. Celestia screamed and pulled back in, her horn was gone and blood spurted from the remaining stomp. She reeled in pain and the blood covered Luna and the walls. "Luna," she said, her face drawn, "help- me." A look of terror in her eyes, she fell to the floor. Luna spun, looking for what her sister's eyes had flicked to.

A pink mare was flying through the air with a large white horn in her hand. It dripped with a strange yellow liquid and a horrible grin covered her face. Luna prepared a spell, but just as she was about to cast it, Pinkie came crashing down. The horn plunged into her shoulder and her vision instantly began to blur. She wavered, unsteady on her hooves. The magic she had built up began shooting off wildly, bouncing around in the metal encased trap. A large black bolt bounced off the ceiling and smashed into Luna's hoof. It began rotting as soon as the dark energy hit it. Luna screamed, even in her drugged state she could fully feel the pain of her leg rotting away beneath her.

"Wow," Pinkie said, poking at the smoking stump, "that looks like it hurts." She began poking at it more fiercely, the waves of pain ever increasing in the drugged alicorn. Soon it became too much and a black blossom exploded across her vision. She crumpled to the floor, splashing up a mixture of her melted leg and her sister's blood. "Time for some fun," Pinkie said, easily picking up the enormous alicorns.

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"Maybe this world is another planet's Hell"

-Aldous Huxley

"Not all those who wander are lost."

-J.R.R. Tolkien

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A large crowd of ponies moved through the fields. The princesses had warned them of incoming danger and ordered them to leave the town until they were called back. Strange noises had come from town and, while they had been waiting at a make-shift camp, a dragon flew out of nowhere and began fighting an immense shadowy figure. Everypony decided it would be best to get as far away as they could.

A blue unicorn stood watching over the retreating ponies. His sharp eyes were carefully keeping watch, ready for any sign of danger. His horn glowed dimly and several swords circled the rock he was on, pointing at everything that passed before returning to their endless circling.

The crowd moved awkwardly, nopony could keep from looking around almost constantly. Somepony had overheard a conversation at the library talking about some kind of monster that was responsible for the disappearances. Every noise as the column moved, every stray cough, every breaking twig was another possible attack. Only one pony seemed completely at ease. He walked along, watching the ponies around him hungrily. He seemed to flicker occasionally, but surely that was just a trick of the light. The sun and moon were both circling in the sky now that the princesses were busy dealing with whatever threatened the small town.

One pony was especially jumpy. The red pony jumped at every noise around him, no matter how small. "It's okay Jitter," somepony said, putting a hoof on his shoulder, "just keep going." He nodded and continued on, the light glinting strangely off the jackhammer on his flank. The yellow pegasus flew off again, keeping watch over the stragglers. Her orange and yellow swirled mane seemed to glow by the dual light of the sun and moon. She squinted against the bright light and flew down to comfort another pony who seemed ready to bolt.

The column continued onwards and a strange hissing echoed through the air. The blue unicorn on the rock began yelling orders, but few ponies listened. Swords and axes shot through the air, surrounding the fleeing ponies, ensuring that they didn't crash into anything in their fear. Slowly, those who could hear began gathering around him. They began looking for direction, but as the hissing grew louder Little Strife realized he had none.

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"You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everybody dances with the Grim Reaper"

-Robert Alton Harris

"All the darkness of the world cannot put out the light of one small candle."

-Unknown

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Okay, shorter chapter than usual once more. The only way to continue these scenes would be to write another full chapter. The end is near, have you prepared? Lots of fun coming up and I apologize for the lack of updates and substance lately. I promise these next four chapters will make it up to you… unless, of course, there ends up being more or less than four chapters. I'm expecting this to end in four and that's if I go all out in the next couple chapters, otherwise it'll be less than four.

This wasn't the OC scene I was talking about btw. I just needed a filler while I thought of what to put next and this came up. It does, however, set up for the scene, so get ready, it'll be the next chapter.

If you're reading this on fanfcition (dot) net then you need to look me up on fimfiction (dot) net. I have the exact same names for me and my stories there. Just go there and read the blog post on my profile, it's very important to those who read my stories. If you are on fimfiction while reading this, go check out the blog anyways. It has everything I could possibly say about my stories at this point including future update times, writing schedules, story plans, etc. It isn't that long so go see it really quick.

The Mysterious Hissing Noise

There, I promised I would write it Thursday but it's here now, so no crying.

I loves you all... sooooo much.

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You have come here,

In pursuit of your deepest urge.

In pursuit of that wish, which till now, has been silent.

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Celestia awoke. Rough cloth covered her head and she could still feel a warm stickiness on her face. The air in the sack was hot and stifling and the cloth itself rubbed against the stump of her horn painfully. The air was foul; the scent of her blood, both congealed and dripping saturated the air and made it difficult to breath. She tried to remove the bag but found her hooves tied down. 'Kinky,' she thought appreciatively, 'but completely irritating right now.'

The large white alicorn struggled with her bonds for a few moments. Each movement caused an explosive burst of pain in her stump of a horn, but that only served to fuel her movements. The combination of lust and pain drove her, forced her to find a release. It wasn't often she found somepony who could dominate her so easily and so- mysteriously.

Luna found herself chained to the walls. Her shoulder ached from the small circular wound. A dried trickle of blood stemmed from it; the throbbing was unbearable. She lifted her head, curious of the strange smell around her.

Incredible pain; neck burning; her muscles refused to work properly and almost seemed twisted out of shape. The motion of her head was slow and jerky, the muscles in her neck felt like salt stiffened ropes. She tried again, but the pain continued, locking her in place. She twisted and squirmed trying to rid herself of the agony, but as the edges of her vision became tattered, she found that there was none.

The black alicorn allowed herself to hang limply. The ache in her neck pulled at her attention and denied her any free thoughts. She snarled in frustration. The only vision available to her was of the dirty, stained floor below. 'How long have I been here?' she wondered. The dry sandpaper texture of her mouth told her what would happen should she try and speak. 'Buck this,' she thought angrily. Giving a huge mental push, she forced herself to straighten out her long, regal neck. As she looked up, she found a large curtain had been pulled in front of her.

Luna focused on the unbroken field of stone colored fabric before her. She allowed the swirls and pockmarks of gray and brown to fill her mind, occupy all space and leave no room for emotion. A quick blue flash of light burst into being and her neck moved loosely. The coarse lump that had been her tongue felt refreshed and saliva filled her mouth once more. "Much better," she said, taking a moment to enjoy the sense of well-being that filled her after the healing spells.

Her rear hooves rested on the ground just enough for her to place her weight on them. As pressure eased off her fore hooves, she found that there was no feeling and they seemed darker than before. Giving an experimental wiggle, she realized that the thick metal of the manacles must have been cutting off her circulation as she hung. She lifted them a little and felt a cold shock as the blood began to flow easily through once more. The cold increased until it seemed to burn, but as the princess gritted her teeth, it faded away.

The sound of rattling chains reached Celestia's sensitive ears. The pricked up and began swiveling, searching for the source of potential fun. A cry of pain echoed through the room and the chains stopped rattling for a few seconds. Celestia tried to call out, hoping to lure in whatever unfortunate had been stranded near her, but only a small croak escaped her throat. 'Great,' she thought, 'no horn, no talking; next thing you know it'll be no more ponies.' Celestia felt a shiver as she thought this and an eerie, wavering laugh seemed to split her mind.

"Much better," a contented voice sighed as the chains rattled once more. "Luna?" Celestia called softly, "Sister, is that you?"

"Luna? Sister, is that you?" the grand voice of the ruler of Equestria sounded from beyond the curtain. "Tia? Are you there? Where are you?"

"I don't know," Celestia answered, "I can't see anything right now and my horn is gone." Celestia lay, unable to see, the air she breathed becoming more and more fetid with each passing moment. A glowing line of dark blue began slipping into her field of vision. The tendril laid itself on Celestia's face. "Luna," Celestia said as she nuzzled her sister's mane, "thank Azazel you are unharmed."

The tendril of Luna's mane began moving around as though searching for something. Another thin line of mane slipped into the darkness around Celestia and pulled open the cloth a little. Light poured in, Celestia's eyes stung for a moment as they responded to the change. The air cleared a little and Celestia began breathing deeply. Even though the air outside of her cloth prison smelled of blood, it was still sweeter than what she was smelling now.

Chains rattled in the distance and a heavy thumping noise was followed by the slow, steady beat of hooves on the metal floor.

Luna approached her sister. She was beautiful indeed. Even tied up like this and bleeding, she was still one of the most elegant creatures the black alicorn had ever seen. Celestia was on her back with her hooves chained to the edges of the table. Her legs were splayed and more chains ensured that she couldn't close them. A rough, brown sack was on her head, dark red spots covering the area where her horn used to be. Without its magic, Celestia could do little on her own. The power to move the sun was still in her, but she had to see it to do that. She still had the ability of flight, but, being chained down in an underground room somewhere, there was nothing Celestia could do.

The helplessness excited Luna. Celestia had taken advantage of her before, but had always been too quick for Luna to do the same. Besides, they'd been meaning to try this with somepony. The cloth flared blue and it vanished, only to appear as a whip in Luna's hoof. Celestia blinked at the increased light and a grimace shot across her face as the wound on her head was revealed to the air. She saw Luna standing over her, saw the cloth whip in her hoof. She saw the eager, drooling face of her sister.

Celestia groaned, she hated when she couldn't be tops.

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I have brought you,

That our passions may fuse and burn.

In your mind you have already succumbed to me,

Dropped all defenses, completely succumbed to me.

Now you are here with me, no second thoughts.

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Spike wandered through the stone halls he now found himself in. The passageways were lit by evenly placed torches and were completely spotless. Even spiders, it seemed, wouldn't come willingly to Pinkie's playhouse.

Spike plodded onwards, his claws clicking loudly against the smooth stone floors as the passageway wound itself around and around, climbing slightly before dropping back down; a seemingly pointless structure. No matter how long he walked he never seemed to get tired. Hour upon hour of gray stone rolled past as he continued onward, not slowing, not thinking of anything except finding a way out.

"How long is this thing?" he asked aloud, not worrying about getting an answer. "It's gotta end soon." He flopped onto his back and stared up at the flickering shadows on the ceiling. He may still feel the same as when he started, but boredom set in quite easily on the small purple dragon. He looked around while he lay on the floor.

Something caught his eye. "Huh?" he stood up and turned around, trying to see what it was. A jumble of objects lay strewn across the floor and a large rubber stopper was melted into a hole in the wall. He hadn't left where he'd started from at all.

"What the- but I- and the tunnel- and-" Spike fell over groaning in frustration, "make it stop!" He began rolling around on the floor trying to convince himself that he was just imagining the things around him, surely all of that walking had taken him somewhere.

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Too late for turning back,

Too late for prayers and useless pity.

Past all hope of cries of help,

No point in fighting,

For either way you choose, I have to win.

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The large poison green eyes glared in the shadows. This creature, this small hateful thing had intruded where it was unwanted. Now it smeared itself along the floor creating the hated noise. To make matters worse, its skin glinted in the light and shot painful reflections into the twisted green eyes.

They closed in unison as another wave of tiny pricks of light rolled across their sensitive retinas. This must end. NOW! It slowly pulled its huge bloated body out of its lair. Nothing entered down here unless it was feeding time, but that mattered little. She needed little to feed herself and even less to survive. The occasional prey sent by the pink one was more than enough. But this one, this... thing was an insult and must be dealt with… harshly.

The black, bulging body slid into the light with a rough sliding noise; too quiet for the small one to hear. Her every sense was aware, listening to the steady, healthy beating that sent the sweet blood coursing through the nuisance on the floor. Each scraping of the stone, each breath each groan of irritation, they were all heard clearly and analyzed by the ancient hunter as she lifted herself upon her long, calloused legs.

She made her way carefully along, no sound escaping to alert the meal. Soon, the unaware creature was directly below. The huntress let out a quiet hiss; it had been too long since a proper hunt and she found it difficult to suppress her primal urges, challenges must be issued.

The small purple head whirled around, a strange noise escaped it. It seemed to breathe out extremely loud. Its eyes widened; a brighter twin of the ones descending. It turned to run, but too late. A thin line of web had already been placed and the tripwire took hold. It snapped closed, tightening around the purple throat; the acid coating combined with the frantic pulsing to pull it tighter and tighter, deeper and deeper into the sweet succulent flesh. The huntress fell upon her prey, her mandibles dripping with the thought of the coming feast.

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You were once, my warm companion.

Now you're old and tattered.

You were once a friend and father,

Then my world was shattered.

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A hissing noise issued softly from the ceiling above Spike. If he hadn't stopped to take a breath, he would have missed it entirely. "Huh?" He looked up and saw a huge shadow descending on him. Eight spindly legs stuck out, the ends covered in claw-like bristles. Eight green eyes stared down; hunger filling them with an empty rage. Thick drops of a yellowish liquid ran down its mouth and splattered on the floor, sizzling through the stone in tiny holes.

Spike jumped up and tried to run away, but something pulled at his throat in a thing line. With a popping noise, it shot off of wherever it had been attached and began whipping in circles around his neck. It burned; a line of fire scoring itself along his throat. His scales stopped it for a few seconds, but it continued on its way, burning and sizzling as it went.

Spike fell to the floor as the strong cord made its way through him. Blood began puddling on the floor around him and the aged spider landed atop him; its great weight crushing the air out of him. He tried to scream, tried to call for help. His windpipe was being compressed by the web he had run into and try as he might, he couldn't draw in breath to scream with.

Twin pains flared in his abdomen as the spider lowered its head. Spike's vision began flashing in a myriad of colors, each more pronounced than the last. They quickly pooled together and faded to black as a strange sensation began spreading around his legs and working its way up.

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Open up your mind, let your fantasies unwind,

In this darkness that you know, you cannot fight.

The darkness of the music of the night.

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The hissing noise continued; panic began spreading through the crowd of townsponies. Strange clouds began appearing on the horizon, yet seemed to rush towards the milling panic. Little Strife remained on his rocky perch. The billowing green clouds closed in quickly, enveloping all and obscuring the vision. A tendril split off and wove itself snake-like to the spire he stood upon. It began winding up and his horn flared brightly.

Several large shields appeared in the air next to him and he climbed onto one, sending the rest down to try and pick up those he could see through the green haze. He forced the shield higher and higher, trying to ensure that nothing could distract him. A sudden tug at his shield caused his heart to stop for a second. He looked around, expecting a gasping pegasus who had tried to flee and instead ended up with the blue unicorn. Instead, a twin trail of smog rushed into his nostrils, expanding to cover his face. He fell to the ground, writhing in pain. Blood poured from every pore. His eyes turned red, their dim blue color being quickly overrun by the bursting vessels. His legs kicked and bucked as the red continued spurting out from his body.

He hit the ground with a sickening crack, huge white shards protruded from his body. In the confusion, other ponies trampled his corpse or were tripped by it. One who tripped managed to impale himself on a protruding rib. The bone slid into the red earth pony's eye. There was a popping noise as it slid in, white slime oozed down the now bloody surface of the unicorn's rib. Jitter, for once, lay still, his orange mane now stained with the grime and blood of the fallen ponies around him.

A lavender unicorn stood in the middle of the crowd. A glowing bubble of magic surrounded him and those who had been lucky enough to be nearby when the clouds rolled in. The fog pressed against the side of the force field. A strange mystical wind seemed to blow through his red and green mane as his power resisted the poisonous air. It seemed as though they would survive within his protection, the clouds now rolled over the shield and covered it on all sides; the screams of pain from outside were dying down.

Ponies who saw the bubble ran towards it and were surprised to find that they could pass right through it. They rejoiced, for a moment, before blood hemorrhaged explosively from their eyes and the back of their skulls. Small wisps of the vapor emerged with their blood, but these were easily avoided due to their size.

Mystic Sense allowed himself a smirk. Other ponies were dying in the cloud, and apparently even if you escaped it, it killed you. But he was safe and he had managed to save a large group of ponies. They breathed a collective sigh of relief but froze.

A crack echoed through the sudden silence of their haven. They looked up and saw the green cloud beginning to thicken around their protection. The sheer weight of the poison was too much for the glowing shield and it shattered, the pieces falling to the ground and crushing ponies before disappearing.

A bright orange pony began running, tattered black wings exploded from his back. His form rippled and he morphed into a strange, bug-like shape. He took a deep breath and charged forward, wings beating furiously. He flew through the cloud, his superior physique aiding him. Not for the first time he praised Samuel that the changelings were so powerful compared to regular ponies.

Seratio flew onwards, eager to return to the hive at his mother's side. When she learned of Ponyville's downfall she would realize that it meant those who had stopped her reign before would be no more and she could try again. The changeling breathed deeply, smelling the air as he emerged. For the first time in months he was freed from the stench of the ponyfolk. A darker smell underlay the decay and blood below him. He looked down and found a tendril of green stretched out, held under his nose; a twisted mimic of trying to keep somepony from sneezing.

His face dropped, he knew what this meant. From what he had seen he had seconds to live. He hissed, the sound distorted by the pressurized blood as it spurted from his lungs. He fell, his insectile wings crushed under the impact, bodies lay scattered around. His corpse seemed to melt and fall into shadows. The flesh collapsed on itself and faded into the ground, the bones remaining, gaunt reminders of a once proud, twisted creature.

Sun Runner flew through the thick, noxious air. She searched desperately for anypony who had managed to survive this long. She was fast, faster than most pegasi. She sped through the air, swooping in and out of the pestilent veil to catch her breath. She stopped by every waving hoof, every twitching leg. Each time it only turned out to be another corpse stiffening in its death throes. Her mind began to break. The countless screams of pain resounded around her; the sound of bursting skulls, popping eyes. Blood fountained from every part of the corpses, even after they were long dead.

She began to lose strength. She was now flying in circles, still striving to save somepony, anypony. Her coat was dyed red with the flood of bursting ponies. Her orange fur looked like a sunset, a gruesome façade of the scene below. The dual light of the moon and sun glinted off the red streaks in her yellow and orange mane. She realized she couldn't remember leaving the cloud the last few times she'd taken breaths.

An acidic burning spread rapidly through her stomach and shot through her entire frame. She fell to the ground, the fall cushioned by the mountain of corpses, blood flowing like water, the river joining the smaller, clear river not too far away. Its waters ran red, the current quickened and the banks overrun.

She found herself smiling a dark smile. Her small form began shaking violently. Blood rushed up her throat and she began vomiting. Thick red jets shot from her mouth and nostrils; an unending torrent of her bodily fluids. She felt her eyes bulging out under the irresistible pressure. They gave way; another pain to join that which already immobilized her. Her last thoughts were of what her eyes could see as they dangled in the fire hose that was her spurting blood.

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Past the point of no return; no backward glances.

Our games of make-believe are at end.

At last, no thought of 'if' or 'when'.

No use resisting.

Abandon thought and let the dream descend.

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Pinkie sat up, her tummy was jiggly and that meant one of two things: either she needed to go on a diet, or something bad was about to happen that would hurt one of her friends really bad. She knew it wasn't the diet because she could still see her hooves when she looked down… if she leaned over a little and sucked in her stomach a little that was. "Pinka-"

"Yes? You were calling," the shadow pony flashed into being beside her. She lounged back and twirled her hoof, a martini appearing out of nowhere. She sipped at the drink seeming bored, "What do you want? I was just about to go turn on the cameras in the woods. The trap should spring any minute now."

"Don't worry about that," Pinkie said, slamming her hoof against a button nearby. Screens flashed on showing hundreds of angles in a clearing in the woods. Every type of lens had been used form every possible angle just to ensure that every moment would be captured.

"But quality control," Pinkamena's voice began slipping up from its usual deep, resonating rockslide to an almost Rarity-esque whining pitch. "We hafta make sure it comes out right."

"Oh buck it," Pinkie said pressing the record button and running for the door, "Pinkie-senses say something bad is about to happen to Spike and we need to go now!"

"Oh no," Pinkamena slammed a hoof into her face causing Pinkie to turn slowly, a fire seeming to glare in her eyes.

"WHAT-DID-YOU-DO!" Pinkie was furious, she had chosen that corridor for the trap just because nothing was there to bother Spike if he managed to get out and nothing would be damaged if he didn't.

"I might have kept a tiny little pet from when we were cleaning this place out." Pinkamena began rubbing her hooves together. "You remember that giant cave full of webs we found, but no spider to make them?"

"Yeees. That was before the oracle so we had to search the whole system carefully before we could safely enter." A thought struck Pinkie, "you didn't!"

"I did."

"And you couldn't say anything?"

"What's to say? 'Hey Pinks, I captured a monster-sized and I'm keeping it as a pet'."

"Or something like that!" Pinkie groaned and grabbed a chair nearby. She smashed the chair against the wall and it broke apart to reveal a large cannon shaped object. Reaching into her mane, she pulled out dozens of wicked looking barbed harpoons. They dripped a greenish-yellow liquid that struck the floor with a sound like falling rocks. He smoking craters were left by each drop. Pinkie nodded and replaced the harpoons. She tucked the harpoon gun into her tail and took off running down the hallways, Pinkamena in close pursuit.

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Let your soul take you where you long to be.

Only then… can you belong… to me.

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Nothing against the readers who gave me their OC's. I promised that Pinkie and Pinkamena would be nowhere near this scene and they weren't. Their trap was, but that's it. But seriously, nothing against you guys; this was the plan from the beginning and I want to thank you for letting me murder you in pony form. I hope we can all still be friends. :3

Azazel and Samuel are from Timefather64's story 'Hear the Voices? Of Samuel' Go read it if you haven't already it's really good and he's been editing it a lot lately, so the painful wall of text is no more ;)

Who knows these songs? I'm not sure, but I think this was the first time I used things that were completely unrelated to MLP. Extra points if you know the songs. :3 (Wish I'd been using this soundtrack for all of the chapters, it has songs that fit every freakin' scene.)

Sorry, wanted to have more of the scene between Pinkie, Pinkamena, Spike and the spider in this chapter, but I must sleep. Enjoy, I will write more tomorrow.

Caught in the Web

A new chapter. Who will join me in this extension of Pinkie's fun?

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Darkness. Tiny clicking noises echoed quietly around the tight prison of whiteness. Spike found himself bound with constricting ropes of some sticky material. He tried to move his head to look around, but he found himself held tightly by the thread.

It fit closely around him, almost a second skin. Spike could feel twin pricks of pain coming from his stomach. 'What now?' he thought. His mouth was bound shut and his nostrils stuck out slightly past the webs around him and his claws and tail were unable to move; he had no way to break the web.

The clicking noises continued, now growing closer and closer. Spike began bouncing up and down and he realized that not only was he held by webs, he was hanging from one too. A heavy weight settled near him and he felt a light touch slide slowly across his head. Spike shivered; he could feel his scales trying to crawl away from that touch.

A draft of air began blowing across his head as the weight seemed to lean in. Spike did his best to brace himself for the coming pain; he knew it would be the end.

White hot agony; twin suns of pain flared in his head. The small dragon could feel the fangs as they slid deeper and deeper spreading their noxious poison. A strange sense of release filled his aching head as the spider moved away. Spike found himself sighing as the pain lessened. Suddenly the Spider lunged and bit deeply into his back. Spike twisted in pain, trying to find some way to throw himself from the agony.

Five times he was bitten, and five times he screamed in his mind, unable to open his mouth. The purple dragon shuddered. He could feel his life ebbing away in steady drips. He could hear his blood as it dripped steadily onto the floor far below. Colors flashed across his vision, the images contrasting sharply with his stark white prison.

The colors spun and swirled, mixing in ways that seemed torturous on the eyes. They combined in ways that t seemed they should not, colors swirling into complex mockeries of what they once were. They grew brighter and brighter, flaring as though thousands of suns filled Spike's vision. They whirled and mixed, running and combining. His sanity began slipping; he could almost hear it as it left him.

"These colors," he said, reaching out to touch them. They played over his claws like water in a rippling stream. "They're so awesome." A distorted bastard of red and brown, somehow mixed in ways that were impossible before, passed over his hand leaving a tingling feeling. Spike began laughing; he didn't know why, only that this feeling made him want to laugh.

He saw the faces of his friends begin forming in the colors. They whirled and spun, distorted and dripped just like the colors. "Rarity," he said, pulling his lovers face in close. She giggled as he ran his claws through her mane. He remembered she had a sweet spot near there and began rubbing his claws playfully. She began laughing, tossing her head playfully. Suddenly the image exploded, white sparks flying around a purple star. The tiny sparkles drew inwards, collapsing on themselves until they faded to nothing.

Spike found himself falling. The colors moving in an angry swirl around him. They drew in his attention, drawing him in, keeping him unaware. A whistling noise reached his ears, the colors now began forming new shapes, ones of violence and loss, bloodshed and heartbreak. He saw Rarity stretched out on a large wooden pole, her legs dangling by tiny patches of skin. Her eyes had been gouged out and were facing outwards from their new vantage point in her mouth. Blood pooled below her, steam rising from it in the cool morning air. The steam wound itself around forming into new pictures. Rarity faded away to be replaced by Twilight. Her head lay on the ground looking into Spike's eyes. Her horn had been broken off and jammed deeply into an eye socket. There was a flash and tiny black insects began crawling over the corpse, leaving sun-bleached bones. The image began revolving showing Spike a now barren Ponyville. Bones lay everywhere in jumbled heaps; heads were scattered across the landscape, all seeming to look pleadingly at the purple dragon.

Spike screamed and bean clawing at his eyes, trying desperately to rid himself of these images. More and more flooded in. They pulled at his mind, ripping away at it until he could do nothing but watch as the scenes grew worse and worse. He watched his friends succumb to slow torture by faceless enemies. He began to hear their cries, bloodcurdling screams of pain that shattered his sense of being.

A hoof slammed into his face, drawing him back into himself. A sharp pain in his neck was followed closely by one on the other side. The colors faded for a moment and he found himself looking into the bright blue eyes of Pinkie Pie. A huge shadow stood in the background, red eyes glaring. Spike knew that his troubles were just starting, he found himself wishing for the spider's poison; surely a slow agonizing death would be better than anything Pinkie had planned.

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The huntress sat in her web. Over her millennia of life it had grown and now encompassed a cave that ran through much of Equestria. It was far underground where little ventured, but that was fine, she only needed food when she was to grow, and very little could challenge her at this size. She was the queen of darkness, the creator of all that crawls within the night. A small dragon hung below in the maze of silk. It wouldn't be long now before the web had mixed with its flesh thoroughly enough to begin the injections.

A small change in the air told her that it was time. She began lowering her massive body down the hidden strands. Soon she came to be level with her meal. She leaned in and bit down slowly, allowing her venom to spread slowly through the small creature. It writhed in pain as they all did, but that mattered little to the huntress, she knew no pity, only anger and survival. She continued biting down in the proper areas; it had been long since she found a dragon, but the proper epicenters for her bites still stood out clearly in her mind.

The creature began making strange sounds once more; it wouldn't be long before the neurotoxins had completely broken the small thing's mind. Then she could break its insides and fully enjoy its essence.

A bright light flared in her lair. She hissed loudly, surprised and in pain. Light had never before entered into her sanctuary, especially not light this bright. A noise rang out, crashing against her ears like an avalanche. It was the pink one, two of them it sounded like. She hissed, they were not allowed here and now they would join the purple creature in her webs, more food for her unholy bulk.

A whistling noise rang out in the air and buried itself in her leg. She hissed out once more, venom beginning to foam and drip round her mandibles. There was a loud crunching noise and a le hung uselessly. A metal shaft was buried deep in her leg, two more quickly joined it. The pink one made noise again, just as loud and painful. This was the final allowance, nothing could be allowed to touch, let alone harm, her dark magnificence.

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Pinkie ran through the halls, her pink mane flaring out behind her as she went. She knew instantly every turn to make, every hidden passage that would speed her along. She soon found herself standing before a large staircase that led down to a short tunnel. At the other end of the tunnel was a small storage room with a huge rubber plug melted into the wall.

"Now where?" she asked, sensing Pinkamena's approach.

The huge shadow pony seemed almost to melt into being beside her. "Straight down, but in a back corner of the room there is a hole near the ceiling, that's where it ran after I set it loose. I believe it leads to more of these tunnels." Pinkie nodded and continued forward.

Rank air drifted from the hole. It was complete darkness within, but Pinkie knew that whatever lived there could be just as deadly with light as without. She thought for a moment before remembering something. She jumped into the pile of objects in the middle of the room. She had placed them here long ago when she had first gotten the oracle. She didn't know the purpose for many of the objects, but a few had come in very handy over the years. She knew that somewhere in there was a large spotlight, one of her own invention. "Maybe it's time for a little party light," Pinkie thought with a giggle as she picked up the modified cannon shape.

Pinkie switched on the device. It shot small spheres of light all over the cavern. They exploded, covering the cave with bright patches of uniform light. Soon a ball of light hit a large bundle suspended by thick white ropes. "Found him," Pinkie said handing the light cannon to Pinkamena. She reached into her tail and pulled out the harpoon gun. It was rusty and stank of blood; Pinkie didn't mind, blood worked so much better than oil, provided that you kept it from drying out. She saw the huge bloated body of the black spider. The spider hissed at the sudden light, its vivid green eyes contracting suddenly.

"Come Venom," Pinkamena yelled, her voice sounding more like colliding metal than real speech. The spider hissed and drew itself back slightly. Pinkamena sighed, she had studied her pet enough to know how it thought and acted. She knew this meant it was going to attack. "Venom, no! Bad spider, bad spider!" The creature recoiled, seeming almost to hold its head. It hissed once more and prepared to charge the two ponies.

Pinkie giggled and fired a harpoon. It sailed through the air, barely visible due to the distance. It struck the spider's le in mid-step, driving deep into a joint with a loud crunching noise. Pinkie quickly loaded and fired two more harpoons, completely destroying the leg.

The spider jumped off of its web, falling dozens of hooves to the floor. It struck with a loud smack, not unlike the sound of a pony being crushed under a mill wheel. It was a sound Pinkie was quite familiar with. The spider picked itself up and began running at Pinkie. Pinkamena now blended in perfectly with the shadows, claws slowly forming around her hooves. Pinkie lifted the harpoon gun and fired a flurry of shots. They plunged deep into the bulbous eyes of the arachnid; eight shots, eight pierced pupils. The dire creature threw itself at the pain. It tumbled through the air, but quickly regained its feet, seeming to smell out Pinkie's new location.

Pinkie smiled, this was almost as good as the last time she'd gotten a pet. She had taken it too far that time and ended up with Gummi instead, but he turned out to work just fine for her. She also ended up with lots of new suitcases and belts that now adorned her room in the Sugarcube Corner; nopony got to see them, but they were still nice to look at.

A loud rumbling drew Pinkie's attention. She saw boulders being ripped free from the wall by Pinkamena. Delivering a few kicks, the shadowy pony had fashioned a huge glove and club out of the stone. Pinkie smiled, she knew what this meant. 'Pinkamena,' she mentally sent to her counterpart, 'you always have the best ideas.'

Pinkie waited until the rampaging spider had honed in on her and was running straight at her. She jumped in the air, kicking off the ground hard enough to crack the ancient stone. She flew through the air, feeling the whispers of the spider below her as it searched for the one who had caused it so much pain so quickly. Pinkie plunged downwards, kicking her hooves out at just the right time. There was a loud crack and a spatter of black and green ooze shot up around her as she collided with the enormous spider, crushing its back and leaving it momentarily paralyzed.

Pinkie saw the large stone bat flying through the air at her. She reached up with one hoof and caught it effortlessly. She used her other to toss the spider in the air. It hung there, motionless for a second before it drifted over to Pinkamena.

Pinkie spread her hind legs a little and lowered herself into the proper stance. The bat rested just behind and above her, slowly moving in a small circle. Pinkamena gave a huge cry as she threw the giant spider as hard as she could. It shot through the air, speed making it almost invisible. Pinkie lashed out with the bat, the spider continued moving towards Pinkie for a second after it was hit. Huge jets of steaming ooze shot out form its shattered body as it was destroyed by the bat. It mewled in pain, its cries making Pinkie's eardrums ache.

Pinkie quickly pulled the bat away from it, moving fast enough to keep it from falling. She struck it with the bat again, as hard as she could. Even though it towered over her, the spider was flung through the air, back it Pinkamena. It seemed to break up as it went, but moving quickly, Pinkamena managed to catch all of the pieces. "You're out," she growled, a dark smile spreading across her face.

"Nope," Pinkie said as she began running around the cavern, "you missed one."

"What?" Pinkamena looked around, trying to find the last piece so she could tag out her smaller counterpart.

Pinkie began rounding the last side of the cavern and Pinkamena knew she was almost out of time. She bucked the wall of the cavern causing a huge rock to dislodge and fall on Pinkie, trapping the much smaller pony while she searched for the missing piece.

A grinding noise awakened Pinkamena from her search, she looked around and saw Pinkie pulling herself along with her chin while the immense boulder on her back, flattening her to the ground. Pinkamena yelled out and moved towards Pinkie, but it was too late, she'd made it back to where she started. Pinkie giggled and threw the rock away from her. She reached into her mane and pulled out a huge spider head. She tossed it to Pinkamena, still giggling. "Looks like I win this time."

Pinkamena dropped the oozing pieces of spider on the ground. They landed in a pile with a wet smack. She turned away grumpily and mumbled something about the sun being in her eyes.

A strange chocking noise caught their attention and they turned suddenly, expecting another spider. Instead they saw a bundle of white stuck to the giant mass of webs. A small circle of purple stuck out of it and it wiggled furiously, small red droplets falling from the back of it. "Spike?" Pinkie called, "is that you?"

She ran over and quickly climbed the webs, their adhesive coating somehow failing to hold her. She studied the white blob that held Spike in place. "Hmmmm, it looks like I just hafta cut here and-" the wrapped bundle that was Spike fell quickly. He hit the ground, splitting the thick cords on the rocks below. Pinkie jumped down and landed, cat-like, beside the small dragon. She leaned over and gave him a quick once-over.

"He seems all right," Pinkamena said, "I can still smell death on him, but it isn't very close."

"All right?" Pinkie said looking at her dark side carefully; Pinkamena wasn't one to be wrong about things like this, she could smell injuries. "He has five broken bones, a concussion and five bites from that stupid spider of yours." She began going through the needles she kept in her mane, "and that's just what I found from looking at him." She pushed two strange looking needles into him. One was made of a small white horn and seemed to have nothing in it, but when she pushed it in Spike's eyes shot open and seemed to clear a bit.

Pinkie was surprised to see that a colorful rainbow film had somehow appeared over his eyes, the anti-venom quickly cleared it away though. She could see his eyes though, even when he lost consciousness after the second injection; his eyes remained open. The pupils were ragged and seemed black pits devoid of life, rather than his usual bright cheery eyes that seemed almost to smile at times. The green of his irises was darkened and shot through with brown, almost an exact replica of the thick, putrid water of the Froggy Bottom Bog.

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The loud splintering of the door against the wall reawakened the two alicorns to their situation. They were both freed now, but they were still trapped somewhere deep underground by a mare who had overpowered them twice now. Adding to the situation, Celestia was still horned, though not in the way they needed.

Luna looked over and saw a pink hoof flying towards her face; she ducked and felt it as it slid through her mane. Opening her eyes, she found herself on the floor inches from the pink mare. She couldn't help herself. She tightened her mane around the hoof and shot her head forward, mouth open tongue lolling. A sharp pain exploded across the back of her head and her vision dimmed for a few seconds.

She shook her head, trying to clear it, but the pain exploded again, harder this time. Immense power hid behind the blow and Luna could tell that whoever had hit her was holding back almost the entire hit. She froze, knowing that it would probably be better for her if she did. A shadow covered her eyes and twin pressures held her head steady; she was tilting dangerously after the repeated blows.

"Be patient my queen," Pinkie whispered, "there will be plenty of time for that later." The smell of cotton candy filled Luna's senses as the pink mare released her and moved away. Unable to hold her head up, Luna fell forward the rest of the way. Her head struck the ground with an audible crack and she lost consciousness.

Celestia watched as her sister lost control and attempted to please their captor. 'She always was one for bondage,' Celestia thought as she sighed. Enormous hooves suddenly seized her from behind, crushing the air from her body. She tried to stab backwards with her horn, but a sharp pain reminded her that the horn was no longer there to gouge with.

Celestia opened her mouth, oblivious to Pinkie's raised voice. Celestia bit down on the hoof nearest to her face and was rewarded with a teeth jarring crash as her teeth found no purchase. The slammed together with the full force of the white alicorn's bite, cracking loudly and punching through her tongue in several places. She cried out, already feeling the warmth of the blood as it filled her mouth and run down her throat; its warm harsh texture dried her mouth and made her wish for something to remove the taste. Its scent, thick and coppery, filled her nose as even more blood dripped down her face and onto the hooves holding her. The blood formed small pools on the fur around her. It wasn't black, more like a complete absence with an edge resembling millions of strands of fur. The blood sat for a second before suddenly being drawn in, the place where it was glowed for a second, before fading back to nothingness.

A sharp pain went through Celestia's flanks and she saw a pink mass of hair sticking out over the enormous legs holding her. The clatter of metal sounded and several scalpels were thrown across the room, sticking into the wall with rapid vibrations.

"I'd say about a four and a half," came a deep rumbling voice form above the alicorn. The mass of hair bounced and a new pain shot through her side, deeper than the others.

"Yup," said Pinkie, "four and a half exactly." She stood up and held out a dripping scalpel to Celestia. "Wanna try some?" Pinkie asked as the blood dripped to the floor with a regular patter, "you're really, really good." Celestia found herself shaking in anger, so much had been done by the two ponies holding her right now and they would have to pay, one way or the other.

Pinkie leaned in, awaiting a response, a large smile on her face. Celestia inhaled deeply, Pinkie's eyes seemed to brighten as she awaited what would surely be a 'yes', it wasn't often that somepony wanted to try some of themselves. Celestia held the breath for a moment, considering what could happen if she went through with her plan. She shrugged, too late now. Pulling hard with her throat muscles, Celestia pulled up the biggest mass of bile and phlegm that she could. She allowed it to sit in her mouth for a second, mixing with the copious amounts of blood. She spat it out onto the pink mare's face.

It seemed to expand in the air so that when it finally hit, it covered much of Pinkie's face. Her eye began twitching as the sticky red fluids rolled down her face, dripping against the floor. There was a whistling noise and Celestia's ear was shoved into her face, the bottom ragged and bleeding from where Pinkie had ripped it off. Almost at the same time, a second white ear was shoved into her mouth, adding to the lake of blood already flowing there. Celestia cried out in pain, but Pinkie shoved a hoof into her mouth, keeping the ear and blood inside.

"You may think you can do anything you want," Pinkie said, her face darkening in anger, scaring the alicorn more than had happened already, if that was possible. "But I'll soon show you what happens to those who bring about the fall of a true goddess, the overlord of the night!"

The room seemed to waver before Celestia's eyes for a moment before settling. She looked around, startled. Nothing had changed, even Pinkie stood in the same spot with the exact same expression. "Wha-" Celestia began. Sharp blow to the back of her head sent her flying from Pinkamena's grip. She flew across the room and hit the wall with a resounding crack; her rear legs remained motionless, but the rest of her body twitched jerkily for several minutes.

Pinkie threw the large hammer on the floor. Its end was shattered almost all the way through from hitting the alicorns head hard enough to nearly cave in her skull. It had been a very near thing. If Pinkie hadn't remembered that she had planned a party for the princess, she would have ended her then and there.

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Okay, I'm thinking of getting a pre-reader for the coming chapters and for the other stories I'll be writing in the future. If anypony is interested let me know. I'd much rather do it myself but I figure this will make sure I stay on task and I won't have as many typos slip through.

Sorry, Spike's part took like four times as long as I thought it would. Deaths coming up in the next chapter so be ready.

Shoutout to DWhay. He's got a couple of really good stories if anypony wants to see 'em. They're really worth checking out. One is "Venus Rising" which involves several OC's. It's the story of how another alicorn is found and is brought to Equestria from the matriarchal country to the north where he was enslaved. It's really good. Anyways, a newer story is "Labelling Theory". It's about how Celestia realizes that she has felt very alone for a long time. Due to spending increasing amounts of time with Twilight, she finds herself starting to have feelings for the mare that has always been something of a cross between friend and daughter to her. She turns to Luna for advice, but in turn is advised that Cadence would be better suited for advice. (I proofread chapter one *squee*) This one is also really good, but it's only got one chapter right now so I still consider "Venus Rising" to be better.

Rick and the Word

Six friends left, but only enough time for four parties. Let's watch.

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Celestia awoke, her head ached, the emptiness where her horn used to be throbbed angrily; trickles of blood flowing down her face with each beat of her heart. A strange humming noise came from nearby and she could make out a flickering light through the thin strip of cloth over her eyes. Warm blood trickled down her face, running into her nostrils and spilling into her mouth.

"Oh good," came a voice a slight distance away. It sounded very cheery, almost as though the owner was given to randomly burst into laughter.

Celestia found herself thinking, 'Pinkie Pie, the element of laughter'. She shook her head, trying to clear it. The last thing she could remember clearly was waiting in the library for Pinkie to return with the trap to use on the monster. There seemed to be an enormous blur right after this, then she woke up tied down with blood on her face and no horn weighing down her head.

"What happened?" Celestia moaned as she tried to channel her natural healing abilities to stem the pain. Even the enormous amounts of magic stored in her alicorn body did little against the screaming nerves in her head.

"Well," Pinkie giggled; the sound of hoofsteps followed her voice, moving closer and closer to the bound ruler. "You took a little nappy, but you're awake now so we can have our party!"

"Party?" the white alicorn was stunned. She was clearly injured, yet the pink mare insisted on celebrating? The cloth whipped off of her eyes, leaving a warm, burning trail of raw flesh. Celestia's eyes seemed to shout out for attention and she winced at the suddenly present onslaught of pain. She tried to close her eyes to alleviate the pain, but nothing happened. She looked around until she found the source of the light she was bathed in and noticed that she could see dozens of red droplets; they stayed in the same place in her vision no matter where she looked.

"Here," Pinkie giggled as she hopped over, "look at the new you!" A decorative hand mirror was held in her hooves.

Celestia's eyelids were gone, thin red streaks seemed to hover above her eyes which appeared to be blood stained. She shrieked, unconsciously trying to blink again; the red lines twitched. She looked at the top of the mirror and could see her forehead; the horn was broken off, just a tiny white stump protruded from the red-stained fur. The end of it glistened with the blood that still trickled from it.

"What have you done?" Celestia was furious. Memories began rushing back to her: the small filly arriving and terrorizing the group assembled to defeat the monster, Pinkie trapping the rulers of Equestria in a large sphere constructed out of ponyleather, the second Pinkie appearing and becoming some sort of immense creature of shadows.

"Just doin my job," Pinkie said as a glow formed around her head.

Celestia found herself moving; the table she was tied to slid along the floor, the metal shrieking as it slid along the stone. She stared in amazement, how was this mare using magic?

Pinkie smiled when she saw the expression on the princess's face; a cross between fear and amazement. Without stopping the magic, she bowed deeply and removed a small object from her head with a flourish. It was a gold tiara covered with small chunks of some purple material, protruding from the center was a long, white horn. Pinkie brushed the horn against Celestia's face, grinning at the response.

She recoiled, that horn, she knew it instantly; it was hers. This mare had somehow attached her horn to a piece of jewelry and could now use it to preform magic. Celestia didn't know what to think, this was beyond anything she had experienced, violence being quite rare in Equestria, especially violence towards her. The table stopped moving, the sudden silence cutting off Celestia's thoughts.

"Hey Tia you wanna see something cool?" Pinkie giggled as she fiddled with some unknown object behind Celestia. Celestia regretted ever trying to get closer to Twilight and her friends, the pink mare had been the only one to really embrace her attempts, and they now came around to make this situation so much worse. Pinkie's use of Luna's nickname for her made it sound sick and twisted, more of a curse than a point of affection.

A light switched on behind her and the strange humming noise from earlier began. A large square of light came into being on the wall. A large black ten sat in the middle of a circle which was slowly getting smaller. There was a beep and it changed to a nine. This countdown, 'for that's what it must be,' Celestia thought, continued as Pinkie bounced over with a jumble of objects on her back.

Pinkie set the popcorn buckets on the ground next to the bottles of soft drinks and chocolate milk. She picked up a leather strap and slipped it over Celestia's head before she could react. It held her head perfectly immobilized, unable to look away from the square of light. Pinkie sat back down, a large beanbag chair suddenly in her hooves. "This is one of my favorite movies," Pinkie said tossing a hooffull of popcorn into the air. She caught each kernel easily as it fell, a few hit the floor and bounced up into her mouth.

Black words flared across the glowing square: Stage 1; Ponyville. The picture shifted to a scene of hundreds of ponies walking along. They seemed lost and confused as to what to do next. Several unicorns walked along the edges, seeming alert for trouble, while the pegasi flew overhead keeping watch over everything. Celestia knew right away what this was: the column of refugees from Ponyville after Celestia ordered it evacuated. She had hoped it would help keep them safe, but she knew that wouldn't be the case if Pinkie was showing her this.

A hissing noise filled the room, but Celestia's attention was too focused on the flickering images to pay much attention. The ponies on the screen seemed to notice it and began running around in fear. Several unicorns and most of the pegasi kept a level head and managed to keep everypony from hurting themselves. The hissing grew louder and strange green clouds appeared on the edge of the screen. Celestia noticed the noise now and realized it was what the ponies must have been fleeing from, she watched trying to block out the images, but the flickering colors drew her in and held her fast.

Ponies encountering the green clouds fell over clutching at their bodies. Blood exploded out of their eyes, ears and mouths. Several ran before this happened, obviously in huge amounts of pain; they crashed into anything in front of them: trees, ponies, rocks, they didn't notice, nor did they care. Dashing themselves against the objects brought a quicker end and eased their pain.

Several unicorns tried using their magic to protect themselves or escape, but the clouds seemed alive and continuously foiled their efforts, completely crushing one unicorn's shield where several ponies stood huddled, terrified by the screams of pain around them. One unicorn appeared to be summoning and controlling shields. He ran up them, going higher and higher above the noxious clouds, but a tendril suddenly grabbed at his hind leg. He fell, dozens of stories lay between him and the ground, but nothing he did could slow the fall as more of the cloud built up above him, pushing him down faster and faster. It seemed to clear before his face, keeping him from inhaling any and distracting himself with pain. He hit the ground with an audible crunch, like that of wet wood snapping. A few moments later a red earth pony fell onto this broken corpse, an exposed rib plunging into his eye, killing him.

Celestia watched for what seemed like hours. Close-ups of each pony's death dominated her vision, their screams echoed through her mind and she began to feel each injury as it befell her subjects. Pinkie lay beside her, popcorn flying through the air every few seconds as she cheered at the carnage. She groaned when the last pony died, a pegasus who had flown into the cloud repeatedly, looking for other survivors she could save it seemed. She found none and eventually forgot herself and breathed in the poison. Celestia could almost feel the pain as the pegasus's eyes burst from the force of the escaping blood.

The light seemed to dim and the images left the screen. Pinkie sighed and began to stand up. She looked at the tiara and smiled, the grin a perversion of such a familiar, happy expression. Celestia knew the blood of countless ponies was on this mare's hooves and it seemed to shine around her, a diseased, shadowy glow that radiated nothing but fear. Pinkie's tiara began glowing again, this time Celestia saw as the light shot through the small purple chunks before shooting out of the large horn. This had to mean that those were pieces of a horn too. "Oh Twilight," Celestia said softly. Her voice was ragged from crying out at the vivid deaths of her subjects and nothing seemed to come out now. She could now say for sure that her prized student was dead, the news, though not unexpected, was a twisted stake plunged deep into her heart.

Celestia heard movement behind her where Pinkie's projector lay. Something moved and it clicked on again. Pinkie settled back down and opened a new jug of milk. There was no countdown this time. Stage 2; Manehattan.

Celestia watched as it began raining in the huge metropolis. The water that fell wasn't clear like usual; it was a bright green, the same color as the clouds that had killed the residents of Ponyville. Each drop splattered against the ground or a building and a small puff of green vapor was released. Soon the city was covered by the strange gas. Celestia watched once again as an entire city of her subjects was viciously killed, thousands threw themselves off buildings to be rid of the pain, only to fall on somepony else and kill both. Hours later she had seen the death of Manehattan. She was broken inside, but knew that there must be more to come.

The films continued as Pinkie changed them out periodically. Every city, every village, every lonely traveler or hermit was killed by the gas. None escaped. Each time Celestia hoped that she could become used to the images and they would no longer rip at her mind so powerfully, but each time the pain seemed to grow more intense, the jetting blood thicker, the deaths more gruesome. Finally Pinkie announced that she was putting in the last reel.

"It's something that we'll both like, I'm very sure." It turned on, the words staying on the screen longer than usual this time. Stage 472; Party Time.

Celestia watched in horror. She had thought that such images could do nothing more to her at this point, she had thought wrong. Twilight awoke in complete darkness. She hadn't needed the name across the bottom of the screen to recognize her. She called out, sounding scared and confused. She quickly lost her composure and began screaming for help. Pinkie turned on the lights and revealed a large cart full of twisted implements; she paused to give Twilight time to take in the room around her.

This didn't bother Celestia; she ignored everything but the sight of her student. Twilight was like a daughter to her and seeing the pieces of her horn molded onto a tiara had finally forced her to accept that she was gone. Celestia wanted to see her one last time, even if it had to be while she was being butchered by Pinkie.

After several hours of torture, Pinkie put Twilight to sleep and left the room. For Celestia and the Pinkie that was watching, the break from the violence lasted only a second. Pinkie walked back in and began again, pausing to tie up another pony that had come crashing through the ceiling. Celestia recognized her as the element of honesty, Applejack.

The images continued. They showed as Pinkie killed her friends, all five of the other elements of harmony. It showed as she set traps and schemed to destroy all of Equestria. She played a game of death with three foals and killed her own pets as mercilessly as she killed her friends. Celestia knew it was finally over as this last scene died. It was a brief image of herself being tied down to a table and her eyelids being cut off. After each one, Pinkie tossed it into her mouth and smiled, seeming to relish the flavor.

Pinkie approached the table with a hammer. The projector had been off for several minutes. Celestia had laid back, the straps holding her were removed, as they both knew she wouldn't try running away at this point. She had curled up and cried, nearly falling off onto the floor at one point. Pinkie had won; she knew this as surely as she knew her beloved country was now a toxic wasteland where nothing could live. Several minutes of the videos had been dedicated to watching the forests wither under the clouds. They dried up instantly, the water seeming to feed the poison. Most of the trees exploded as their water left, others remained whole until they had been drained; they crumbled away, small dry particles with nothing to hold them together.

She smiled, "so how was my present?" Pinkie asked bouncing up and down, the hammer crashing down onto her back with loud crunches with each bounce, though Pinkie didn't seem to notice. "I knew you'd liked it," she continued as Celestia turned away from her. She knew death was coming quickly and she had no desire to play with this demented mare as she took her full pleasure from her current victim.

'She doesn't wanna play,' Pinkie thought irritably as she frowned upon the princess before her. She knew right away that nothing she did now could get a reaction from the broken alicorn before her. She shrugged; sometimes she did push things too far. She lifted the hammer and brought it crashing down, the large thirty pound head put a large dent in the table where Celestia's leg had just been. Now there was a mass of white splinters and red mush, the white fur lying split open beneath this.

Celestia screamed in pain and tried to hold the destroyed limb to herself, but Pinkie quickly struck at the upper part of the leg. It now lay on the table, crushed; the bone splinters dug into the shattered nerves making them scream louder, the meat in her leg was now neatly pulverized, 'ready,' Pinkie thought, 'to make some cupcakes.' Pinkie brought the hammer up and slammed it down once more, now doing to Celestia's other legs what she'd already done to the first one. The white alicorn tried desperately to flee the pain, but each time Pinkie's tiara glowed and she found herself moved into the perfect position for the next swing. Soon, the formerly grand ruler was a huddled mass of shattered limbs that cried out for the end.

Pinkie decided to oblige. She brought the hammer down a final time. Celestia's head seemed to explode on impact. Fragments of her skull flew around the room and the blood splashed nearly to the ceiling. Thick purple-gray sludge splattered Pinkie, mixing with the blood that was already there. It dripped down her slowly as she stood panting. Even with her strength, swinging sledgehammers would always be a good workout for her. She smiled and stuck out her tongue; a falling piece of gray flesh fell on it and she slurped it down. The smile grew wider. "Mmmmmmm," Pinkie said, her eyes closing in ecstasy, "juicy!"

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Spike wasn't sure what was happening. His head and back seemed to cry out, and he felt like his mouth was full of cotton. He felt extremely lightheaded and his vision seemed to waver, even now he thought he could see two Pinkie Pies in front of him. Realization came flooding in; everything he'd seen over the last few days, all of the disappearances, all of the strange occurrences, it all hit came crashing into his mind.

"You murderer," he spat, almost falling over as he yelled. He tried to get up and hurt these two ponies, the ones who had taken Rarity and Twilight from him, the monsters who had destroyed everything he cared about. He began lifting himself up, but couldn't manage to sit up all the way. It felt as though he was buried deep underneath an immense pile of sand; he could move, but not much.

Spike strained, trying to move, but he couldn't find the strength to lift his arm high enough to swing at the pink nightmares, not that he could have hit them from so far away. He looked at himself, only to find that he was covered in thick white bandages. Large red and green stains spread out from behind him and he remembered the spider that had attacked him. Large welts crisscrossed his body, reminders of the burning web he had been bound with.

"What now?" one of the Pinkies asked when he finally stopped moving. He glared at them, especially at the one who had spoken. She wasn't smiling quite as wide as the other one. No, her smile was quite within the bounds of a normal pony's smile; that sat very uneasily with Spike.

"What do you mean?" he asked, though he found that he couldn't speak very loudly. He had thought he would yell out of anger and confusion, but instead what came out was barely more than a whisper.

"Are you done yet? We did have plans you know." She sat back on her haunches, clearly waiting for an answer. The other Pinkie, the one still fully smiling, just stood and watched, the light glinted off of something metallic hidden in her mane.

Spike didn't know what to say, so he just turned his head away from the two ponies. He heard hoofsteps behind him and he tensed, expecting more pain. His back already seemed to be on fire from the bites he'd received. Pressure was applied to the base of his tail and he felt a wave of cold spread through his body completely obliterating all feeling. The relief swept through him as the pains in his back died down.

"I think he's ready now," the happy Pinkie said, a tear forming in her eye.

"Wait, what?" Spike felt his relief transform once more into fear. He tried to see what was going on behind him only to be hit fully in the face with a large needle. He felt it pierce his nose and continue down through his mouth, pinning his tongue down. Hot blood began pooling in his mouth as the needle continued, driven on by an irresistible force.

Spike tried to scream, but the needle held his mouth closed. He could feel the cold metal tickling his throat as his blood pushed against the object, trying to continue on to where it was needed. He managed to open his eyes and found himself looking into the eyes of the smiling Pinkie, only she wasn't smiling much anymore.

"Spike," she complained, "why'd you do that?" She acted hurt, as though she was the one with a huge needle stuck through her and not the other way around.

A deep voice behind her sighed, "Please Pinkie, allow me." The other Pinkie suddenly exploded outwards, now a huge shadowy form of a pony. Its immense red eyes glared at Spike from somewhere around the ceiling. It smiled, its mouth a cavern of teeth. It reached a hoof down towards Spike whose frantic movements did nothing more than cause him to wiggle a little. The giant black hoof rested on his head, blocking out his vision. It seized the needle and ripped it out, splitting Spike's snout down the middle. Spike screamed in pain as hot, red blood poured down his neck and pooled around him on the table.

The happy Pinkie gasped in surprise and stuck a hoof in to taste the new treat. She drew her hoof back quickly though, shaking it vigorously and crying out. The part of her hoof that had entered the liquid was gone, a cloud of smoke rising from where it was. "Wow Spike," she said once she had managed to clear away the last few drops of dragon blood on her hoof, "you're hot." To emphasize her point she licked her good hoof and pressed it against his leg making a sizzling noise with her mouth.

Spike shivered. Something about Pinkie's touch made his skin crawl. Somehow, her laughter made it worse. The repulsive feel of her hoof seemed magnified by the return of her bubbly personality. 'Cupcakes and cupcakes really don't mix well,' he thought absurdly as Pinkie began reaching for something on the ground beneath where Spike lay.

Pinkie noticed his sudden smile. "Ooh, did you think of a joke? I love jokes!"

"Pinkie," the huge shadowy figure said, seeming irritated, though it acted as though this was not uncommon. Spike could say first-hand that this was the usual for Pinkie.

"Especially knock-knock jokes," Pinkie continued, ignoring her companion, "!" The larger figure sighed and nodded, seconds later a small smile played across its face; Spike found himself picturing maggots pushing through a patch of rot.

"Knock-knock!" Pinkie squealed excitedly.

Spike lay where he was, waiting for her to finish so she could kill him quickly. She stood for a few moments, forelegs held high as she smiled, twitching with anticipation for the joke. As Spike didn't answer though, her legs and face began falling, slowly at first, but gaining in speed. She slammed a hoof into his back, reigniting the ruined nerves that were there.

"I said knock- KNOCK!" Pinkie screamed at him, her mane falling limp for a moment.

"Wh-who's th-there?" Spike asked cautiously, the pain began dying down rapidly now that Pinkie had pulled her hoof away.

"FIRE!" Pinkie yelled revealing what she had picked up off the floor. She held an overly large blowtorch in her hooves; a book of matches was somehow balanced on the tip of each of her ears and several lighters lay on her nose.

"What?" spike felt himself regaining control of his body now that the shots were fully taking effect. Even the gash where the giant shadowy creature had yanked out the needle was quieting down under the intense cold of the shot.

"So Spike," Pinkie said, slowly rubbing a hoof up and down the blowtorch, "do you know exactly how it is you breathe fire?" He shook his head. Twilight tried explaining before, but he hadn't listened. "Your spit, all dragons' spit, is incredibly flammable. Now I'm sure your scales are fireproof by now, but what about your insides?"

Spike felt his stomach drop to somewhere around his feet. He could already tell where this was going; no, dragon innards are not fireproof at all.

"You see," Pinkie said while lighting the torch, "dragons just blow out with air heavily laden with spit while a spark is created through their innate magic. Nothing is more flammable than dragon spit Spike, and nothing is filled with more dragon spit than a dragon."

"I am- I mean- that is-" Spike stammered, he could already tell what was about to happen. His fears came true when Pinkie moved the intense blue flames towards him.

"Pinkamena," Pinkie groaned as Spike continued evading the fire, "can you hold him for a second?" Giant black hooves placed themselves on Spike's arms, completely covering them without even getting under the hoof. Spike's mouth was pried open while the nozzle of the blowtorch was forced in.

Spike closed his eyes, he didn't need to watch when he could hear the sizzling flames cook his mouth before the heat could catch. It seemed as though he had inhaled deeply, though he had just breathed out. That's when he knew it was the end.

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Thanks to Saph34 (on fanfiction) for proofreading, hoping to keep him on as an editor for the last few chapters and maybe other stuff if he agrees to it.

For those of you who noticed, yes, Molestia went away the last time she was knocked out. Is that a hint as to what could happen with a later victim? Who knows? (I knows) You'll have to read and find out (yes that's the best cliffhanger I can get right now).

All of my loves to my buddy DWhay. Everypony should go look him up on whichever site you now find yourself reading this on. He's got really good stories and he's a pretty cool guy. If you do look him up, tell him Krushnazag was advertising for him. He's got amazing work, he just needs more people to find it and spread the word, it really is good stuff, go check it out. (None of it is grimdark though *sad face*)

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Alternate cut of Celestia's party:

(This was suggested by my new editor, Saph34. I wanted to put it in the chapter, but it seemed kinda late in the story for that, so it gets to be an alternate cut. If this had come up in an earlier chapter I definitely would've used it.)

The films continued as Pinkie changed them out periodically. Every city, every village, every lonely traveler or hermit was killed by the gas. None escaped. Each time Celestia hoped that she could become used to the images and they would no longer rip at her mind so powerfully, but each time the pain seemed to grow more intense, the jetting blood thicker, the deaths more gruesome. Finally Pinkie announced that she was putting in the last reel.

"It's something that we'll both like, I'm very sure." It turned on, the words staying on the screen longer than usual this time. Stage 472; Party Time.

Celestia watched in horror. She had thought that such images could do nothing more to her at this point. She had thought wrong.

Pinkie began tapping a hoof as music played from hidden speakers. She pulled a large microphone stand out of the shadows and began moving around somewhat awkwardly. Soon the music picked up a little and she began singing.

"We're no strangers to looooove," Pinkie crooned into the microphone, "you know the rules, and so do I." The sound took on an echo with the last line.

"No!" Celestia screamed as she tried to claw out her eyes, "anything but this!"

"A full commitment's what I'm- thinkin' oooo-oof; you wouldn't get this- from any other guy. IIIIIIII just wanna tell you how I'm feelin'; gotta make you- understand! Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you doowwn, never gonna run around and- desert you. Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say good-bye!" Pinkie's awkward shuffle continued. Her shadow now seemed to be acting on its own; running around the wall performing backflips and otherwise blending in to the shadows.

"No, please! Make it stooooppp!" Celestia screamed; this hurt her worse than any of the videos had done. She could handle mindless chaos with violent bloody ends, she ruled a country after all, but psychological torture was never her strong point. It was one of the reasons Luna had been banished to the moon, she'd gotten too good at it and Celestia never had a decent response.

"Never gonna tell a lie, and hurt you. We've known each other- for so long-" Pinkie continued singing, she now added a small spin every now and then, making it that much worse for the ruler to watch.

Inspiration struck Celestia; there was only one way she knew of to end this despicable crime against pony-kind. She couldn't move the sun because she wasn't outside, but she still contained all of the power of the sun within her. Celestia grabbed this power as though she were trying to move the sun; it built up, an immense flood of power set against the mortality of her physical body. She smiled, the end was near.

"We've known each other- for so looong. Your hearts been aching but- you're too shy to say it! Inside we both know what's been going oooon, we know the game and we're- gonna play it. Aaaaaaand if you aassk me how I'm feeling, don't tell me you're too blind to see."

As Pinkie began the chorus once more Celestia felt something deep inside of her body crack and give way. An enormous beam of light shot out of her chest. It spread along her body, incinerating it and supercharging the air around her. The resulting explosion rocked the cavern and sent enormous jagged faults through the thick stone. Pinkie sat up, she was covered in rainbow colored dust and her mane was smoking. The microphone and her record player were completely melted; the album she had been playing was gone with it. She felt herself cry when a large hoof descended on her shoulder.

Pinkamena looked down at her smaller counterpart. She could feel everything the small, pink pony was going through, but she had an idea on how to fix things; a devious smile spread across her lips.

Pinkie looked up. "What is it Pinkamena?" she asked worried that maybe something else had gone horribly wrong.

"You don't mean to tell me that you haven't heard!"

"Heard what?" Pinkie was extremely confused, Pinkamena's thoughts were blocked to her for some reason and she had no idea what she could be hinting at.

"You haven't heard about the word?"

"What word?"

More to come?

*evil smile spreads across writer's face*

I'd like to thank Saph34 once again for suggesting the inclusion of Mr. Astley's song. I would also like to thank Richard Astley for writing his hit 'Never Gonna Give You Up' back in, I think, 1986. Also, I'd like to thank the Trashmen for writing 'Surfin Bird' in 1960 which was hinted at by Pinkamena at the end (classic! I love that song so friggin much!). Oh, and thanks to the Ramones who wrote the two pieces that the Trashmen stuck together to make 'Surfin bird' ('Papa Oom Mow Mow' and 'The Bird's the Word' [both R&B singles])

There, now you've learned something useful. Go hit your head against a wall while you absorb this.

Nightfall

Hi everypony. It's good to be back. Hope you like what I did while I was gone :3

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Spike felt his stomach drop to somewhere around his feet. He could already tell where this was going; no, dragon innards are not fireproof at all.

"You see," Pinkie said while lighting the torch, "dragons just blow out with air heavily laden with spit while a spark is created through their innate magic. Nothing is more flammable than dragon spit Spike, and nothing is filled with more dragon spit than a dragon."

"I am- I mean- that is-" Spike stammered, he could already tell what was about to happen. His fears came true when Pinkie moved the intense blue flames towards him.

"Pinkamena," Pinkie groaned as Spike continued evading the fire, "can you hold him for a second?" Giant black hooves placed themselves on Spike's arms, completely covering them without even getting under the hoof. Spike's mouth was pried open while the nozzle of the blowtorch was forced in.

Spike closed his eyes; he didn't need to watch when he could hear the sizzling flames cook his mouth before the heat could catch. It seemed as though he had inhaled deeply, though he had just breathed out. That's when he knew it was the end.

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Spike's eyes burned with the force that he held them closed with. He could feel the heat of the blowtorch drawing closer and closer, searing the flesh inside his mouth. His teeth were sharp bolts of agony plunged deep into his gums. The heat seemed to gather in them for a moment before, one by one, they exploded. White hot bone fragments shot down his throat and out of his mouth back at Pinkie. They bounced harmlessly off the pink mare, but in the soft flesh of the small dragon's throat, huge red gashes were cut as the shards were driven farther on.

Almost as soon as his teeth blew out, Spike's gums were seared shut, causing more pain than if they had been left raw and gaping. His claws jerked involuntarily, causing him to dig furrows in his thighs, the scales not being used to resisting something as hard as a dragon claw. The shots he had gotten minutes before to dull his pain were swept away by Pinkie's fire; as inconsequential as a dove's moulted feather before a manticore.

Pinkie continued inching the blowtorch closer. Spike could smell his mouth cooking and knew it was only a matter of time before his saliva caught the flames, just as Pinkie said it would. Just then, a strange pressure ran through Spike as though he had inhaled deeply. A shockwave soon followed; his body shook violently, even in his restraints. Pinkie smiled and stepped backwards, somehow producing a bag of marshmallows and a stick.

The multi-colored flames licked the air; blues, greens, violets, oranges, flames of every color. The tongues of fire shot out of Spike's every orifice. His eyes bulged outwards and shone with an eerie light before slowly melting and dripping down his face. His eardrums burst as a particularly violent inferno wracked his brain, literally. The fire forced its way out through his nose, forcing the nostrils wider than they were ever meant to go in hopes of getting more air to fuel the blaze. Spike's skin popped and sizzled as the fire ravaged his form from the inside out leaving only a charred, blackened figure covered in cracked purple scales.

Pinkie pulled her marshmallow off the stick and made a final s'more. She and Pinkamena had been snacking as they watched the internal inferno for several minutes. Pinkie was sad that it was over; she still had a half a bag of marshmallows left and nothing made them taste as sweet as being toasted over a burning dragon.

"Well that was fun," Pinkamena said as she pulled a new treat off the pile. "I'm surprised he burned for so long, I was expecting an explosion." She pushed the chocolaty treat into her cavernous mouth as she spoke.

"I know," Pinkie said as she began poking around inside the hollow shell of scales, "I so wasn't expecting it to burn that many colors. I thought each dragon had its own color." As Pinkie sat back up, away from the charred remains, Pinkamena saw that the fur on her face and part of her mane had been singed by standing so close to the escaping heat.

The two ponies sat for a moment, warming themselves on the still searing remains of the baby dragon. They finished off the last of the treats that had been roasted over Spike's dying flames and Pinkie stood with a sigh.

"You know what comes next, right?" she said, looking the immense shadow pony in the eye.

"Yes, I relish the opportunity to crush the false goddess." Pinkamena changed. Her form began shrinking, condensing into a small orb whose surface was a storm of black and purple tendrils. Her voice came from the sphere, "let us be on our way."

"Okie-dokie-lokie then," Pinkie said happily, bouncing towards the door. It had been far too long already, now it was time to finish what had started so many years ago. She shivered with delight at the thought of this great, final test of her abilities.

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For a thousand years I've waited here for you;

waited ev-ery night, for I thought you were the answer to my life.

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Luna awoke. She was alone in a dark room. Somewhere above her, a spotlight was trained on her, putting her in a circle of light. Outside of the light, the shadows seemed to form an impenetrable wall. She found herself fearing what lay beyond the relative safety of her light.

"Do not be so absurd," she told herself, "we are the princess of the night. We do not fear the dark like some whiney foal." A door slammed shut somewhere in the distance and Luna flinched. "Or maybe we are." She said, circling her small area trying to ensure that nothing entered it unknown.

She could hear hoofsteps in the background, but they came, it seemed, from every direction. One step would sound from somewhere to her left, quickly followed by one to her right. The next would be before her and another behind her. Luna turned rapidly, she could feel her skin crawling as she wondered what could be happening. Regaining her senses, she tried to use her magic to light the room.

The power built in her horn, a complex matrix of energies that would create a twin of her moon, something she always found comforting, especially since her exile there. The power built and her horn began to glow, but just as she released the magic, something went horribly wrong. The magic rebounded, not even leaving her horn. The huge power of her spell was focused back into her body, shooting through her causing great pains.

Luna lay on the floor panting, blood running from her horn. 'What could have gone wrong?' she thought. Her eyes crossed as she tried to resist the pain and she saw just what had happened. Her horn was snapped off, little more than an inch remained; the rest had been broken cleanly off. She tried to remember what had happened to it, but her last memories were of trying to set the trap for the monster only to have it sprung on herself. And then-

"No," she whispered, her face draining of color, "oh Celestia, no." She thought carefully back. As they were sitting in the trap, trying to find a way out, she had felt a familiar churning low in her stomach, something that almost certainly meant- "She came out." Her, that twisted other side of the princess that enjoyed preying on the weak citizens of Equestria to please herself.

The hoofsteps were close now, seeming to be just outside of her small ring of light. Luna waited, wondering where she was and exactly what she had done while she was 'away'. Luna took a deep breathe, trying to calm herself. She could feel her mind settling, getting ready to deal with whatever lay beyond her safety.

Pinkie crept up to the edge of the shadows. She was thrilled that she could end everything here where so much had taken place. So many sacrifices in the name of her master, so much blood spilled to satiate the unholy one. Pinkie gritted her teeth, 'Yes, so perfect to take revenge on the false goddess,' she thought.

She could see just where the pretender was lying. Her eyes were closed and she was taking slow, deep breaths. Pinkie smiled, this would work out perfectly. She snuck into the light and leaned into Luna's ear, standing just behind the large alicorn. She inhaled quietly and let out a quick giggle.

Luna jumped up and looked around frantically. "Who's there?" she demanded, fear shaking her voice, "show thyself!" Pinkie was careful to stay just behind the dark princess. As the princess spun, Pinkie had an idea. She signaled Pinkamena and waited for a moment. Soon Pinkamena began making loud noises, just beyond Luna's sight. Pinkie waited until she was fixated on these new sounds and jumped onto the princess's back.

"Yeee-haw," Pinkie yelled as she slammed her hooves into the princess's sides repeatedly. With every kick, another light flashed on, revealing more of the room. Luna ran frantically, unable to grasp what was happening. Each time a new light came on she ran to it, hoping to find calm so she could come to terms with the situation. Soon things began showing in the lighted areas.

Luna stopped quickly, somehow ignoring the thing on her back causing her pain. On the ground before her was a table crafted from bone and skin, a large punchbowl was on it. The bowl itself was filled with a deep crimson liquid. Its ladle appeared to be carved from several hooves, as did the cups arrayed before it.

Soon another light came on, revealing another table, similar in makeup to the first. This one had a pile of foal heads. Their eye-sockets were held open with thick, coarse thread and small pieces of candy spilled out from their skulls. Their mouths had been stitched into a grotesque grin, an eternal perversion of what their happiness must once have looked like.

Everywhere Luna turned she saw more and more disturbing things. She didn't even notice when Pinkie stopped kicking. She was completely terrified; not of who or what had her, but who they had come from. Luna recognized this craft that was displayed before her; only one entity had ever constructed such depraved objects as these. As the final lights came on, she knew her fears were all too real.

Five ponies stood on raised pedestals, each one warped depravedly, but still recognizable. It was her sister's prized student, the one who had been so kind to her since her return from the moon. 'Twilight Sparkle,' she thought, remembering the names of the ponies before her, 'Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity. Where is the pink one?' She remembered how they had destroyed Nightmare Moon, saving her from an influence that she had struggled against ever since making a deal with it. 'The pink one, what was her name?'

"Pinkie Pie," a voice said from her back. Luna continued on for a moment, not paying any attention to this new voice. She took a final look at the ponies before her and began running, looking for a door. Whoever had captured her was a servant of Nightmare Moon and Luna refused to return to that unholy power. She found a narrow stairway and ran up as quickly as she could. The door at the top swung open at her touch and she continued running through it, only to find herself being thrown backward by a grip around her neck.

She caught a glimpse of what lay beyond the door; thousands upon thousands of corpses hung from the ceiling. She recognized the one closest to the door. Celestia, her head a gory mess, large holes covered her side as though she had been struck repeatedly by a round object. Luna felt a tear escape her eye as she fell.

Luna twisted, trying to land on her hooves, but felt herself being dragged downwards to land almost directly on her head. She hit the floor with a reverberating crack. Stars shot before her eyes and her vision was momentarily shot through with a red sheen that faded to black. She resisted the pull of oblivion and found herself being pulled to a metal table that stood nearby.

She was lifted up and dropped onto the table. Pink flashes crossed her vision and tightened straps around her hooves. Suddenly, a pink mare was sitting on Luna's stomach, watching her with a hungry expression.

"Hi princess," Pinkie spat, making the title sound like an insult. "Remember me? Probably not, that was before."

Luna knew what happened. When Nightmare Moon had been destroyed, all of her memories rushed back into Luna, forcing her to believe that they truly had been one in the same and that Luna had been the one to terrorize the land. Now, a string of memories about this mare rushed through her mind.

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Days turned into years and into centuries,

Patience had to fade. Don't you see that there is vengeance in my eyes?

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A dark night. A small pink filly lay in a crude shelter on the shore of a lake. She was cold, hungry, but best of all, alone. 'A perfect target to begin my revenge,' thought Nightmare Moon as she watched from her celestial prison. She gave the youngling a small amount of power, just enough to gain the uncanny senses present in her followers. Then, she spoke in a strange language that seemed to rock the very air around it. The sound-waves struck the loose rock of the cliff and sent a pile of boulders tumbling down. The filly awoke just in time to move away from the rocks. She seemed to realize just how close it had been and began crying, already broken.

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"Good, good," the dark goddess said, praising her student's work. This was her final attempt at a follower, but the mare had already far surpassed all others. Her student didn't seem to agree.

"I promised him a safe place to stay though," she said, "I Pinkie Promised!" The small colt lay before her, broken. His eyes had been slowly destroyed with sewing needles and his wings were bent at odd angles. Clothespins jutted from his body at weird angles and his head was completely turned around.

"Does it matter? He is now free from his burdens, free from his worry. You have released his soul that it may travel the nether as it pleases. You have done him only good. You saw as he came in, his ribs stuck out so far, he was covered in cuts and bruises and his wings had been clipped. Surely you aren't angry that you freed him from pain." This seemed to steady the promising mare. She smiled, tears still clouding her eyes.

"I guess it's better now. Plus we do get to make yummy cupcakes for everypony else to enjoy." She smiled, but a knife flashed into her hoof. The pink pony thrust the knife deep into her abdomen, knowing that it wouldn't kill her at this point, only cause intense pain for hours. She looked up where she knew the moon to be, "if a Pinkie Promise won't stop you then this will. I swear a blood oath on my own life, never again to break a Pinkie Promise."

Nightmare Moon was thrown off, even with their near immortality, all of her previous attempts had avoided even the slightest bit of pain, no matter how crazed. This mare would take watching. "I'm not pleased with it, but it is done," she said. This could limit her assignments for the pony later, but once given, such an oath could only end one of two ways: completion, or death.

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"At last," called the dark goddess excitedly, "the time for my complete revenge has come!" Her laughter appeared to send shivers up the spine of the mare before her. "When I return to Equestria," she said, "be prepared to rule by my side, but don't reveal yourself to be my servant." "Knowing my sister," she spat the word, "she has some way to defeat me once more. Do whatever is required to hold your cover until I give the orders."

"Yes mistress," the mare said, returning to her work. A grey unicorn was thrown across the floor in front of her. His body lay in pieces but he still had life in him.

"Wait, please. Just let me ask one thing." He began coughing, blood jetting out with every push.

"Shall I?" Pinkie asked, looking back to the window constructed for her mistress to watch from her lunar prison.

"Yes, a small mercy before their world is destroyed."

"Please," he asked, his voice now little more than a hoarse whisper.

"Go ahead," Pinkie said, moving forward with her knife. "You may ask me one favor."

"Swear to me that you'll leave her out of this."

"Leave who?"

"My love, my life, my mare; please, promise me that you'll never put her through this."

"Who is she?"

"Duh-Der" he began coughing again, "Derpy Hooves." His head fell, his dying breath trailing off making the end of the name into a snake-like hiss.

Pinkie nodded, crossed her heart and put a hoof over one eye. "Never," she said before quickly setting to work carving up the corpse.

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At last, freedom! Nopony can stop me know. Power surged through Nightmare Moon's form as she stood before the purple unicorn. Her friends had arrived including Nightmare Moon's newest student, but they were powerless. The Elements of Harmony lay shattered on the ground, broken shards of rock. She saw Pinkie give her a joyful look. The same though ran between the two ponies of the night, 'We've won!' But suddenly, things went wrong.

The unicorn stood up. Somehow, she had found a way around the destruction of the elements. As their abilities were confirmed, the assembled mares began glowing and the pieces of the elements began swirling around them. "No," she found herself yelling, "what is happening?"

She looked to her servant for aid. The mare gained very little by helping to destroy her, but gained the world if she kept the others from completing what they had come for. Pinkie looked at her, a strange look in her eyes. 'Is that, is that anger?' One by one, the new elements shot out beams of light; swirling colors that burned Nightmare Moon to the core. Pinkie laughed in the destruction of her former master. In her last moments, the dark goddess placed a compulsion on the mare. "Very soon," she whispered as her power was ripped away, "your friends will be your new victims and you will be powerless to aid them. You will not live to enjoy my downfall for very long."

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Luna won't you cry for me? I'm as lonely as I've ever been.

I am for-ced back into the start. Is there any way to fix a broken heart?

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"We, that is, I remember you small one," Luna was devastated by what she had just seen. Not only had her petty desire for revenge cost hundreds, if not thousands, of ponies their lives, but her final words as Celestia's rival had doomed both the country, and herself. "For what it's worth," she said, fear filled her, fear of what this pink mare would do to her when she stopped talking, "I'm sorry for what I did. I did not wish to ruin your life or that of others. I wish I could undo what I did."

"Well you can't," Pinkie said, a dark gleam in her eyes. "You can't bring them back or take away what I've done, but I'm fine with that. You know why? Because you have always been right, they were much better off dead than alive. You just never said it was because I was here and not there. My friends are safe now, but we both know you won't be joining them, not with what you've done."

"Very well," Luna said, giving in. She had just seen the worst of her crimes flash before her eyes and now the rest began flooding her mind. She knew that a millennium of exile to the moon hadn't cleared her of the stains, but maybe this would finally clear away some. Her sister had always insisted that her penance was finished and that she was not to blame for Nightmare Moon's rampage, only her release, but Luna had always known she would pay for it someday. She just wished that she was the only one who had to pay for it.

Pinkie pulled back a hoof and slammed it into the princess's eye, cracking the bone around the socket. Luna saw that the pink mare was sobbing slightly, her hooves digging into the stomach of the alicorn. Suddenly, a sinister grin covered the mare's face and she looked up. Her eyes were empty black pits surrounded by a thin line of blue. Her teeth seemed abnormally sharp for an equine's. "Let's play then," she said, jumping off Luna.

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Infinite despise and endless jealousy bottled in my soul,

As erupted as I'm tearing through the sky.

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Pinkie returned quickly, a pair of pliers held in her hooves. She leaned in, eager to begin the final destruction of that being which had brought promises of power and immortality but was defeated by a bookish mare and her friends. Swinging the pliers quickly, she crushed the alicorn's jaw, causing it to fall open, dangling while blood spilled out from the stretched and split flesh.

Pinkie grabbed onto a tooth with the pliers and began twisting it around where it sat. Luna's screams of pain increased, but this only seemed to egg Pinkie on. Soon she had ripped the tooth out, pulling a small chunk of the alicorn's gums with it. She continued, tooth after tooth. The small white pile on the floor grew quickly, a large red puddle forming from the drops of blood on the teeth.

The pain shot deep through Luna's head with each pull. She could feel every hole where the roots had once been. Blood poured from dozens of new holes in her mouth and flowed down her throat, its thick, coppery taste threatening to choke her.

Pinkie sat back and looked at her work seeming displeased. A smile crossed her face and she began to gather up the teeth. "Oh Luna," she said leaning in, "guess what?" The dark alicorn just sobbed and tried to swallow as little of her blood as possible. Pinkie shrugged and began jamming the teeth into Luna's body at random points, pushing them in until only a small white dot showed where they were.

Pinkie seemed to be about to pull out another tool when a large black hoof descended on her leg. "Wait," rumbled a deep voice. Luna felt her courage fully give out at that voice. She knew of only one type of creature that sounded like that.

'Somehow,' she thought in her tortured mind, 'somehow she not only has a completely formed darkside, but it has its own body.' She knew now just how far she had gone with Pinkie long ago. She knew she had created something that could only exist as the bane of all life.

"I believe it's my turn now," the voice rumbled. Pinkie turned impatiently.

"Fine, but hurry, I have so much fun planned."

An immense black shape filled Luna's vision. Cold seemed to radiate from it and Luna found herself sighing as the agony in her head died down. The shape seemed to move until a huge eye sat before her face. Its bright crimson seemed almost to burn through the princess, leaving her with a feeling of sorrow and hopelessness. "Hello mistress," the voice said quietly, "shall we play?"

Red hot agony! Something was being forced into Luna's leg and she could hear a loud sizzling noise as though something burned. She looked down. The huge shadowy hoof was slowly pushing nail after nail into Luna's rear legs. Each of them glowed, their edges white from the heat. Luna could feel every movement as they were pushed into her legs. She could feel as the flesh charred and was pushed aside to make room for more of the burning metal. Nail after nail, each one stopping after it emitted a grinding noise. Trying to move her legs produced not only the protest of her split muscles, but Luna realized what the grinding noise was. Somehow the nails had been pushed all the way through, pinning her to the table.

"Okay, okay, now move over," Pinkie said once the final nail had been pushed in. A box of matches was balanced on her hoof. She pulled one out and lit it, the wood hissing to life with a brief flash. Pinkie moved towards Luna's face and pushed the lit end of the match into the alicorn's eye. It hissed and sputtered, quickly burning a hole through her eye. White liquid dribbled out as Luna screamed in pain. Pinkie continued pressing lit matches in until nothing was left of the eye but a small steaming puddle of white in a bleeding socket. Then she moved on to the other, laughing with each newly lit match. Soon she ran out of eyes and moved onto the alicorn's hair. Pinkie pulled out all of her remaining matches and carefully arranged them in Luna's flowing mane. Striking one match, Pinkie quickly lit the rest and sat back to watch.

The hair caught easily, transforming the princess's head into a raging fireball within seconds. Luna screamed and tried to move away, her fear of the fire only increased by the loss of her eyes. Nothing she did could pull her away from her own mane though, so she sat, feeling the approaching heat, unable to resist. Now her skin seemed to burn as well and she knew it was only a matter of seconds before the fire ended everything.

Luna found herself slightly cheered; only a few more moments of pain before it was over. But that was not to be. She felt something pass her and extinguish the fire. She cried out, broken and forlorn.

"Hey," Pinkie yelled angrily, "I was watching that."

"Yes," returned the voice of her other, "but a little longer and our fun would have ended. Why must I teach you patience so often?"

Luna could feel herself slipping away, her injuries dragging away at the last ebbs of her strength. She hoped they didn't notice, she knew how well she had trained this one. If she was almost gone, she would be brought back for hours of these twisted games.

"Even now she is near. We cannot risk another slipup," came the deep voice. A needle plunged into Luna's chest and she felt her last chance of freedom slide away with her new rush of strength.

The two ponies continued their games, back and forth, hammers, wire, teeth, every possible weapon in the room was used multiple times until what was left was a crushed blob of flesh resembling a pony, but still she lived.

Luna gasped for air. Every fiber of her being screamed out for release. They had thoroughly crippled her, inside and out, yet still they showed little sign of slowing. Except-

Pinkie groaned, "that last shot was the last shot. We're all out now, see?" Luna could still faintly hear them as they spoke. She could feel herself sliding away again and knew know that there was little more they could do to her before the end.

"Well then, together?"

"Okie-dokie-lokie!"

Luna heard hoofsteps approaching. She heard the oncoming rush of wind. She could hear as her skull caved in, her brain giving out only after much of it had been reduced to mush spurting from Luna's eyes and ears. She was still alive through the pain, but one though crossed her mind at the very end.

I'M FREE!

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Is there any way to fix a broken heart?

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I'd like to thank Saph34 once again for editing. Thanks for waiting for me while I was gone everypony, I promise I'll do my best not to leave anypony hanging like that again if I can help it.

I'm advising a new writer right now. He has a pretty nice fic out there. It's a ponified remake of the movie "The Fly". It's really good and everypony should go check it out. The story is called "Twifly" and it's in my fav list or you can just look up Gojira123 (he's only on fanfiction as far as I know, sorry fimfiction people.)

Sorry for leaving out details on Luna's torture. Partially, I ran out of ideas, but I also wanted to get this up ASAP.

One last thing, you should all go to my profile and look at the story ideas I have up there. Start telling me now what you want me to work on next. If you wait until this story is done (next chapter) then I'll have already started work on my idea "Out of the Darkness", and very few of those ideas are small enough to do on the side. I'm warning you though, a couple of them I don't know how to start or anything, so you might get a 'no' for it.

/]*[\

/]*(\

The Path's End

Hey everypony, before you leave this page I want to show you something. On your keyboard, press this combination of keys (the directions are the arrow keys): up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, b, a

I Pinkie Promise that it does something. At least, it does something if you're on this page. Don't believe me? Test it out here, then try it on the homepage. It'll work here but not there. (For best results, enter the combination multiple times.) Remeber I've set it up so that this works on all of my stories :3

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This is the last time you guys will get to see me in my wonderfully twisted world. I'll be back, but not in this deliciously nightmarish plane. Enjoy.

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Silence seemed to press down on the two mares as they walked through Ponyville. Pinkamena had taken Pinkie's form so that they could converse easier as they walked. The buildings around them seemed to scream through open doorways and windows; openings left by the fleeing ponies days before. An odd smell hung in the air, a stench Pinkie knew quite well by now. It brought her back to her work, each bringing her more pleasure than the last… until recently. Pinkamena inhaled deeply, relishing the smell she had been created to enjoy.

"Our work is done," Pinkamena said, looking over at her counterpart. She made no attempt to hide Pinkie's memories as she was wont to do; it was more fun not to keep the fragile mare from her heartbreak. "We have finally done that which we were made to do."

"Yeah," said Pinkie, the final screams of thousands of ponies finally pressing on her mind. It wasn't uncommon for one or two, or even several ponies to stay in her mind, their death throes disrupting her throughout the day. But usually she managed to remember the thrill it all brought, the joy of the kill, the sweet taste of fresh blood on her lips. Now, a dam had broken somewhere in her mind and her victims had been released at once. Their tortured screams pulled at her sanity, threating to destroy her. Nothing she did could silence them, or even redirect their fury. She looked over at her doppelgänger, silently pleading for assistance, "What do we do now?"

"Whatever you want dear Pinkie, the world is ours now."

"Well that'll do a lot of good won't it?" Pinkie was beginning to cry a little, her hair was completely deflated and her color was fading quickly, "we're all alone."

"Yes, but it's that silence that assures us we've done it! We two have done what none before us could even hope of doing! Not only did we defeat every pony in Equestria, a feat, need I remind you, that not even the griffon armies nor the wendigos could accomplish, but we also struck down Celestia and Luna and you aided in the destruction of Nightmare Moon. Nothing else can even begin to compare to what we've done!" Pinkamena was breathing heavily; it was clear that she had no regrets and had taken nothing but joy from even the most pitiable of their victims. Pinkie on the other hand knew what it was to be a small pony alone in the world. She fell silent, slowing down a little, though not enough for Pinkamena to notice.

"What's more," Pinkamena said, stopping in front of Pinkie, "by technicality, you are about to kill yourself, yet you will still be alive." A wicked gleam flashed in her eyes as her form rippled.

"What?" Pinkie said, alarmed. She began backing quickly away from her duplicate, unable to hide the fear that sprang into her features. For much of her life she had poured her darkest feelings, her hatred, jealousy and anger, into this one being which had been a part of her mind. Then it became separated from her and she began to lose its strength, its ability to resist the darker side of reality. Now it had turned against her completely and she felt… exposed. 'This must be what it's like for Fluttershy,' she thought as she retreated from the grinning specter of herself.

Pinkamena advanced, seeming to grow and darken with each step. Soon she towered over the quivering pink mare. Her teeth seemed to glint in the half light as she descended like a misshapen bird of prey, leaping through the air to come crashing down on a recently vacated cobbled road. She looked up, hissing.

Pinkie tore through the streets. It had been a long time since she had ever done anything with her emotions without Pinkamena's help to focus them, but she knew she could get them under control, she had to. She could hear screams of rage in the distance as Pinkamena searched for her in vain. She knew she would be found eventually, but for now, her Pinkie senses told her to keep running. They also showed her which paths were the fastest. Some of the shortcuts were so well hidden that even she had never known about them before.

Soon Pinkie was back in her room at the Sugarcube Corner. She could see Pinkamena through the window. She had unleashed her full power and now towered above the town, dozens of stories high. She sniffed violently at the air, smelling for her escaped prey, but Pinkie had been just about everywhere in town, especially recently, so none of the scents were strong enough to cancel the others out. It didn't help that she and Pinkie smelled almost exactly the same. She cursed her sweet tooth for this. Debris flew into her nose as she hunted, but it didn't bother her any more than dust mites would affect Pinkie.

Pinkie slid into the secret passageway that led to her other bedroom. She could get the necessary tools to fight Pinkamena here. Maybe this would begin to fix what she had done. If not, it would at least set her free from the psychotic side of her mind so she could live out her days in peace.

Pinkamena roared in frustration and began slashing at the buildings with her strange, clawed hooves; they tore through the wood and stone as though they were wet paper. She was sure to crush the debris to prevent Pinkie from hiding in any of the ruins. "Come out little one, we must play now." The force of her voice shook the ground.

Miles below the surface in her most hidden storage room, Pinkie felt the rock around her begin to shake violently. The echoes from nearby tunnels nearly deafened her, but she could almost make out what was being said. She knew without hearing though, the message was quite clear. It was time to have some fun.

Pinkie emerged from the hidden doors in the clearing in the Everfree Forest and latched them behind her. Either she was never going to use the contents of the lair again, or she wouldn't live to see this place again. Either way, she would never enter this fortress again. She opened a puzzle made out of the immense rock doors themselves to reveal a large bundle of wires and strange chalky clay. She twisted one of the wires tighter than it had been and was rewarded with a gentle beeping. Pinkie nodded, this would attract Pinkamena and eliminate her old home.

Pinkie ran to the cliff a few hundred yards from the hidden tunnel. When placing the C4, she ensured that her secret ledge here would remain untouched by the explosions. She grabbed a nearby sapling and jumped, swinging quickly into the hidden cavity. Even weighed down by her new equipment, the tree had been strong enough to hold until she landed.

Pinkie could hear and feel the powerful steps as Pinkamena hurried to the hidden entrance screaming in rage. She could hear that Pinkie set off the detonators, but only Pinkie was able to stop them. "How dare you," she screamed, "you little bitch, that's MINE!" Pinkamena seized the doors and tore them off, hoping to remove the control detonator before the entire tunnel system went up in flames. As she pulled the command went through and electricity sparked between the wires, priming the tons of buried C4 throughout the system. The abominations within writhed as they felt the disturbances they had feared for so long; Pinkie had usually used one of them to test her products and they knew all too well how effective it was. They also knew how much there was, they were forced to install it.

The explosions began in the deepest sections of the pink mares' old home. The harvest chambers were first to go, they twisted, bloodstained metal melting under the intense heat of the rolling flames. The explosion continued through the wall of plastique and wires that surrounded every inch of the passageways. Room after room collapsed, causing the ground to twist and roll as enormous caverns, some older than Equestria, collapsed. For miles in every direction, the ground dropped hundreds of feet. Several large rock formations remained where the tunnels hadn't been as common and in the odd area where there had been no excavations at all.

Pinkamena screamed, her home, her work, all gone now! Pinkie would pay for this, she would pay dearly. The shadow mare could feel as the explosion continued toward her, rocking what was left of the surface. Suddenly she realized what she was holding.

She threw the doors, putting all of her immense power into the throw, but it had still barely moved past her face when the detonator hit zero. The doors exploded, flames and rocks pummeling the dark face of Pinkamena. Freezing blood rained down and she fell back, writhing in pain.

Pinkie smiled, she had known exactly what Pinkamena would do and she had planned accordingly. 'Now to finish the job,' she thought, pulling on her battle suit.

She had been constructing them in secret for years; always moving to grab the newest tech before its developers even knew entirely how it worked. Thanks to her natural skills and the Oracle's advice, Pinkie had easily found the driving forces behind, and the best uses for, each piece of tech she 'borrowed'.

She now had what resembled a Canterlot black-ops uniform on, but it had been modified. Using a combination of pony and griffon technology, some pieces weren't even available to the top level researchers, she had made some… modifications. The entire suit was filled with gel packets made up of non-Newtonian fluids. Normally a liquid, they would bunch together as a solid when force was exerted on them, instantly stopping just about anything. The harder it pushed, the more of the fluid gathered to stop it. Her helmet had highly sensitive thermo scopes and night-vision. A little tinkering had transformed the thermo sensors so that they showed patches of cold more than patches of heat. Both the night-vision and thermo scanners where set to automatically adjust to the surroundings as necessary, so Pinkie's vision never changed no matter what the lighting was like. It also kept a constant readout showing abnormally low temperature areas within her line of sight. A strange hollow tube circled her body, trickles of electricity seeming to run down it. The tube ended in a large metal ring set into the shoulder of the suit. The ring was aimed forward, like a nozzle, and a small point of metal protruded from it. One of Pinkie's forelegs had strange latches down the sides. A metal rectangle on her back would slide into place there almost instantaneously. It locked in, folding out into a sword which was heated by a special harmonic-fusion cell that Twilight had started researching after their last use of the elements of harmony. The sword would glow in many colors but would also heat up to incredible temperatures, enough to slide through stone and metal as though they weren't there and all without harm to the wielder. Set into the middle of Pinkie's chest was a large black hole. The body armor here was abnormally thick in order to fit the strange device. Purplish sludge dripped out onto the ground every now and then. Each drop slid through the ground without slowing, leaving a trail as it descended. Pinkie was careful not to let any of the plasma drip onto her legs.

"Let's do this," she said, lowering her visor. She ran to the clearing as quickly as she could, but found only the edge of an enormous pit. "Maybe I overdid it on the blasting clay," she said, rubbing a hoof against her head. She looked around; there was no sign of Pinkamena anywhere. A sinking feeling in her stomach told her something horrible was about to happen.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I'm not a fan of puppeteers, but I've a nagging fear someone else is pullin' at the strings.

Something terrible is going down, through the entire town wreaking anarchy and all it brings.

I can't sit idly, no I can't move at all,

And I curse the name, the one behind it all…

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Discord," Pinkamena whispered, laying a hoof on the statue before her. Strange music drifted through her head as she said this, but she ignored it. 'Probably just a leftover of being part of that pink fool,' she thought.

The draconequus stirred beneath her touch, his stony prison shaking slightly. A deep, charismatic voice echoed through her mind. Such power here; ooh and a lust for all things disharmonic. I think we could both be of use to each other, don't you agree? Release me from my prison and I will be allowed to use the full extent of my powers to grant you whatever it is that you want. Then we go our separate ways and everyone gets what they want. Pinkamena shook her head trying to clear it. He shouldn't have been able to penetrate her mind like that, especially not limited as he was. She spoke a word and the stone crumbled instantly leaving a newly freed Discord standing on the statue's old plinth.

"Ah, that does feel good," he said, stretching luxuriously. "You have no idea how quickly stiffness sets back in when you're imprisoned in stone." His joints cracked loudly as he moved.

Pinkamena just looked. This was the being that had nearly ruined her other half? "Yes, yes, I know it must be exciting meeting the great Discord in the flesh," he said as he caught her staring, "but now down to business. What is it that you want in exchange for freeing me?"

Pinkamena smiled, her fangs glinting darkly in the soft light of the royal garden. Discord took a step backwards unconsciously, he had never seen fangs such as these before, not even on the dragons he enjoyed playing with so much. "That's easy," she said, "your life-force."

Discord stood for a moment, a look of disbelief upon his face. He suddenly burst out laughing. Wiping a tear from his eye he continued, still chuckling, "for a second there, hah, I thought you had… said you were going to take my power." He continued laughing, holding his stomach, "and you thought I would just let you!"

"Oh no," Pinkamena said coldly, "I wasn't asking. I was telling." She seized his arm and turned quickly, pushing her hip into his stomach and flipping him over her shoulder. He hit the ground hard enough to leave a small crater and looked up slightly dazed.

"You know not what you do," he said, reaching up and placing a claw on her leg. "Now how about you join me so I might teach you the error of your ways, slowly and for all eternity?" A gray patch briefly appeared on the hoof in a small circle around his claw, but it was quickly forced back into his claw.

"What!" he yelled, "How did you do that?" He sat up from the crater a bit. "No one can resist that, not even the Elements of Harmony!"

Pinkamena turned her hoof back into its clawed form as she reached for the embodiment of chaos on the ground. She grabbed him around the throat and lifted him up until they were at eye level. She had been increasing her size slowly throughout the confrontation, so by the time they were at eye level, Discord hung several feet above the ground.

"It failed for one reason. I. Am. Untouchable." She punctuated every word with a small yet violent shake. "I can't be changed or discorded or whatever you call it. I have no loyalty, I am betraying myself as we speak and I've already killed my creator." A circle of symbols surrounded the plinth on which Discord had once stood, each one representing a different Element of Harmony, designed as an extra measure of protection against his release. Pinkamena smashed each one as she mentioned it. "I have no true magic, friendship or otherwise," Twilight's star disappeared under a large black hoof. "I am kind to no one, giving only pain and death and taking whatever I want when I want it." Her grip tightened slightly around the draconequus's neck momentarily as she said this. "I am neither honest nor dishonest; preferring to use whichever best suits me at the time. And while technically I am the Element of Laughter, I do not laugh, I do not feel joy. Only triumph." The plinth fell under the final blow, now just a pile of dust on the ground. "To add to this, there is absolutely no part of me that is or ever was good." She said the last word as though mocking someone. "So not even the Elements of Harmony can touch me, for they do not destroy, only purify."

Discord vanished suddenly from Pinkamena's grasp as inspiration crossed his face. "But that's just it. My very presence bends reality and makes things that make no sense happen, and things that do make sense, not to happen. Therefore, I can Discord you."

He darted forward and grabbed her leg. Pinkamena watched, smiling coldly as the discoloration spread along her body until it began climbing her neck. "But," she said, the flow of discoloration stopped, "it would make sense then for you to be able to change me, therefore you cannot do it." Her normal coloring returned instantly.

"Yes," said Discord, grabbing her with both hands and squeezing, "but then it would once again not make sense for you to be affected so you are."

"Get your filthy paws off of me," Pinkamena growled, throwing Discord through a nearby wall. "I can keep up with this all day, talking circles around you if I must. We both know that this can only end in one way."

Discord stood, brushing chunks of wall off of his shoulders. He glared at the pony approaching him, still growing as she came. Discord now barely reached her waist when she stood on her hind legs, but he showed no fear. 'Too bad for you,' Pinkamena thought, 'I can smell it.'

A mass of dark liquid appeared around him, swirling in a violent current. He began flicking drops of the chocolate milk at Pinkamena, small explosions sounding as he hit them. The drops splashed against her and rolled down her coat leaving thin trails of moisture. "It makes sense," she said, causing the rushing mass of chocolate milk to shoot at his head, "for someone with your abilities to make this explode. Just like it also makes sense for me not to be able to control it without magic. It also makes sense that chocolate milk wouldn't explode when it hits your face."

The thick stream of milk collided with Discord's head, every particle within the liquid exploded simultaneously, blowing him backwards through several stone dividing walls. He lay on the ground coughing, unable to move. In an instant Pinkie stood over him. "I'll be taking your life-force now," she said, placing a hoof on his forehead. The power drained out of him, Pinkamena could feel it entering her essence as it traveled up her leg.

Discord began fading as his essence was drained; soon he was but a ghostly image hidden in a pile of rocks. He spit at her, moments before he faded, a smug look crossing his face before he came into sight of the world beyond the veil.

Pinkamena had just finished absorbing the power of chaos when the glob of spit struck her. When she finally hit the ground she rubbed the gaping hole in her head. "Ooooooh," she moaned slightly, even she wasn't immune to the pain of a wound like this, "I guess it made sense for his power to be gone and for the spit not to have the force of several nuclear warheads." She chuckled, "I'll have to be careful how I think about the world from now on. Luckily it made sense for a blast like that to kill me."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Luna won't you cry for me?

I'm as lonely as I've ever been.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Pinkie had carefully arranged some of the rubble to hide an enormous pit. She had found it not long after she and Pinkamena had become separated, but she had never had any use for it. A bottomless pit was something they would never have had a use for. Now it was exposed by the blast and had been covered by the remains of the buildings that had once been built above it. She knew by the ethereal screams that Pinkamena had gone somewhere towards Canterlot, possibly to Canterlot itself.

"Discord!" she gasped, "with his abilities she could negate anything I tried to do to her!" She groaned, striking her face repeatedly with a hoof, "how could we forget about Discord?"

Because she has been planning this for a long time, Pinkie heard a familiar voice echo in her head.

"Oracle? Why didn't you answer me earlier?" Pinkie was angry, if she'd had answers before, she might have known this was coming.

The dark one had cut me off from your mind; she didn't want you receiving aid. She was placed under orders at the same time our mistress commanded you to turn on your friends. She didn't wish to unbalance her champions, so she allowed you to keep what had been given to you, but she also left the other her abilities, including the ability to block out you so she could assume control.

"Why are you being so helpful?" Pinkie asked suspiciously, "you usually say as little as possible."

Think as such, I am immortal as long as I have a host. You are now the only living being in Equestria and from the looks of your studies before you began the large scale assaults, the only living creature in the known world.

"Known world?"

Don't interrupt. If you die, I die, and while I would welcome the rest, I do not wish to return to the void yet. Also, you are my only portal to the world, without you I am trapped in darkness and silence. She cut me off, therefore I had nothing, including no sense of time. It could have been eons, or seconds and I wouldn't realize the difference. For this, I will ensure that she pays. Here is what you must do.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I've just discovered that the ponies were defeated,

By something really strong. Is it very weird and wrong?

It just doesn't belong, like it came out of this world.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Pinkie had just finished receiving her instructions when an enormous shadow appeared above her. "Hello sister," the deep voice above her rumbled, "time to say goodbye." Pinkamena smashed to the ground before her smaller counterpart, widening the crater even more and revealing some of the pit Pinkie had been planning to lure her into. "I suppose you already know what I did."

"You have stolen the powers of disharmony." Pinkie didn't ask, she could sense the dark aura coming from herself.

"Good, then you won't be surprised when I do this." The ground beneath Pinkie turned into a thick brown soup into which Pinkie was plunged to her neck. The ground instantly solidified once more leaving Pinkie immobilized. "This power," Pinkamena said, conjuring a glass of apple juice, "it feels divine." She took a drink causing much of the cup to disappear; the juice remained, still in a cylinder though nothing held it. Pinkamena took another gulp and then threw the chunk of juice behind her. It instantly transformed into a giant icicle upon hitting the ground.

She stalked towards the trapped pink mare, clearly enjoying herself. "You know what always made sense to me?" she asked, smiling. Pinkie knew something awful was coming. "How we had separated." Pinkie felt herself being pulled towards the enormous equine figure before her. "Most would have thought that we'd be separate, but I always saw how, when I became more powerful, it only made sense for us to split. What didn't make sense was the thought of you being absorbed by me to fuel my power."

It felt as though something was pulling Pinkie apart particle by particle, ripping away at her very soul. She felt her strength being drained from her as she was trapped in the ground. "You know," Pinkie managed weakly. Something makes sense about this whole situation."

"What?" Pinkamena wasn't sure how to respond.

"Well," Pinkie said, continuing what the Oracle had told her to say once she had reached this point. "It just makes perfect sense that when you absorbed Discord's power you'd get to keep it." She could feel her strength returning now that it was no longer being pulled away from her by the illogical forces of chaos. "And it also made sense that you'd know not to jump into the hole I hid beneath those buildings there as a pitfall for you."

Pinkamena found herself walking slowly towards the immense hole in the ground. "No, no! It cannot end like this. THIS IS NOT HOW IT GOES!" She began speeding up as she said this. She was too furious to think the situation through and convince herself that she should be doing this. "No, this fall cannot kill me. Nothing can, I am now completely invincible! You're a fool! A FOALISH LITTLE MORTAL! YOU CANNOT WIN!" She fell into the pit, still screaming. For hours afterwards Pinkie could still hear her yelling as she plummeted in an endless drop.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the Rainbow Factory, where your fears and horrors come true.

In the Rainbow Factory, where not a single soul gets through.

In the Rainbow Factory, where your fears and horrors come true.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Night fell. Pinkie remained deep in the ground, only her head stuck out, a small pink distortion amongst the rubble of the crater. The air was still filled with Pinkamena's cries for revenge. They grew more distant quickly, but she was easily heard regardless. Pinkie knew she would die here, alone and abandoned.

A small chittering noise caused her to turn her head. She gasped in shock, a small rock stuck out of the ground by her head and it cut a small line into her cheek. She finished her turn and saw what she had expected. A Furmite, like the ones she'd used on Twilight and countless other ponies, sat on the ground before her. Its head was extended as it sniffed the air. Pinkie knew that without Pinkamena's aura she had no protection form this creature. Now that she was bleeding, she knew it wouldn't take long for the hungry creature to dart in. Several more appeared behind it, then more. Soon hundreds of tiny black forms surrounded Pinkie, their carapaces glistening in the moonlight.

As one they surged forward, biting their way into Pinkie's head through the hole on her cheek. As more came the cut was widened, forcing itself wider and wider slowly as the insects poured in, ever tunneling in new ways. Pinkie could feel as her entire body was eaten from the inside out by these creatures she had helped to distort. Every bite of their miniscule jaws was a fresh bolt of pain. By the time the masses had eaten their fill, very little was left of Pinkamena Diane Pie. Her skeleton shone white in the huge expanse of gray and brown that was all that remained of Ponyville. Soon though, the skeleton began quivering. Flesh began growing quickly to cover to exposed bone. Within moments her entire body had reformed, still trapped within its hole.

Pinkie's eyes opened. She cried out in pain for the Furmites had already renewed their feast. Deep within her pain hazed mind she knew what had happened. Somehow, when Pinkamena fell, her words still had enough power from Discord left to change reality. Pinkamena had called her mortal and said that she would die. She only hoped that it wouldn't take long for the Furmites to multiply enough to eat faster than she regenerated. Maybe then she would be freed.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I can't remember, what happened in September

When everything is gone, when it's dark and I'm alone.

It's been forever, since I could have remembered,

Where the hell is everypony? I just wanna know the story

Of what happened right before, I became so alone.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The sun rose briefly in the sky, its feeble light unable to do more that provide a hazy scene, more darkness than light. Its rulers and the source of its power were long dead and the sun was fading. On its own, the moon had failed and fallen to Earth long before, destroying what had once been the capitol city of the griffons.

All that showed in the fading gloom was a vast expanse of drought cracked dirt in and endless brown plane. Occasional rock formations still stood, but most had been leveled out by now, the valleys filled in. Weathered bones were strewn across the ground in huge mounds, somehow they remained standing, long after all else had fallen.

A sign still stood, its color faded, lost to the centuries, but a few words could still be made out, slightly indented into the material making the sign:

WELCOME TO EQUESTRIA

Somewhere within the ruined wasteland guarded by this lone sign, a small pink dot could sometimes be found. The screams could be heard for leagues, no other sounds to drown them out, no obstacles to block them. When the sun rose, the screams stopped, usually, but were replaced by something worse: the laughter. Bone-chilling laughter split the air, enough to stop a pony's heart, had any yet lived to hear it. This creature was left alone, persisting through the ages, not living, no, never living, but remaining, nonetheless.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Luna's mane, it's over. It's actually over. The story that has been much of my life for the past three months is finished. I feel… empty.

I'm sorry for what I did to Pinkie at the end. I was planning one thing, where she died almost painlessly, but then more ideas shoved it aside. In these ones still she either lived unharmed or died quickly. But then this happened. I'm sorry Pinkie, I'm so sorry.

Into the Hole (Alternate Ending)

I've actually come to enjoy this ending about as much as the real one, if not more. Plus, it's too long to put after the AN, so it gets its own chapter.

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Silence seemed to press down on the two mares as they walked through Ponyville. Pinkamena had taken Pinkie's form so that they could converse easier as they walked. The buildings around them seemed to scream through open doorways and windows; openings left by the fleeing ponies days before. An odd smell hung in the air, a stench Pinkie knew quite well by now. It brought her back to her work, each bringing her more pleasure than the last… until recently. Pinkamena inhaled deeply, relishing the smell she had been created to enjoy.

"Our work is done," Pinkamena said, looking over at her counterpart. She made no attempt to hide Pinkie's memories as she was wont to do; it was more fun to leave the fragile mare to her heartache. "We have finally done that which we were made to do."

"Yeah," said Pinkie, the final screams of thousands of ponies finally pressing on her mind. It wasn't uncommon for one or two, or even several ponies to stay in her mind, their death throes disrupting her throughout the day. But usually she managed to remember the thrill it all brought, the joy of the kill, the sweet taste of fresh blood on her lips. Now, a dam had broken somewhere in her mind and her victims had been released at once. Their tortured screams pulled at her sanity, threating to destroy her. Nothing she did could silence them, or even redirect their fury. She looked over at her doppelgänger, silently pleading for assistance, "What do we do now?"

"Whatever you want dear Pinkie, the world is ours now."

They continued walking on in silence for a few minutes, the wind whistling through the abandoned town. A strange sound began echoing through the air, disrupting the unnatural silence. Pinkie tried to focus on that, rather than the disembodied screams that haunted her, but even machinery in a dead land couldn't distract her. Pinkamena ignored it, anything still around would either give out soon or seek them out, and nothing was likely to so much as scratch her at this point.

The metallic clanking grew louder and louder. The mares could now hear the hiss of air as pistons worked furiously to move the seemingly heavy burden. "What is that?" Pinkamena asked, now growing irritated.

"How am I supposed to know?" Pinkie asked, "You're supposed to be the smart one!"

"First of all, if I'm the smart one, what are you?" Pinkamena began stepping heavier than usual, causing her hooves to sink into the ground until her leg was completely buried before ripping it out of the ground effortlessly. "Second, you have that stupid oracle, remember?"

"I'm the fun one," Pinkie said, smiling as big as she could. The smile made Pinkamena wince and rub her jaw, she couldn't imagine opening her mouth that wide. "And the oracle doesn't answer any more, I guess it still needed a connection to Nightmare Moon to stay around, but she's gone and Luna's dead, so it had to go away." Pinkie didn't like the smile that spread across her double's face at this.

"That's good to know," Pinkamena yelled. The noises were now loud enough to shake the ground and surrounding buildings. If Pinkie hadn't killed her a month ago, she would have sworn that Vinyl Scratch was washing dishes or something.

The noises quit just as Pinkie had been about to yell back. The twin mares froze and looked around, something was clearly wrong. Pinkie didn't feel any of her senses going off, but it was possible that those depended on a connection to Nightmare Moon as well, so she stayed on guard.

Nothing moved in the surrounding area, and Pinkamena sensed no movement. She was about to suggest continuing when a silver and gray blur shot out of the sky and slammed into the ground before them. One of her hind legs was planted beneath her, one foreleg almost resting on it. Her other forehoof was planted in the ground near the middle of the crater caused by the strange mare's landing. Her other rear leg was stretched out behind her. It seemed almost that she had hoofed the ground to make herself land.

The gray mare looked up, light reflecting from the metal covering much of her body. 'Not covering it,' Pinkie realized, 'that is her body.' Exposed mechanism whirred and spun deep within the pony's flesh. It was obvious that she was alive, but it was equally noticeable that certain modifications had been made. Half of her face had a metal plate bolted and welded over it, with a red visor extending over a small black dot that could only serve as an eye. Pinkamena noticed with a chuckle that whoever had made the changes probably wasn't very skilled; the mechanical eye seemed to be looking up and to the left, while the normal eye, a bright yellow, looked down and to the right. One of her flanks was made of a thick metal skeleton covered with a strange looking mesh, wires and gears twisted through the openings, some screeching in need of oil. Seven blue circles had been painted onto this to make it match the flesh side of her legs.

The biomechanical creature looked up, the black eye narrowing beneath its visor. The edges of the mechanical eye began spinning quickly and a red glow began developing in the eye. "Hey Pinkie Pie!" the creature yelled, its voice rising and falling sporadically, though still somehow sounding normal.

"Deh- Derpy?" Pinkie managed, taking in the perversion of life and science before her.

"See ya later Pinkie Pie," the strange Derpy yelled, just as happy and strange sounding as before. The eye was now a bright red with sparks flying off of it.

"Derpy?" Pinkie cocked her head, staring at the mare before her, "what are you-"

"GET DOWN YOU IDIOT!" Pinkamena yelled slamming Pinkie to the ground and jumping around a nearby corner.

Barely a second later, an enormous red beam shot through the space where Pinkie had just stood, instantly vaporizing much of the street and the house that had been behind Pinkie.

"Luna's plot! Derpy what are you doing?"

"Just makin' some muffins Pinkie Pie!" she said happily, seemingly unaware that she was shouting, "You were takin' too long so I started makin' em instead, but I don't know where you keep your special ingredient and I'm almost out!"

"How did she find out?" Pinkamena glared at Pinkie.

"How should I know?" Pinkie was cut short as they dodged another searing beam. Pinkie felt the heat from it and she realized that a semi-circle had been vaporized in her mane. "No talking," she said, hearing Derpy's now unmuffled steps just behind them, "just run!"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It wasn't long before the two mares arrived back within the bowels of their hidden fortress, armed to the teeth with things Pinkie had 'found' or constructed over the years. A repetitive crashing sound from above told them that Derptron was quickly smashing her way in; they didn't have very long before the fight.

"I can't do this," Pinkie sobbed as the ceiling began shaking; they were two floors above the torture room, the staircase to the meat locker was right behind them. "I Pinkie Promised that I wouldn't hurt Derpy."

"No you didn't," Pinkamena said angrily, she knew that without Pinkie she could easily lose this fight. Life and science where never meant to meld in this way and she knew even her strength was little use against something so powerful. "I was there, remember? You swore you'd never harvest her, or more specifically, you swore never to put her through what you put that Luna-damned unicorn through. Just avoid hammers, microwaves and hairspray and you should be fine." She knew the limits placed on Pinkie's promises by her blood oath, made all the more binding by her darkside's awakening, but she also knew that this little technicality was enough to save her skin so she went with it. "Just shoot her with that thing and you should be fine."

The two mares were outfitted in thick metal suits designed for Pinkie. They were cobbled together from scraps of old Special Forces gear, both pony and griffon issue, so it was more advanced than even some of the top level technicians had to work with. Pinkie's had several missile launchers attached to the shoulders filled with tiny, heat seeking 2K12 KUB missiles. One arm of her suit was a glowing blade that popped with the heat; the other was a long, strange looking tube with electricity running up and down the sides. Pinkamena's had two massive claws for the hands. It has recently been outfitted for her from one of Pinkie's heavier duty models. The claws had been ripped straight off of construction cranes when nopony was looking. A massive hole was in the middle of the abnormally thick chest plate, hot plasma dripped slowly out. On the back was a large canister filled with lava, a hose attachment connected with spray guns stuck to her rear hooves.

Derpy burst through the door. All four of her legs were now fleshless, whirring blades had replaced the old pony legs. "Oh great," Pinkie groaned, "She found the storeroom." A new grenade launcher sprouted from Derptron's back and what could only be a black hole generator replaced her lower jaw.

"Why didn't we take that?" Pinkamena asked, glaring at her smaller counterpart.

"I don't know! I can't think of everything!"

Both of Derptron's eyes were now enormous black circles rimmed with metallic plates. They whirred angrily, sparks of every color flying out.

"Great," yelled Pinkamena, throwing her hooves up in exasperation, "she found the harmonic fusion batteries!"

"Muffin time!" Derptron yelled.

"How did she say that?" Pinkie hissed, "Her mouth is gone!"

An enormous rainbow patterned beam of light shot from Derptron's eyes melting a hole through the yards of steel that made up the room's wall and continuing on through the stone. Pinkie jumped up, the tube on her arm now fully charged. A huge blue ball of lightning shot out and struck the floor where Derptron had been standing. She had somehow moved out of the way without either of the mares noticing. She landed behind them, a click shattered the air and Pinkie was forced to roll away from the grenade launched at her face.

"Derpy stop it!" she yelled, cutting wildly at the launcher with her blade-arm as she fell, "it's not nice!"

"No," said Pinkamena, "but this is." She slammed the claws down onto Derpy fast enough to crush the mare. She picked her up in one mammoth claw and began smashing her to the ground repeatedly, too fast for even Pinkie to follow. Suddenly there was a loud tearing noise and the claw flew free, smashing against the wall in a cloud of dust. Derptron emerged from the cloud with lightning speed, the whirring blades that had replaced her legs cut deeply into Pinkamena's side.

Turning quickly, Derpy shot another grenade at Pinkie followed quickly by a double laser beam. The pink mare didn't stand a chance. Just as she rolled away from the blast, her body was engulfed in the rainbow colored heat. She screamed, the noise all but drowned beneath the frying rock behind her. What was left fell to the ground with a small thud, the mass of metal plates glowing white hot.

Derptron turned away, preparing to finish the shadow pony when another scream of pain sounded behind her. Pinkie was throwing off the suit she'd been wearing. Her fur was burned off and the skin a mixture of charred flesh and deep red burns. She charged at the cybo-pony, screaming in rage. Even her abilities couldn't save her from injuries like this for long. She jumped onto the metallic pony; most of the flesh had been removed by Pinkamena's last attack, and began biting at the support struts. Her teeth failed to find purchase but still she ground, trying to fend off Derptron's blades until she could finish.

Pinkie managed to bite into one of the struts and ripped it out with her teeth, unfortunately, as effective as this was, it distracted her just enough for the blades to move in. Pinkie's head fell to the floor with a sick thump, blood spewing everywhere, being shoved out by the force of her still beating heart. Throwing the body off of her, Derptron moved on to finish things.

Pinkamena stared. Pinkie dead? No, no, no, no, this couldn't be. This was impossible. Nothing could do that, especially not so easily. She could feel the silence deep within her mind, she was alone. Pinkamena had never been alone since the moment she was created, always she had the company of Pinkie Pie to share the darkness of reality. No more. "I will destroy you," she said, still watching Pinkie's head as it rolled away.

"Muffins?" Derpy asked, cocking her head slightly. The device in place of her mouth began glowing and Pinkamena's face paled.

'Oh horseapples,' she thought.

The black hole exploded into being in the center of the room. Pinkamena dug her hooves into the ground, filling the excess room with lava from her pack. The blood dripping from the wound in her side instantly chilled the molten rock, firmly cementing her into the thick metal. Luckily, this is where they had tested the device; the room was designed to hold together in case of accidental black hole escapage. Unfortunately, a similar device was present in the black hole generator and it kept Derptron from being pulled in by the immense gravity.

She walked slowly towards the immobilized Pinkamena. "You killed Dinky."

"What are you talking about?" Pinkamena asked, "Luna's mane! Who is Dinky?"

"It was you, you killed her. I know, I was there!" Small droplets of light somehow began falling from Derpy's strange eyes and Pinkamena could tell she was crying. "You did it. And now you'll pay!"

The metallic mare leapt forward, prepared to rip this beast to shreds, this monster that had taken her precious little muffin away from her. Acting quickly, Pinkamena ripped her legs from the floor and spun, kicking Derpy in the face. Derptron flew through the air, momentarily caught by the black hole which spun her around and sling-shot her back at Pinkamena whose forehooves were now solidly in the ground. She lifted her forelegs, blades spinning like propellers. They pulled her faster and faster towards the trapped creature. Suddenly, the creature lifted its legs, the black tubes by the hooves turning bright red.

Thick streams of lava shot out and struck Derptron in the face. The force of the jets knocked her backwards just as fast as she had been approaching; the heat melted most of her body, leaving a screaming shapeless chunk of metal to fly through the air into the distortion in space time that hovered above the floor.

With the destruction of the device that spawned it, the singularity collapsed upon itself sending out a violent shockwave that ripped through the air. Pinkamena felt herself nearly ripped from the ground by the sheer force. It was as though the attractive forces of the massive gravity had all been reversed. She could feel her side splitting farther now, her legs held in place while the rest of her was forced away. She knew this wound would end her, especially now. That was fine. She was alone, and Pinkie was waiting.

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Just wanna say that in the scene where Derpy entered: I was so tempted to make her Iron Mare instead of a cyborg.

This, much like the alternate scene, was suggested by my editor Saph34, such a great guy. I would have included this in the story, but Pinkie already said that nopony hurts Derpy and I had the memory of Pinkie giving a Pinkie Promise not to hurt Derpy…. Also, I refuse to include a basilisk either way. (Sorry Saph, but I've given Pinkie way to many toys as it is.)

Anypony who got that thing with DJ Pon-3 washing dishes /]*[\

Wait, what is that?

Oh nothing, just my- BASS CANNON!

Reflections

Hey everypony thanks for reading my story, I'm glad it turned out so well. It was a lot of fun to write, even with all of the sleep it deprived me of (staying up writing that is). Just as fun was talking with all of you about it and other random things that came up. For my first fic, this turned out pretty well and I'm glad so many of you liked it.

It was a pleasure writing and I'm so happy that so many of you turned out to read every chapter, even if you didn't all talk to me about it afterwards. It's weird having it done though, like a big empty spot inside of me. I have lots of other things I really wanna write, but this was my life for nearly three months and I will miss it. Glad it was passed on to such worthy bronies though.

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In the beginning of chapter 34 where Spike actually dies, I had Pinkie roasting marshmallows over him. I had completely forgotten about the whole Rarity= marshmallow thing. This was pointed out to me by NowImTaken and I just wanna give her credit for seeing stuff in my writing that even I didn't realize. You go girl! :D

I wanna thank my first real reader, Timefather64. He helped entertain me with random conversations throughout the whole process and he inspired several things in the story such as the song that Twilight's head sings after Applejack knocked it off. He also kept me entertained with his great stories (go read them, they're a little rough at times, but he's been editing his socks off lately).

Next, my editor Saph34. I only know him on fanfiction but he seems pretty cool. He didn't start editing until chapter thirty or so, but he offered not long after he started reading (somewhere around chapter ten I think) but idiot that I was I wanted to do it on my own. All mistakes are thus my fault, unless he was mentioned in the AN as having edited in which case the mistakes are his fault.

TheSpectacularVenom (Dalek on fimfiction) played a similar role in everything that Timefather did except I haven't gotten to talk to Venom lately. He's pretty cool though and he's had a lot of really cool story ideas lately. As I recall, he had wanted Pinkie to break a leg somewhere around Fluttershy's party… I was more than happy to oblige…. Even though Pinkie got really mad at the both of us.

Then my regular contributors on fimfiction.

ChainsawBrony, love your pic btw

Midnight Stalker, this person seems pretty cool too. They got the new name while talking to me at one point, something about finding me on fanfiction after some midnight stalking.

Lightenupmyday, neither of your predicted endings happened so you can't stab me with a rusty spoon. HA!

Badassgrunt, idk what happened to this dude, was there for a while just outta nowhere, then left just as quick.

Path_of_cloud, left for a while but came back in the end :)

RotaryJoe ….. crap! I'm outta stuff to say….. ummmmmmm, lotsa fun talkin to you in the comments. :D

Thank you all so much for reading and thank you all of you who weren't mentioned here. You aren't forgotten, you just didn't talk to me enough during the story (probably a good thing as far as you're concerned.) It was a pleasure being able to write for you guys and I hope you stay on to read my future works.

Those of you who submitted ponysonas for the poison scene, I apologize. I had wanted to put up a little thing with pictures of all the OC's but alas, I cannot draw ponies well enough to do that... yet. I am a perfectionist when it comes to my pictures so I refuse to submit any that are less than perfect. That being said if any of you wanna send me a pic of your pony I can add it on to this chapter and label it as yours and stuff so everypony can see. Or if anypony wants to go through and make one for each of the OC's (I have a complete list of their looks, just pm me if you wanna do this.)


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I plan on writing what is, more or less, a sequel to this. It's an idea that came to me early on in the story when I was talking to somepony. It was either Venom or Timefather, can't remember which. Anyways, it's a PiE fic (Ponies in Earth). You get to see more of me and Pinkie, so keep an eye out for it. It's titled "Out of the Darkness" and I will write the first chapter sometime within the next week, hopefully. Also, it will have a sort of double. It's going to be as dark as I can make it, so the double will be happier, more random than anything but I will try and keep my darkness away from it. The double will also be a PiE fic. They'll be like Pinkie and Pinkamena in chapter 35, one's bigger and incredibly more eveil, while the small one is happy and nicer to everypony. (The double already has four chapters ready *squee* I started it while I was out for most of the month.)

Krushnazag out, PEACE!

June 10, 2012   10:00 PM US Central

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