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 Next Chapter: End to a Prelude Estimated time remaining: 5 Hours, 28 Minutes