Rainbow ran into her home calling for her lover. "Fluttershy! Fluttershy! Where are you?"

She heard a whimper in their bedroom. She quickly glanced around the house. Her alarm was beeping at her, so she quickly punched in her password and examined the house. The backdoor was still closed and locked, the front door she had closed behind her, and it looked as if the food she had left on the table had been untouched.

Dash ran to her bedroom door only to discover it was locked. "Fluttershy, it's me. Open up." she called.

Fluttershy whimpered again, but the door was quickly unlocked and opened to reveal Fluttershy, tears streaming down her face and a stuffed panda in her arms. Rainbow would later wonder where she found Mr. Spots, but at the moment she had much more pressing matters. She quickly scooped Fluttershy into her arms and held her close.

"What happened?" she asked in a whisper. "Are you okay?"

"T-they were banging on t-the door... like they were trying to get in. I-I'm not even sure they were human... I locked myself in the room and called you..." Fluttershy sobbed quietly. "I was s-so scared..."

"It's okay, Shy." Rainbow muttered. "It's okay." Rainbow sighed. "Let's get back to the hospital." she said. "On the way, we'll call A.J. and Rarity to join us, and we should probably pick up Pinkie Pie."

"Why?" Fluttershy asked. "What's going on?"

"I'll fill you in on the way, butterfly." Dash said. "For now, pack a bag. I think I might be heading out of town soon, and I don't want you to stay by yourself."

Applejack stifled a yawn as she pulled her lover closer. After their date last night, Rarity had been far too exhausted to do anything other than sleep, and Applejack had been content with that. They had not even gone all the way back to the farm, instead stopping at Rarity's house. They had had a nice chat with Rarity's parents, and Rarity's mom, Cookie, had even mentioned Rarity moving in with Applejack. She did not mind, because as far as she was concerned, Rarity practically already lived with her.

Magnum, Rarity's dad, and Cookie had practically been like parents to Applejack, which had made it that much harder for her to confess that she was in love with their daughter. They had initially been surprised, but proud all the same.

Rarity had even gone so far as to mention that they had been sharing a bed. Magnum had been slightly upset, but Cookie could not stop laughing at Applejack's bright red face.

However, since they knew that both girls had been sharing a bed, they had no problem with them doing so again after their date. Which is how Applejack had come to be where she was at. In a cramped, twin bed with the girl of her dreams wrapped warmly in her arms. She smiled as Rarity giggled in her sleep, no doubt dreaming of something dress-related.

Applejack had grown used to this, her lover laughing about dress designs in her sleep, only to wake up and spend several hours in her sewing room. She gently ran her fingers through her lover's hair and smiled as Rarity nestled more closely to her.

Applejack heard her ringtone, a song by Neighson Aldean, coming from behind her on the nightstand. She quickly grabbed her phone and opened it so her lover could rest a while longer. She gingerly pulled away from Rarity and quickly ran into her girlfriend's bathroom. "Hello?" she whispered into the phone.

"A.J. it's Dash." Rainbow's voice came through the line, loud and slightly frantic. "Listen, I need you and Rarity to stop what you're doing and meet us at the hospital. It's important."

"Dash, Rares is still asleep, can't it wait?" Applejack asked.

"Trixie tried to kill Adagio."

Applejack froze, the phone slipping in her grasp as she processed her friend's words.

"She tried to get to Fluttershy too, I think, but she ran off. We need to stick together, so please, get to the hospital. Everyone else is gonna be there, too. I'll fill you in on everything we've figured out from there." Rainbow seemed out of breath, as if she was running. "Oh, and your little sister is there also. She's the one who found Adagio and probably saved her life. I say her grounding is over."

"I'm gonna kill Trixie." Applejack muttered.

"Yeah, I know this is gonna be hard to hear from me, but no." Rainbow said. "She's not herself now, it's actually Adagio's fault, but you can't hurt Trixie. She literally has no control over herself right now. Just meet us at the hospital. I'll explain everything there."

*Click*

Applejack looked at her phone, shaking in her grasp, before gently placing it on the basin of the sink. She slowly lifted the lid of the toilet and empty her stomach within. The bright side of such a reaction being that she had not eaten anything since their dinner last night, so there was not a lot to empty.

A knock at the bathroom door alerted Applejack to the fact that she had awakened her lover. "Love, are you alright?" Rarity asked quietly.

Applejack sighed before wiping her mouth and flushing the toilet. She opened the door and gathered her dress from the floor. "We need to go." she said quickly as she slid the dress over her head, not even bothering to fix her hair. "I don't know what's goin on, but we need to get to the hospital quick."

"Whatever for, dear?" Rarity asked, her voice full of tender concern. "If you are feeling that sick, perhaps we should call an ambulance."

"We ain't goin' for me, babe." Applejack said as she pulled on her boots and grabbed her hat. "Adagio's there. Rainbow didn't say much on the phone, but apparently Trixie tried to kill her. We need to get there... now."

Rarity's jaw dropped, before her brain could remind her that her parents were probably still asleep one floor below her, she screamed, "What?!"

"Yeah, that's why you need to get dressed, please, babe." Applejack said as she quickly grabbed a random outfit out of Rarity's closet and tossed it to her.

"Oh, I'm gonna break her neck!" Rarity yelled as she slid on her fresh change of clothes.

"Yeah... might wanna wait till we hear what happened." Applejack said. "Accordin' to Rainbow it's a little more complicated than ya think."

Pinkie stepped from the shower and sighed happily. She had not felt quite this nice in a... week? Regardless, she felt good now and she hadn't in quite some time. She quickly dried her hair and giggled happily as it fluffed within seconds of touching the towel. She had made soap bubbles as she showered, and they now filled the room.

She giggled at the bubbles and quickly popped a few as she dried her body. She sighed contentedly again as she put on her fresh underwear.

Pinkie wrapped her towel around her and left the bathroom. She had almost made it to her room when there was a knock at the front door. "I'll get it!" she called, forgetting her state of undress. Pinkie smiled and bounced down the hallway, ready to tackle whatever the day had for her.

She was going to go hear out Twilight, and then she was going to talk it out with her and she would not leave Equestria until Twilight was hers once again. Nothing could possibly get her down today.

Hell, she'd even go so far as to say, nothing could possibly go wrong.

Pinkie opened the living room door to reveal Rainbow and Fluttershy. Fluttershy Meeped! at the sight of Pinkie only wearing a towel, but Rainbow seemed unfazed as she simply pushed Pinkie back to her bedroom. "Get dressed, we're leaving." she said quickly.

Pinkie blinked once before smiling. "Okay." she said happily. "Where are we going?"

"The hospital." Fluttershy said quietly.

Pinkie's smile faltered. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

Rainbow sighed as they finally arrived to Pinkie's room and they closed the door. "Honestly, no... but, it will be." she said quietly. "Just... get dressed... okay, Pinkie?"

Pinkie nodded as she began gathering clothes. Nothing could possibly go wrong, huh?

Adagio tried not to laugh. She knew that Sunset was crying because she had nearly died, but it was hard not to laugh at Sunset when she cried. She hiccuped as she cried and took deep breaths that ended in squeaks. It was actually an adorable sight, her lover crying.

Even as Rainbow had everyone gathered by the siren's bed, explaining everything they had learned, Sunset kept her head pressed between Adagio's breasts and bawled loudly. Rainbow even looked ashamed as Sunset cried, though Adagio had no idea why.

It was not Rainbow's fault that she was in the hospital now, it was Trixie's fault. Maybe she felt guilty because she didn't realize how much Sunset cared for the siren, but Adagio did not know.

After Rainbow had finished speaking she quickly whipped her head to face the siren. "And, why are you smiling?" she asked loudly. "Do you not realize that you were almost killed by some dark-magic-controlled-maniac?"

"I didn't die though." Adagio said with a smile. "And all of my friends are here... well except for Sonata and Aria..."

"I wanted to call them, but I didn't have their phone numbers..." Fluttershy said quietly.

"I think my phone is still at Applejack's place." Adagio said.

Sunset sniffed loudly. "I'm sorry..." she whispered for the hundredth or so time that day.

"It's not your fault." Adagio said as she ran her hand through Sunset's hair. "I should never have done the things I did... I guess this is just karmic justice."

Rainbow surprised everyone with her next comment. "It's not really your fault, Adagio." Every girl in the room was shocked into silence. Rainbow chuckled slightly. "Look, I don't exactly consider you a friend, but being stalked, poisoned, and damn near killed? You didn't deserve any of that." Rainbow sighed. "Fluttershy also explained to me why you were so bruised on the way here."

Adagio glanced at a sheepish Fluttershy before smiling at Rainbow. "And what are your thoughts on that?"

"Trying to let me vent all of my frustration by fighting me? I give you an A for effort." Rainbow said with a laugh.

"I was under no delusion that we would be friends afterwards." Adagio said quickly. "I just thought that maybe if you didn't feel like I still deserved punishment... well, it would be a step in the right direction. So, Applejack and Applebloom have been trying to teach me how to fight."

"So, in one-thousand years, you've never actually been in a fight?" Rainbow asked.

"Not until two weeks ago." Adagio said with a wry grin. "I've always been able to sing my way out of any problems..."

Rainbow snorted shortly. "Well... I don't think you deserve to be punished anymore..." She sighed. "I don't think I can forgive you just yet, but... in the same course, I know that you've done, like, a one-eighty with your life since summer started."

"I'm glad..." Adagio said quietly, a small smile playing on her lips. "I understand you can't forgive me yet... trust me... but, I'm glad that you're starting to see that I'm a little bit better than I was..."

"You're not just a bit better." Rainbow said.

Pinkie grinned and jumped into the air. "You're better than ever, oooh oooh." she sang loudly.

Everyone in the room smile slightly and rolled their eyes. Adagio giggled. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Pinkie." she said. "I was worried when Sunset told me what happened.

"I'm gonna talk to her." Pinkie said with a smile. "I'm gonna try to forgive her and... and I want her back..." she whispered.

"I'll go with you." Adagio said. "I promised I'd be there with you-"

"No, you won't." Rainbow said. "You're gonna stay here and get better."

"But-"

"No 'buts'." Fluttershy said. "You need to recover. Dashie can go with Pinkie to talk to Twilight. She can be moral support and she can explain what we need Twilight's help with."

Rainbow nodded. "The rest of you need to stay together until we get back." she said. "I don't want anyone getting hurt by Trixie."

Sunset clenched a fist in Adagio's hospital gown. "I'm not leaving Adagio..." she whispered.

"You could all stay here in the hospital with her." Pinkie said. "We shouldn't be gone for long, and then when we get back, we can all leave the hospital and all of us stay at the farm until we figure out how to deal with Trixie."

"You're volunteerin' ma farm?" Applejack asked with a grin.

Rainbow laughed. "It is the only place big enough that we could all stay there, A.J."

"I ain't sayin' a got a problem with it. I was just pointin' out that Pinkie didn't ask first." Applejack laughed.

"Hey, A.J. can we use your farm for a secret base?" Pinkie asked happily. Applejack laughed for a moment, but nodded all the same.

"When are the two of you leaving for Equestria?" Rarity asked.

"I dunno." Rainbow shrugged. "I kinda figured Pinkie would decide that."

"We'll go now." Pinkie said, her expression revealing her dedication. "The sooner the better. I need my Twilight back, and we need to fix Trixie as soon as we can." she explained.

Fluttershy extended her hand to Rainbow, a pained look on her face. "Please," she said quietly. "be safe..."

Rainbow quickly kissed her lover, indifferent to the smirks her friends were giving her. A simple peck on the lips was all she delivered, even still, when she pulled away Fluttershy was red in the face wearing a goofy grin. "I love you." Rainbow whispered.

"I love you too, Dashie." Fluttershy smiled.

"Adagio." Rainbow said without facing the siren.

"Yeah?" Adagio asked.

"If you really wanna earn my friendship... keeping Fluttershy safe while I'm gone would be a good start... After all, you've been training to fight me, right? Trixie shouldn't be any problem for you." Rainbow said.

Adagio smiled and nodded quickly. "I'll keep everyone safe. I promise." she said. No one dared point out that she was the only one in the room who probably needed protection. The fire in her eyes said it all, 'I wouldn't let anyone dare hurt my friends.'

Rainbow smiled. "I'm holding you to that. I don't know how long we'll be gone, but we won't come back until Pinkie and Twilight work out their problems, one way or another. It might take a bit..."

"We'll be safe while you're gone." Rarity said.

"We're gonna stick together... safety in numbers, right?" Applejack declared.

Rainbow nodded and grabbed Pinkie's shoulder. "You ready?" she asked.

Pinkie nodded.

Together Rainbow and Pinkie left the hospital. For better or worse, they were going to Equestria.

Trixie felt it. It was changing. She couldn't fight it anymore and it was getting smarter. It was becoming a living thing. It was taking her.

Simultaneously, It was awakening. It was slowly realizing who it was... what it was. It took a breath. These lungs belonged to It now. There was someone else in Its new head. "Who are you?" It asked aloud, using Trixie's voice to form the words.

"I am the great and powerful Trixie." Trixie declared, defiance evident in her voice. "This is my body."

"Not anymore." It said. "It belongs to me now... I know you don't have the strength to fight me anymore." Memories formed in their head. A stern mother... she was listening... she never listened. If she took the medicine, her mother would stop, but so would Trixie.

Trixie had taken it anyways.

"Seems I have your mother to thank for my new body." It said. "You probably could have fought me, but that medicine. It messes with your mind... Seems you've checked out mentally. Your body was almost completely separate from your mind. It wasn't hard for me to take control."

"Trixie is unimpressed with you." Trixie said. "You couldn't even take my body without a handicap, what makes you think you can take the Rainbooms?"

"Because, I am in control now. I... I remember magic... where is my magic?" It asked.

"Trixie has no magic."

"Irrelevant, I suppose." It sighed. "I'll just have to make do with what measly power you have."

"Trixie is curious... what will you do when you've accomplished what you want to do?"

"I will live... I will have a life of my own and I will live it however I see fit..." It said. "For so long, I've just been a thought and a bit of magic. I've never had free will before... I think I'll enjoy using it to crush whoever I see fit."

"You're insane." Trixie said.

It seemed to think about that for a moment. "No." It said. "I am..." It grinned as it realized the most appropriate new name for itself. "I am Melody..."

"Where did you pick that?" Trixie asked. She knew she shouldn't be talking to it, or Melody she supposed, but she was curious.

Melody grinned, using Trixie's lips. "I was born of sound... I was manifested as a single thought, delivered through song... I am Melody."

Trixie would have groaned if she were capable. "Trixie still thinks you're mad, and she can't wait to watch you get what you deserve."

Melody laughed. "What makes you think they have any chance against me? We've already killed the siren... my mother." Melody said.

Trixie dismissed the idea of pointing out that Melody had said that 'they' had killed the siren as the implications of the statement hit her. "You killed Adagio?" she asked.

Melody laughed again, a sinister sound, despite the fact that she used Trixie's voice. "You should thank me, you know? I only killed her because you wanted me to." she said.

"I didn't want her dead!" Trixie screamed in her own mind. "I wanted her to pay for ever hitting me with dark magic. I wanted her punished for creating you!"

"She's punished now." Melody shrugged as she investigated her new clothes. "What does it matter... the severity of her punishment?"

Trixie stayed silent. She was making conversation with a monster who had killed someone. Even if Adagio were a siren, she was still a living breathing person... she hadn't deserved to die. "I'm so sorry, Adagio..." Trixie thought quietly. "I didn't mean for this to happen."

"It's a shame you aren't a little stronger." Melody said with a sigh as she examined the street around her. A couple of passing people stared at her nervously, no doubt for her strange mumbling. "If you were I could have broken down that door and killed another."

"Please..." Trixie said quickly. "Don't hurt anyone else. Trixie begs you... stop using her body to hurt people."

Melody shrugged as she began walking down the street. "It's not your body anymore... I thought we had discussed this."

"Why would you talk to Trixie if you're just going to ignore her." Trixie asked. "Don't you want to be human? Isn't that your goal?"

Melody giggled slightly. "No." she said. "I don't care about being a human. I just want to keep living. And as for speaking to you, I was doing so as a courtesy... If I ignore you, you won't have any conversation. You'll only be capable of watching me do whatever I feel inclined to do. Would you rather I not speak to you at all?" Melody asked.

Trixie attempted to sigh in her own mind. "Please..." she said quietly. "Don't ignore me..."

She hated having to feel the monster, Melody, smirk using her own mouth. Hated that she had to rely on the monster to keep her sane. Hated that she had no control over it.

Melody had taken over completely now... and Trxie was at her mercy.

Pinkie shook in her boots. She had decided this had been what she wanted, but now, standing outside the portal... she was terrified. She remembered everything Twilight had said. She had cheated on somebody... and despite the fact that they were not a couple, Pinkie felt as if Twilight had cheated on her as well.

Rainbow had stopped as Pinkie did, mere feet away from the portal, and stayed silent. Brash, arrogant, rude, and headstrong were all words Rainbow would have happily labeled herself with. Apathetic was not one such word. She understood Pinkie's trepidation and dared not push too hard. Pinkie's heart was till broken from her last encounter with the girl of her dreams, Rainbow respected that she would take her time standing outside the portal and simply staring at it.

Rainbow checked her phone before they left. She was smart enough to realize that Equestria probably wouldn't have service. A single text was all her phone displayed, and she had already responded to it.

Be safe, my love.

Rainbow smiled as she looked at the screen. Fluttershy was truly amazing. She had the ability to calm Rainbow's nerves even when Rainbow wasn't the one who was nervous.

"Do you remember how we met, Dashie?" Pinkie asked quietly, her eyes never moving from the portal.

"I remember, Pinkie." Rainbow said.

"Ever since that day... every time I've even looked at you after that... all I could think about was how much that one night helped me... how you helped me get past how much Navi hurt me..." She took a shaking breath. "That's why... that's why I'm glad you're the one here with me... because just looking at you makes me feel better about how much I've been hurt... I know we're just friends... and that's what we agreed on that night... but, you helped me realize that not everyone will hurt me... some people will be gentle and kind..."

"I had no idea how much that night helped you..."

"Fluttershy is really lucky..."

Rainbow sighed and wrapped her arm around her friend's shoulder. "I think Twilight is too..."

"How's so?" Pinkie asked.

"Because... if it was me, I'd never forgive her for hurting me like that..." Rainbow clenched her jaw. Twilight was her friend. Surely, Twilight had some explanation for what she had done, but Rainbow was having trouble thinking about how much Twilight hurt Pinkie.

"If you loved her as much as you love Fluttershy... you would." Pinkie said. "You would forgive anything and move heaven and earth just to make sure she was never away from you..." Pinkie sighed. "At least, that's how I feel about Twilight right now..."

"She just better have one hell of an explanation for what she did." Rainbow said through gritted teeth.

"She will..." Pinkie said, not quite believing her own words. "I know she will... she wouldn't have... she would never hurt me on purpose."

"We won't know for sure until we go in there." Rainbow said quietly.

Pinkie nodded once and grabbed her friend's sleeve. "Come on then." she said as she stepped towards the portal. "Let's go get my girl."

Author's Notes:

Next chapter will be the conclusion of the Pinkie arc. More questions will be answered in the next chapter and we'll finally be on the path to the end of the Trixie arc.

Comments. Those are nice... hint hint.

Seriously though, feel free to tell me what you think of Melody the Monster or whatever else may have caught your attention in this chapter. I was originally going to end the Pinkie arc this chapter, but I feel like the word count would have been too high and it would have thrown off the pacing of the story.

(Also, completely no editing done for this chapter at all, so those of you who like to call out mistakes, I'm sure there are plenty to find here... go nuts.)

I regret nothing.