Author's Notes:

Hi guys, sorry this took so long to put up. I've been busy with stuff lately, if you have any recommendations, please tell me. If you notice any grammar, plot, or any other issues, comment below. Thanks for reading!

It had been three hours since Rainbow Dash had told her underlings to wait, glad her discipline tactics were working. As effective as they are at being discreet with these things, Rainbow wasn’t stupid. This was an enemy that was probably expecting them; they knew little to nothing about her, she was a highly known social figure, and, while almost positive, she wasn’t sure she was alone.

Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t wait until night to strike. But considering everything, they needed every single advantage they could get, numbers may not be enough against this specific opponent. It was more than just being sure though; this situation was personal to her. Yes, she had lied to all of her friends, but that wasn’t her being disloyal. She had no choice in telling them, so she could do nothing else but protect them. Other than that, she was nothing but loyal to them. While her behavior was fake, her actions were not. On some level, she did care about all of them. Especially Fluttershy and Pinkie, she cared for those two more than the rest.

But now, she had been betrayed. By Laughter, no less. There were only two people she truly cared about, two people she had called friends. And one of them tortured and killed her, despite everything. Being the Element of Loyalty, she saw betrayal as one of the worst sins that can be committed. It filled her with rage and loathing, something she hadn’t felt in a long time. She was going to use every ounce of power she had to make Pinkie suffer. But, to do that she needed patience.

“Ma’am, the open sign has been changed to close, the street lights have been turned out, and it’s nearly curfew. I believe now would be the time to strike, but if you disagree, we will wait for further instructions.”

Rainbow Dash had been leaning against a chimney on top of the roof they were waiting on, her arms were crossed, and her eyes were closed in thought. She was wearing the same kind of clothing her coworkers were, as blue wasn’t exactly a hard to see color. It covered every inch of her body; the only difference was that her eyes were more visible. She had told them to wait until night, but she hadn’t honestly expected them to be so eager. Then again, it has been a long time since The Factory has had a real enemy. Something that posed a real threat, that had killed one of their own. If she were in the position she was, she’d probably be excited too.

But, since this was technically her fault for trusting someone, she had to handle it quickly and quietly. Besides, she wasn’t expecting much. Most killers who tie down and torture their victims, either don’t like to fight, or can’t. She didn’t think that Pinkie would put up much of a fight, the ponies with her were really just a precaution, can never be too careful.

“No, you’re right, there’s no need. Attacking now would make the most sense, good work. Now, here’s the plan:”

Rainbow lazily got up, shaking her body a bit, as her body was somewhat stiff. She began to walk to the edge of the roof, looking down at Sugarcube Corner as the final lights began to turn off.

“She’s most likely not in her room, or really anywhere in there. There’s a hidden basement in there somewhere, that’s where she took me. But I was drugged when she took me, so I haven’t the slightest idea where it is exactly. It was the middle of the day when she drugged me, and Pinkie’s not stupid, she wouldn’t try to drag an unconscious Pegasus through Ponyville, so the basement must be in there somewhere.

The plan is straightforward, I will go through the main entrance, in case she’s waiting for me. She thinks I’m alone, and that’s where you guys come in. As I said before, it would be better if I don’t personally know your identities. But, since you’re all employees, you already know who I am. So, I will address you with numbers.”

Her voice was strong and commanding, the voice of a leader with years of experience. She turned around and pointed her hoof towards the closest one, making them startle. The way the suits are made, they completely cover any and all size or physical differences. Using certain alteration spells, it made the wearer the size of the average pony. The only things allowed were wings and horns so that users won’t be an issue.

There were three of them in total, all of them were standing in a line behind her, the discipline they’d gone through showing results. The suits had been the same ones used on the ponies sent after Pinkie, with black cloth effectively covering their bodies, making it near impossible to identify them. There was mask inside the suit for further protection, with holes in the mask so they could see.

“You will be number one, the one besides you will be two, and the one besides you will be three. Remember your numbers, as that’s what I’ll call you for the remainder of this mission.”

After being startled the first time, they hadn’t responded in any other way. Other than the nod from each of them when she gave them their numbers, they stayed completely still. They were trained not to show emotions of any kind because emotions were weakness, and weakness wasn’t tolerated.

“Number one, I want you to go through a window on the highest floor. But don’t break it, we can’t leave any traces. Make sure to find the stairs and hide in them, don’t come out until I tell you. There’s a slight chance she’ll be sleeping in her room, if she is, make sure she stays asleep. But don’t kill her, there are still things she has to answer for.

Number two, I want you to go in through the kitchen. Pinkie could be in the kitchen getting a snack or something, if she is, take her down. You’re also responsible in case she tries to run through the backdoor in the kitchen, which is how you’ll be entering.

Number three, you’ll be the reserves. I want you to wait near the entrance, in case she tries to run away, which I expect. In the scenario we all fail, which is practically impossible, you’ll come in. I don’t want you to attack immediately; she’d still be on guard. Wait until she starts dragging us somewhere else, and when she does, strike. She’ll both be tired from fighting, and not expect to be attacked again. But, don’t worry, that scenario won’t happen. Pinkie is the kind of killer who fights, as she ties down all her victims. She won’t want to fight; she’ll be too afraid. Now, do all of you understand your roles?”

All of them nodded in response, each understanding their individual role in every scenario, prepared to complete the mission no matter what happens.

“Good. Now, on the count of three, I want all of you to do what I told you, while I’ll go through the front entrance. One,”

Rainbow Dash quickly turned around, facing Sugarcube Corner.

“Two,”

Rainbow began to slowly lower herself down, looking like a predator ready to pounce. Her wings were slowly beginning to stretch out as she prepared to take off, the ponies behind her doing the same thing.

“Three!”

On cue, all of them split off in their own directions. Each going to their specified location, doing so as quickly as possible. Rainbow went straight towards the entrance, her body going almost too fast to see. She needed this mission to go smoothly. But, some part of her wanted Pinkie to fight. She wanted a challenge; she wanted something that could be a real threat, she wanted to feel the rush of not knowing whether you’ll come out on top or not. She knew it was unlikely that Pinkie would put up any fight, but the idea put a smile on her face.

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Rainbow slowly opened the doors to the bakery, making sure not to let the bell ring. It took a lot of effort, considering how sensitive the bell was, but she managed. She quickly slipped her body past the door, making little to no sound as she did so. She wasn’t very experienced in infiltration missions, but she did know how to get in and out of places quickly.

The first thing she noticed about the place is how dark it was, she’s been here after hours before, and it wasn’t usually this dark. Though, it did work to their advantage, which didn’t make it any less suspicious. It was almost too dark to see, she was only able to make out big objects from a distance, and it was mostly their outlines. And while she and the other could adjust, they’re vulnerable until they do. Rainbow hated being vulnerable.

She stopped moving for a few minutes, wanting to wait until she adjusted before she bumped into something and gave away her location. She hoped the others would do the same; it would suck to lose them to such a stupid mistake. This wasn’t their first mission, nor would it be their last. But this was the first time they’d had orders to kill another pony, one that wasn’t a Pegasus. While they had been told just to incapacitate her, they knew she was going to die. Nothing that isn’t a Pegasus ever leaves The Factory alive, especially not an enemy that killed one of their own. She was going to die, one way or another.

After adjusting to the dark, Rainbow took a look around. Everything seemed normal; the chairs were stacked on the tables, all of the candy was on the shelves behind the counters, it all seemed normal, which was the exact issue. Rainbow was expecting Pinkie to be hiding in the dark waiting to pounce, or maybe even under one of the tables or behind one of the counters. But this complete silence in the room was something she wasn’t expecting; it was almost disturbing. Killers like her tend to use things like the dark to their advantage; her entire plan was based on Pinkie being here.

Rainbow checked every possible hiding place, and even some impossible, this was Pinkie Pie, after all. She had to be sure she wasn’t here, because if she was, and they started looking somewhere else, it would be too easy for her to kill them one by one. She had to be positive Pinkie wasn’t in here, because if she didn’t, it could mean the lives of her and her team.

As Rainbow was walking in the dark, her hoof hit something on the ground. It was hard and cold; it felt like it was sticking out. She lowered her head to try to see where and what it was, it was dark, so she needed to get close to see it. What she found, was one of the floorboards protruding from the floor, it would be entirely noticeable in the daylight.

It wasn’t just a random board either, the closer she looked at it, the more she noticed there was something under it. She couldn’t make out what it was, it was small and round, and seemed to be embedded into the floor under the board. She slowly began to move her hoof towards it; she needed to know what it was, she didn’t take risk.

As soon as she touched it, it quickly lowered down, and then rose up again. This made her retract her hoof, as the sudden movement triggered her reflexes.

“It seems like a button or switch of some kind, and I just pressed it. It doesn’t seem to be a trap, since it would have activated by now. Then what does it do?”

She said in a silent voice, almost quizzically. As soon as she said that, she heard a shifting noise nearby. It seemed to be coming from behind the counter, the sudden noise had startled her, but she somewhat expected it. She peered into the darkness to see what it was, and her eyes widened when she saw it.

The cabinets behind the counter that held the candy began to move away from each other, making a lot of noise while doing it. It took a few minutes before they stopped, but when they did, they revealed a wooden door in the area they were moving away from. This amazed her; she hadn’t seen a hidden door this well hidden for a while.

“So, that’s where your secret basement is, Pinkie. Well done.”

She said in a somewhat louder voice, now confident Pinkie wasn’t in here, she was down there. She was most likely preparing for them and wasn’t expecting them to be here already. She suspected her team had heard the noises, but they were given orders not to do anything until she said so, so, they were probably waiting for her.

She walked toward the counter in front of her; then she tapped on it with her hoof a few times. Everyone in The Factory was taught morse code, in the scenario they couldn’t talk for some reason. She just used morse code to tell them it was okay to come out, she could have just said so, but she wanted to test them.

Like moths to a flame, they all began coming to her. It was hard to make them out in the dark, but since she knew where they were coming from, she only had to pay attention. The first one to get to her first was number three from outside, number two from the kitchen, and then number one from the stairs. When they all came together, she could guess they were probably confused. Before they asked any questions, she pointed towards the door. They quickly understood and waited for her orders.

“This does change the plan somewhat, I thought she just had a basement around here I hadn’t seen before, I wasn’t expecting it to be hidden like this. If we go in there, there will be only one way out. Which means she could easily trap us in. But if she doesn’t, and she tries to run, we may not be able to block the entrance in time. Either way, this is in her favor.

The best scenario I can see going for us would be to leave one of us out here, so they could reopen it in case we get trapped, or stop Pinkie from escaping.”

She then shifted her gaze to the pony on her left, which was number three.

“Number three, since that was originally your job, I’ll give you this one. Somewhere around there is a piece of the floorboard that’s sticking out, walk around there and you should find it eventually. Under it is a button, pressing it will make the cabinets slowly open.”

She pointed her hoof to an area a few feet from her, looking at number three as she did so.

“Also, there was a third scenario, same as before. There’s a slight chance she could somehow kill us, but since you’re out here, you would have no way of knowing. So, I’ll set a time. It shouldn’t take us longer than fifteen minutes. As soon as the fifteen minutes are up, I want you to come down slowly and assume the worst. But since she’s most likely not a fighter, that scenario won’t happen. Do you understand your role?”

The pony known as number three slowly shook their head, knowing full well just how important their part was. Rainbow then looked at the ponies in front of her, using her head to gesture them towards the door, understanding she wanted them to go first. They nodded towards her and began to walk towards it, Rainbow following behind them. When they got to the door, they still kept formation. Number one slowly opened the door, with number two behind him, prepared for the chance of something being on the other side. Rainbow Dash had decided to stay a few feet behind; there was no such thing as too safe. After waiting a few seconds to make sure, Rainbow made a gesture for them to look in.

Slowly and cautiously, they did. And what they saw down there looked like something out of a horror movie, it was almost cliché. The first thing they saw when they looked was stairs, lots of stairs. From the top, it seemed to be an endless amount of gray, stone stairs going down. It wasn’t entirely dark though, every few feet down, there seemed to be a torch, which just made it more cliché.

Rainbow walked toward them, herself curious what was behind the door. When she saw what was on the other side, for a split second, she nearly chuckled. This was exactly something Pinkie Pie would do; it was almost comedic. But then she remembered why she was there, which made her boiling rage resurface.

She shoved number one, being a bit more forceful than she meant, the spike of rage she felt making her push harder. He grunted as he tumbled toward, barely able to catch himself. One looked back at her for a few seconds, but said nothing, knowing better. One began to walk down the stairs, number two following behind.

Rainbow waited a few seconds after they went down, she couldn’t mark out the possibility of traps. After they seemed to travel down the stairs safely, she suppressed her rage, calmed herself down, and began to follow behind.

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The stairs were actually a lot shorter than she expected it to be, it looked a lot longer than it actually was. It was probably some optical trick with the torches, or maybe something with the stairs. Whatever it was, it worked. It only took about two minutes to get to the bottom, and they weren’t going fast either. At the bottom of the stairs was pretty much what she expected, a wooden door similar to the one at the top of the stairs, except the pattern on the front was a bit different. Instead of the curvy lines on the front like the one at the top, this one had three vertical lines going down it. Like the door up top, they carefully opened the door. With number one slowly opening the door and number two hovering behind, Rainbow Dash still on the stairs being cautious.

Like the door on top, nothing was behind, no traps, no corrupt laughter, nothing. This was actually starting to worry her; the tension was seriously bothering her.

“Move in slowly and carefully, she has to be in here; there’s nowhere else she could be. Traps are still possible, so watch where you walk.” Rainbow said diligently, knowing any minute know, Pinkie would appear.

They nodded in response and began to enter the room. The room was bigger than it looked, which wasn’t really surprising considering this was Pinkie Pie. Walking in, the first thing anyone would see is the torture table. It was immensely clean, no blood stains or fur on it anywhere. The table was spotless; the straps seemed brand new, it didn’t seem like it was used at all. It was clean, even by The Factory’s standards.

Rainbow stared at the table for a bit; memories began to flood back. The feeling of her wings getting ripped off, being electrocuted, seeing her insides, the immense pain, everything.

“No,” Rainbow quickly turned her head the other direction, as she whispered quickly to herself. “Focus on the present, not the past. You haven’t thought about it yet, with everything going on, and you will later. But now is not the time, focus Dash!” She said to herself quietly, trying to convince herself.

The others didn’t seem to notice, as they were too busy studying the room around them. Number one had gone to the right side of the room, where dozens of heads were mounted on the walls like trophies. One was walking along beside them, looking up and studying each one. It didn’t seem to be just ponies either; there were Timberwolves, changelings, a griffon and a minotaur, and numerous other things. This astonished One, this wasn’t the work of just some pony gone mad, this was the work of a professional.

The amount of detail on each one, the placing, even the cleanness! It would take years of experience and trial and error to kill these many creatures and do all this; Pinkie wasn’t just some amateur, she has been doing this for a long time. One was seriously beginning to think there was a story behind all this; there’s no way she could have gotten all the supplies to do these things herself, she would have needed tools, the plaques, cleaning supplies, and so many other various things that would raise suspicion if one pony bought. There had to be someone else; there’s no way she could have gotten all these supplies on her own.

One considered telling Rainbow their thoughts, but realized now wouldn’t have been the time, considering the situation. One made sure to tell her later, it was something too important not to mention. They decided to continue looking at the heads, seeing if any missing Pegasi were among them, for Pinkie’s sake, there better not be.

Two had gone to the left side of the room, noticing something gleaming in the dark. The room was fairly well lit, but, for whatever reason, that area of the room was darker than the rest. Considering the detail of the room, there was bound to be a lamp of some sort around somewhere. Two fumbled their hooves around in the dark area in front of them, hitting something hard. The first time they hit it, they pulled back, but after realizing they had hit an object, they began to fumble again. Suddenly, they hit something else. It felt different than the table, it was made out of a smaller material and was round. Two began to rub their hooves over the object, trying to figure out what it was. Unexpectedly, they pressed a button on it. After making a clicking noise, light exploded from the object they were just touching, causing their pupils to dilate and hoofs to retract.

After blinking their eyes a few times, they looked at the object again. Like they had suspected, it was a lamp. The base was round and blue, while the shade was like a curtain and pink. There was a bright lightbulb under the shade, looking clean and brand new. The button they had pressed was right under the shade, which was a pretty small button. Looking around the table, they realized this wasn’t just some random wooden table.

In the top left corner, beside the lamp, there was a small, yellow alarm clock. It seemed to be set on something, the small hand was on twelve, while the long hand was on the three. It wasn’t that late, so, it had to be on a timer for something. But for what? There wasn’t anything around there that looked like it needed a timer, it didn’t make any sense. Two decided not to think about it too much; there were other things on the table to look at.

In the middle of the table, was a sink. At first, it didn’t make any sense why there was a sink. But after noticing just how clean everything in the room was, they realized if Pinkie liked to keep her environment clean, then she probably wanted to stay clean herself. The sink had a bar on top of the faucet, with little inscriptions in it that told which way to turn for cold or hot water. The sink parts itself was white and spotless, like everything else in here, it seemed brand new.

On the right of the table, which was the biggest part of the table, seemed to be the working area. The left side of the table and the sink were like squares, while the right side was like a big rectangle. It looked big enough to hold a pony body, with a little bit of space left. There seemed to be drawers right under that part of the table, three, to be exact. Out of curiosity, Two decided to open each one individually.

The first drawer had knives in them; lot’s of knives. That’s all that was in there, knives of all shapes and sizes, all put in some kind of order that Two couldn’t tell. It wasn’t all just one kind of knife either, kitchen knives, butcher knives, carving knives, even some surgical scalpels, no idea how she managed to get those. The knives looked very well sharpened, to the point where it seemed dangerous just to touch, Pinkie really did take care of her things. If only she took care of her friends the same, maybe she wouldn’t be in this situation.

The second drawer was filled with something else entirely, syringes and medicine bottles. Five or six of them, with bottles for each one. The smallest one was on top, while the largest one was on the bottom, organized like the knives. Each syringe had a label on it, presumably for which kind of victim. The first was a pony; a second was a changeling, third was griffon, fourth was a minotaur, fifth just said emergency on it. If Two had to guess, these weren’t meant for just those specifically. They have probably meant for things that size, but those names were given as examples. But since Changelings and ponies were the same sizes, it was probably only different because of their natural toxin resistant.

Each of the bottles had different medical names on them, but two wasn’t even going to attempt to pronounce them, the length and amount of words were intimidating. The syringes, expectedly, were extremely clean. The medicine even seemed freshly bought, as the liquid that can be seen in the bottle was near the top.

The third drawer was full of a variety of things, likely tools for projects. There was a hammer, a screwdriver, a box of nails and a box of screws, a sewing needle, and thread, even a magnifying glass. Some of these tools had obvious uses, while others had less obvious uses. The scariest thing of all of this was how well organized and professional everything was.

Two pulled away from the drawers, both terrified and impressed. From the file they had on Pinkie because The Factory likes to keep files on everyone high in social status, this was wrong. Pinkie was a happy, childlike, innocent pony. And while there was a recent revelation, it didn’t change the file too much. Rainbow gave an analysis on Pinkie afterward, she was a coward, a killer who has to drug and tie down their victims and torture, because they don’t have the strength or will to get their victims themselves. It was assumed Pinkie was like this because of her childhood environment, someone in her family probably molested her or something.

But this was something else entirely, this was evidence of a cold, calculating, heartless, professional killer. Dozens of victims, hundreds of ways to torture, no hesitation to act like somepony else to get what she wanted, or who she wanted. The Factory has never been wrong on something like this before, but these were particular circumstances. Two had never doubted them before, but this might be the first time that they did. Now wasn’t the time for idle thought, there were still things that they needed to look through. Two moved back to the table and began to look through everything on and in the table.

Rainbow, noticing both One and Two were looking around, began to do the same. This room was the same as she remembered it, with the heads on the wall, the dim lighting of the room, the smell of death and carnage. She even noticed the lack of certain things, the ‘life is a party’ sign was missing, as was the table with skulls on it, maybe those were only there for effect? She probably liked to inflict mental and emotional damage as well ass physical, the sign and skulls were probably stored somewhere, which reminds her.

When Rainbow was in here, after the lights first came on and she saw all the ‘decorations,’ there was one thing that intrigued her. On the other side of the room from the torture chair, there was a door. It was hard to see in the dark, even dimly lit, but she knew where it was. She trotted toward the silhouette of the door, the door slowly becoming more visible. The door was the same color of the wall and roof, dark gray. Without the black lines along it, it would be near impossible to see.

It was on the opposite side of the room of the other room, the one full of Pinkie’s projects. When Dash came in here to retrieve something, she didn’t exactly have time to explore. The only reason she got in is that The Factory has some very powerful unicorns at their disposal. But, surprisingly, Pinkie somehow managed to get wards in her basement. It took the most powerful unicorns they hard to teleport her in there, even then, it was only for a few minutes before the wards become too much. She barely had enough to time to get what she needed.

Rainbow still firmly believed Pinkie was alone, but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t helping her. As strange as Pinkie was, she was still an earth pony. Only unicorns and alicorns can produce wards that powerful, and especially that many. She had a pretty good idea who, or more specifically, what was helping her. She intended to deal with them later, but that was then, this was now.

She tried opening the door, but, as she expected, it was locked. The door didn’t have any signs on it as the other did, so there’s no telling what it was. But if she had to guess, it was an emergency escape route. From what she can tell from everything, Pinkie seemed like the type who would have something for every scenario. Somepony who was very cautious and paranoid, and had a plan for any scenario that could go down, just like her.

She decided to leave the door alone, as there was no real point in bothering with it anymore. She went to check on the others, see if they made any progress. She walked over to Two, noticing how nice of a plot they had. With everything going on lately, she hasn’t exactly had the time to get any ‘release,’ and it was seriously starting to catch up with her. But now wasn’t the time for that, she could deal with it later.

She looked over their shoulder, noticing the mass of random tools spread out on the table they were looking through. It seemed to be a variety of tools, some things she recognized, others seem to be of custom design. Which was actually quite impressive, it took a lot of creativity and intelligence to custom make a tool, then again, this was Pinkie Pie. Among other things, Pinkie is known for her creativeness. Then again, that was before everything happened. Now, she wasn’t sure what was true and what wasn’t.

She was about to join Two, wanting to satisfy her curiosity. But, there was a sudden noise on the other side of the room, sounding like a dart quickly going across the room. It made both of them quickly turn their head towards the direction of the sound; it seemed to come from the wall of heads, which is where One was. Two nodded at her and began to go around the long way around the room, staying in the dark and intending to flank. She understood and began to move toward the source of the sound herself.

She was slowly moving towards the source, being as cautious as possible. For the first few seconds, it didn’t seem like anything was out of place. All the heads on the wall were still there, seeming to stare at her, but still there. She looked into the darkness to make sure Pinkie wasn’t hiding in there, making sure to pay attention to every single detail. In doing so, she noticed One in the darkness. Their back was turned toward her, looking up at the heads above them.

They didn’t seem to move, they just stayed there, looking at the heads. She moved towards him, making quiet grunting noises only ponies close enough would be able to hear. She had gotten right behind him, grunting all the while, but they did nothing in response. Getting frustrated, she started to tap him with her hoof. Still, no response. She was about to do it again out of frustration, but then she heard a dripping sound, making her stop. It seemed to be coming from right in front of her, but she couldn’t see where exactly. The frustration had left her, worry overcoming it. She followed the dripping, which seemed to be coming from One. Slowly, she began to walk around him, extremely paranoid. Then, she saw it.

It was tiny, but she could see a droplet. Then another, and another. Tracing the source with her eyes, she began to follow it up. The farther up she went, the more worried she became, then she realized, One hadn’t done anything this entire time. The dripping sound had been blood coming from One, the puddle she stepped in had been a puddle of blood.

One had been staring up towards the wall for a reason because that’s where they were looking when they died. There was a small knife lodged in their face, penetrating the area right between the eyes. The gash it made was fairly large, going from in between their eyes, down to the tip of the muzzle. But it wasn’t a vast cut, so the blood wasn’t just gushing out. The knife most likely hit the brain instantly, causing little to no pain. The body seemed to be leaning forward, but the table had stopped it, which is why it didn’t just fall on the ground.

The death didn’t really bother her; she knew from the beginning that there was a possibility that somepony would die, that’s how it is for every mission. The only thing that bothered her was how they died, the how was always important, especially against an unknown enemy. The knife came from in front, which didn’t make any sense. The only thing in front was the wall of heads, so, unless one of the heads came back to life and threw a knife, that wasn’t a possibility.

“Maybe Pinkie came behind him and stabbed him in the face?” Rainbow rubbed her chin in thought, then shook her head dismissively. “No, that wouldn’t make any sense. Not even from behind could she penetrate their skull that much so quick, especially without causing some sort of loud noise. So, how?”

Rainbow grunted out of frustration, trying to figure out how Pinkie killed him so efficiently and quickly, without making hardly any sound. In her frustration, she nearly forgot about Two, who was supposed to be flanking around. Luckily, she noticed Two in the dark, barely able to see her. Two seemed to be looking at her questioningly, probably wanting to know what happened. She was about to whisper for her to come over, but, she noticed something behind her.

At first, it was just a slight glimmer in the dark. But then, in a matter of seconds, a knife was around Two’s throat, being held by pink hooves. Pinkie’s face slowly came out of the darkness, a smile on her face. Her hair was long and straight; something Rainbow couldn’t imagine on Pinkie until now. But her eyes, they were the first thing anyone would notice. They were dilated and dark, they were still the same color of blue, but the look of pure madness behind her eyes, the look of lust and ecstasy, it was…breathtaking.

Before Rainbow could do or say anything, Pinkie slit Two’s throat, causing blood to splatter to the right of them, some of it hitting Pinkie’s face. But that didn’t seem to bother her; it didn’t make her flinch. It only seemed to make her smile widen, causing it to stretch from ear to ear. And, if possible, her eyes seemed to dilate even more. Dash could do nothing but watch, as Two put their hooves up to their neck to stop the bleeding. But, that didn’t matter, Pinkie cut deep and quick, nothing could have helped them now.

Somehow, Pinkie had slipped back into the darkness. She had no idea how someone with colors that bright could hide so well, but, she didn’t exactly have easy to hide colors either. She tried to ignore the gurgling sound of Two, knowing focusing on trying to find Pinkie was far more important. She tried to focus on any sound in the darkness, ignoring the dripping blood of One and the gurgling sounds of Two. Trying to hear anything, breathing, hoof steps, body movement, anything. But, there was nothing. Pinkie was good at hiding and sneaking around, as not a single sound could be heard from the darkness.

Except for one thing, laughter. Pinkie’s laughter, no doubt. It sounded just like her laugh, but, somehow, it was darker. There was malice and madness behind the laughter, and something else, something evil. She looked to the left, that’s where the laughter came from first. Then, it came from behind her. She turned around, but there was nothing there. Once again, it came from her left, then her right, it seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. Rainbow turned her head every time laughter came from somewhere, trying to keep up so Pinkie wouldn’t get her. But she just couldn’t keep up! It seemed to be coming from everywhere at once like there was some sort of echo or something.

She was becoming anxious, in less than five minutes, she had killed both One and Two silently and quickly, and now she was taunting her. Pinkie could attack her at any moment, and with all this laughter that seemed to be coming from all around her, there was no way for her to tell where Pinkie would be coming from.

“Where are you, Pinkie?! Why don’t you come out of the dark and fight me, or are you really that much of a coward?”

Rainbow yelled into the darkness around her, not in any specific direction. Her teeth were bare, and her eyes were wide, the rage was beginning to overtake the anxiety. She looked around eagerly, as the memories from before slowly began to resurface. She wanted to hurt Pinkie, wanted to kill her for what she did to her, and she intended to after they got all of the questions out of the way. She hadn’t thought about how she was going to kill her, but she was going to make it agonizing!

Rainbow’s threat just seemed to make the laughter worse, as it got louder and more malicious. She looked around and tried to pinpoint the source, but, she just couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. While looking around, she noticed something. In the pool of blood under her from One, there seemed to be something in the reflection. She moved her head closer to the puddle and squinted her eyes, trying to make out what it was. It was hard to tell since the puddle wasn’t very big or clear. It seemed to be somewhat big, and pink. She could see her own reflection, and whatever it was, was above her.

Then, it hit her. Realizing what it was, Rainbow’s eyes widened, and she quickly looked up, nearly giving herself whiplash. And, as she suspected, Pinkie was up there. Rainbow had no idea how she got up there, or how she was staying up there, but she was. Pinkie was on the ceiling right above her, looking down at her with those same dilated, insane eyes. Her smile slowly began to widen as soon Rainbow saw her, but it wasn’t as wide as before, as her knife was in her mouth.

Suddenly, she opened her mouth, dropping the knife. Shortly after, she began to drop down herself. This confused Rainbow, she didn’t see why she was doing this. But then, using both her hooves, Pinkie caught the hilt of the knife in mid-air! Pointing the blade at her, and she was coming down quick! Rainbow’s eyes widened after seeing this; she quickly used her hooves to jump to the left, trying to dodge the attack. Pinkie noticed this but didn’t try to do anything.

She landed on the ground, but on all four hooves. Before she hit the ground, she had quickly put the knife back in her mouth. Which had cut her muzzle in some places, but that didn’t stop her. As soon as her hooves touched the ground, she jumped towards Rainbow, bloodlust in her eyes. She did it quickly, with the nimbleness and flexibility of an acrobat. Dash had barely landed, so she couldn’t dodge this one.

Pinkie took a swipe at her, Rainbow moved as quickly as she could, but she still got cut. She couldn’t believe this! She was a Pegasus, the fastest of the three tribes, and she was being beaten by an earth pony! Before Pinkie had the chance to take another swipe, she punched Pinkie in the right side of her face, causing her to spit out the knife. But this didn’t seem to make her angry, in fact, this seemed to make her smile wider. Pinkie suddenly punched her in the face with her right hoof, hitting a lot harder than the blue pegasus expected.

“Alright, Dash! Now that things are fair, let’s see what you got!”

Her voice was loud and booming; she sounded excited. She hit Rainbow again, this time in the stomach. She tried to hit her again, this time, in her ribs. But Rainbow had been hit hard before; she’s been in plenty of fights.

“It’s going to take more than a few well-placed hits to take me down, Pinkie!”

Rainbow practically screamed in her face, she then grabbed Pinkie’s arm and slammed her against the wall. Pinkie grunted after being slammed, but only for a moment. That signature smile of hers returned, as she looked into Rainbow’s eyes, defiantly and daringly. Rainbow tried to hit her face, but she went under and hit Rainbow’s elbow, causing her left arm to go numb and unusable for a few seconds. Pinkie took this time to tackle Rainbow to the ground, leaving her on top.

But Rainbow thought she would do something like this, so, despite knowing it would come back to bite her later, she opened her wings against the solid ground. It hurt her wings immensely, and she knew she was going to be incredibly sore later, but it did its job. It pushed her body up, knocking Pinkie off. Rainbow made sure to take advantage, she pushed Pinkie onto the ground, with her on top, reversing the situation from before.

But Pinkie’s face didn’t change; there was no anger or surprise, nothing changed. She was just looking up at her, with that wide, demonic smile. And those borderline green eyes dilated to unimaginable levels. Her hair was spread out around her, some on her face, but most on the floor.

“Go on, Dash, you don’t want to leave me wanting, do you?”

Her voice was sultry and sadistic, the smile seems to widen as she talked. That set Rainbow off, all that rage, all the pain, everything, she let it all out in her punches. She hit Pinkie in the face as hard as she could, each hit making Pinkie’s body thump against the ground. Rainbow grunted with each hit, the pain in her hooves getting worse with each punch. But she didn’t care; she ignored it, she’s tolerated worse. But Pinkie made no noises; she didn’t even try to resist. She sat there, unmoving, looking up at Rainbow with a huge smile on her face.

Minutes seemed to pass by, Rainbow’s hit’s got slower and hurt less, but she kept going. She kept hitting Pinkie until she couldn’t move her arms anymore, until she was more out of breath than she was after a flying session. But her rage was unsatisfied; she was unsatisfied. There was blood on her hooves, both from Pinkie’s face, and her own. Pinkie’s face was covered in blood, bruises, and other injuries. There was no part of her face untouched, some teeth were missing, blood was going into her eyes, but they were untouched, Rainbow wanted her to be able to see what she does.

But despite the tremendous pain she must be in, she just looked up at Rainbow and smiled, the look in her eyes never changed.

“That all you got?”

Despite everything, there was still that tone of sadism and sultry, still defiance and eagerness in her eyes. When Rainbow didn’t respond, Pinkie’s smile widened further. Somehow still having energy, and Dash having none, she pushed Rainbow under her and put herself on top. Pinkie looked into Rainbow’s eyes; she had the same look she had when she killed Two. Lust, ecstasy, eagerness, and absolute insanity. Her smile stretched to the farthest she’s ever seen, it didn’t look like the smile of a pony, it looked like the smile of a demon.

For the first time in a long time, Rainbow felt fear, real fear. That look in her eyes, that lack of hesitation, that killing skill. Rainbow was wrong; she wasn’t a coward, she wasn’t even a pony, she was a monster! Rainbow’s eyes shrank, her breathing became erratic, borderline hyperventilation. She was terrified, Pinkie noticed this, but it only made her smile widen.

“You know, Dash, in my entire time of knowing you, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you afraid. And to think, it would be because of me! Oh, Dashie! You have no idea what fear is! Here, let me show you!”

Pinkie said in the same voice she always did in the day, full of energy and joyful. But, it was different. There was darkness behind it, insanity, madness. She raised her right arm behind her head, preparing to beat her into nothingness.

“Oh, and one more thing! My names Pinkamena Diane Pie, and for the rest of your life, you’ll never forget it, I’ll make sure of it. So, just call me Pinkamena for short.”

Pinkamena giggled as she raised her arm a little more, enjoying every second of this.

“Now, let’s have some fun-“

The alarm clock from the table was hit over the back of Pinkamena’s head, knocking her out cold. The holder of the clock was Three, who, like told, had come down to the basement after fifteen minutes. And, noticing the situation, grabbed the nearest blunt object, and gently hit Pinkamena over the back of the head. The clock was now broken, the glass coming off and one of the hands were gone. It was such a waste too; it looked expensive. Three threw the clock in a random direction, having higher concerns at the moment.

They offered their hoof to Rainbow, who ignored it and got up on their own. Neither said anything about the state Rainbow was just in, it was an unspoken rule that neither would say anything about what happens on missions. Rainbow stood beside Pinkamena’s unconscious body, crouching down and examining her face.

“You handle the bodies; I’ll make sure she gets to The Factory safely. She has a lot to answer for.”