“No! Wait!”

Twilight Sparkle’s body flew straight up and her eyes shot open as she screamed her final words to Malum. Her head swiveled, taking in the change of environment around her. She was back in her room which was now dimly lit by only a few candles.

“Damn it,” she whispered to herself, now realizing that she was too late

Her attention quickly went back to her desk and her eyes frantically searched her work area for a certain treasured trinket. Her eyes caught a glimpse of a gold chain and without pause Twilight shoved the parchment that was obscuring Rebris away and held the item in her hoof, looking into it as she did before she fell asleep.

The black smoke that once was peaceful within the black gem was no longer calm, but back to its chaotic and frantic spinning. Twilight sighed and laid the necklace back down on her desk and she leaned back in her chair, letting her head hang back and rubbing one of her temples with her hoof.

He knows...he knows how to unlock Rebris. My friends and Luna...he knows it all.

Twilight’s mind replayed her dream like a broken record. Malum teased her with the prospect of Rebris and the hope of bringing her friends back but what she still didn’t understand was why. Why would Malum want to help her? More importantly, something else that now gripped the unicorn’s frantic mind, Malum wasn’t just some entity within her like the Element of Magic.

He was real, just as real as her at one time many years ago. She was boggled of how this pony was living within her mind but she couldn’t help her curiosity of now knowing more about him. She searched the recesses of her mind and recalled the many history texts she had read in her years but couldn’t remember one that mentioned anything about a character named Malum.

Maybe you can succeed where I have failed.

“Did this happen before?” she whispered in open thought.

She saw how Malum looked out over Equestria and saw what almost looked like pity. Twilight couldn’t help but wonder if this Malum, whoever he was in history, went through the same thing that she was now dealing with. Did he have to contend with a goddess? She didn’t know and it only pushed the notion to learn more about him even more.

As much as she hated to admit inside, she now wanted to talk to him more. She needed to know more about him and what role he somehow played in all this with Rebris.

We will speak again Twilight and I will tell you my story then. For now, it’s time that you wake and help your lover.

“Pinkie Pie!” Twilight exclaimed, now suddenly remembering the warning Malum had given.

The unicorn jumped from her seat and looked over to her bed, scanning it quickly to see if there was any sign of a pink equine body within the dim light but there was none. Her eyes now went straight to the clock that hung on their wall.

1:00 A.M.

“Shit! I been asleep for three hours!”

Twilight’s heart pounded and her body turned to ice. She remembered that Pinkie Pie had to go out and get tape and she put a transfiguration spell on her, but that was three hours ago. The spell only lasted an hour and Pinkie Pie was nowhere to be seen in the room.

Oh no! Please no!

Twilight’s mind screamed as she quickly scrambled around the room looking for a bouncy pink mane. She dashed over to the bathroom door in their room and opened it, hoping that maybe Pinkie was maybe getting a cup of water or something in there.

But the pink mare was nowhere to be seen.

Terrible thoughts of what could’ve happened to her lover began to run rampant in the unicorn’s mind, but the prospect of her greatest fear is what scared her the most.

No, no! There’s no-Luna couldn’t have...

Twilight bit her lower lip and closed her eyes, trying to clear her mind for a few seconds. She needed some type of clarity in her brain so she could somehow think rationally about all this.

Downstairs Twilight. Check downstairs.

Her mental companion was right. Maybe Pinkie was simply downstairs getting a late night snack or something of the sort, but Twilight needed to know it was just that, as she was trying her hardest to keep the worst possibility out of her head; Luna.

Twilight didn’t hesitate and quickly made her way out of the room and down the stairs. She entered the pitch black living room but her eyes couldn’t make out anything. Her hoof began to search the wall beside her, looking for the light switch.

C’mon! Where is it?!

Her hoof searched the wall but she couldn’t find the switch, but instead found something else. There was something wet and warm and made Twilight stop in sudden bafflement. She slowly brought her hoof away from the wall and could feel that whatever she just touched was now on it.

“What the-?” she whispered.

Twilight didn’t know what substance was on her hoof but something about it felt...familiar. Resolving that the light switch was taking too much time, she turned to her magic and within seconds, the very tip of her horn was now engulfed in a small ball of purple light. She put out her front hoof to see what she had touched.

“N..n..no,” Twilight stammered as she now realized why this feeling was so familiar.

Blood covered her entire hoof and all Twilight could do was stare in bewilderment and sudden terror at it. It shimmered in her artificial light and she could see the dark crimson tinge this blood had. It felt thick but watery all at the same time and the unicorn’s mind went into a total blur of fear for her lover.

“Pinkie?” she called out softly and taking her attention off her hoof. She needed to find Pinkie and hope to her late mentor that this blood didn’t belong to her.

Then again, if it didn’t, then who?

“Pinkie Pie? Are you here?”

There was no answer. Twilight pointed her horn toward the wall, now desperately needing more light. Her horn glowed against the white surface and her eyes scanned it until she found a small switch. She flipped it on and the light that hung in the center of the living room flickered on, now revealing to Twilight’s horror what was going on.

The wall was covered in blood with hoof prints and red stains covered the carpet. Twilight’s eyes were as wide as globes as she saw what was in the mess of red against the wall.

I’m a bad pony was written on the wall with the blood and Twilight knew immediately just by how it was written that Pinkie Pie had did it.

What happened?! Is she hurt?!

“Pinkie Pie!” she now yelled in the apartment as fear took hold of her, now not caring about the others that were still asleep upstairs.

There was a small murmur and Twilight’s ears perked up. She looked over to where the faint sound had come from and started to make her way to the kitchen.

“Pinkie Pie? Are you in here?” Twilight said as she slowly went into the kitchen and flipped on the light.

“Twilight...” a weak voice answered back.

Twilight looked over near the counter and sink and her answer was finally answered, but the sight before her made her entire body go pale.

Puddles of blood covered the tiled floor and the walls that used to be an immaculate white were now defiled with bloody hoofprints and the message of I’m a bad pony were written multiple times.

But this was not what had the unicorns heart at a complete halt.

Pinkie Pie stood next to the sink and her body was covered in the sacred liquid. Her fur was caked with crimson blood and her mane and tail were flat. Bruises littered the mares appearance Twilight noticed that her marefriends coat wasn’t just covered in blood, but also a darker shade of her usual bright pink coat.

“I’m a bad pony,” Pinkie Pie whispered to herself.

“P..Pinkie Pie...what happened?” Twilight stuttered but didn’t move towards the mare.

Pinkie Pie turned her head slowly towards Twilight. Tears ran down her face and blood covered her face. Her eyes weren’t the bright blue but were something completely different. Both pupils of her eyes were dilated but they were both different colors. One eye was a faded blue, a former shade of the bright ones that Twilight knew, while the other one was a dark, burning red. Simply looking into that one eye made Twilight shudder.

“Twilight...I’m a bad pony,” Pinkie repeated.

Her voice was weak but there was a hidden darkness to it. It sounded desperate but also maniacal in its own form.

“What are you talking about Pinkie?” Twilight asked gently, careful not to somehow distress her lover more than she obviously was right now.

Something had happened and Twilight now wanted more than anything else to figure out what but she needed to calm Pinkie. She could see the pony trembling violently and she seemed distant, as if in another world of some sort.

“I..I can’t do it. I don’t want her as my friend,” Pinkie said a bit louder and she began to cry more, “I...I’m not her; not a monster.”

“Pinkie, take it easy. Just...just calm down,” Twilight stammered and made her way very slowly to her, but inside she was terrified; she had never seen Pinkie this way.

“I-they were going to hurt me. I didn’t-I was scared. I’m a bad pony.”

Twilight continued her way to the bloody mare but something inside was trying to hold her back. She was frightened seeing Pinkie in this state, whatever it was.

“Just calm down Pinkie. I’m...I’m here.”

“No,” Pinkie said, “Bad ponies get punished.”

Twilight suddenly stopped in her tracks. Pinkie brought up one of her hooves and in it was a gleaming butcher knife. The blood soaked Pinkie took the blade and put it up to her throat, now letting more tears escape her.

“Bad ponies need to be punished,” Pinkie said again but with a small, unnatural laugh.

“Pinkie!” Twilight exclaimed, seeing what her lover was about to do, “What are you doing?! Put that knife down!”

Twilight saw Pinkie tighten her grip around the handle of the weapon.

“Twilight...bad ponies get punished,” Pinkie replied and looked into the unicorns eyes.

She stared back at Pinkie and felt the burning red eye stare into her very core. Her body trembled and her mind was static. Her marefriend stood in front of her with a knife to her own throat, ready to take her own life.

Twilight! Stop her!

But she didn’t move. She was frozen to the ground and at a loss of why her lover was in this state and ready to cut her own neck.

“Pinkie. Put the knife down. Talk to me...please,” Twilight said with desperation.

She didn’t know if she could stop this unexplained action in time. If she used magic, Pinkie may go over edge and still slice her throat and she be too late.

“I..I can’t...I can’t!” Pinkie suddenly yelled, “She’s mean! I have to stop her! She’s a monster!”

Pinkie pushed the blade harder against her throat and sobbed her final words.

“She has to die!”

“Pinkie! No!!”

Earlier that night...

Buildings and skyscrapers towered over Pinkie Pie as she trotted down the still busy sidewalks of Manehatten. The lights were bright and Pinkie could hear the different singers and performers on the streets, trying to make a few bits.

Pinkie Pie loved coming out and seeing things such as this big city but she knew it was only due to the threat of Luna that she needed to keep her outings scarce, but still, the pink mare wished that she could come out more often.

Her eyes googled in awe as she kept looking up and admiring such edifices of grandeur. She couldn’t fathom how simple ponies like herself could build such things but it also had a way of making her somewhat happy in her grim situation.

Why? How could anypony find happiness in such a dark reality such as hers?

The answer was quite simple.

Life.

There was life in this city and that’s what she loved. Life was something she saw that went along with her special talent of laughter. Making ponies laugh and smile was the epitome of what life should be, at least according to her.
“Ommf!” Pinkie grunted as she felt something jab into her shoulder.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” a pony yelled as it passed by her, walking at a brisk pace.

“Oh! Sorry!” she quickly apologized as she kept walking down the busy sidewalk.

And then there were some things about this city that she didn’t like that much. For example, ponies like the one she had accidentally ran into. Pinkie didn’t like how ponies in Manehatten always seemed glum and rude. It seemed like they were just walking husks.

Not like Ponyville, she thought to herself, now taking that small happiness and replacing it with a sad longing.

Pinkie knew the situation and reality she lived in and that Manehatten was their best place to stay and hide until Twilight found out how to use Rebris to resurrect their friends, but she missed Ponyville.

She had longed to be back in it for many years. It was already soul shattering enough that Pinkie had to be away from her beloved home for ten years but even when Twilight brought her back and told the residents the truth of Luna, she still didn’t get the chance to really be home.

Regardless, she was with Twilight again and she was content with that, though she did have some concerns for her beloved unicorn. It wasn’t the fact that her and Pinkie didn’t really act like a couple, considering that they were facing something much more serious than just a simple relationship, but she didn’t like how Twilight was almost to the brink of obsession with Rebris that she was willing to sacrifice sleep for it.

Though Twilight did promise that she would get some sleep tonight, Pinkie knew deep down that she was lying and that’s what saddened her. She had a feeling that Twilight was treating her more as some type of foal than her mare by not being open to her.

Pinkie sighed as she continued walking the sidewalk. She now missed to the times before all this. Hanging out with friends, making ponies laugh in Ponyville, and a Twilight that was happy and loving.

Not the one she was now, always consumed by hate and darkness, wanting nothing more than to have her revenge against Luna.

Pinkie Pie didn’t care about these things though. All she desired was getting their friends back and as much Twilight wanted to tell her that, she knew that the unicorn would not have it.

You know she truly doesn't want you Pinkie. I’m the only one that loves you.

Pinkie shook her head and tried to block out her inner demon.All day Pinkamena has whispered to her, cracking jokes and telling her things that she didn’t want to hear. Twilight might’ve been hiding things from her but was she really any different? She didn’t tell Twilight how she really acquired Rebris from Luna and there was no way in hell that Pinkie was going to reveal this inner darkness she let fester inside her.

Just like this morning right Pinkie? You lied! You are a liar liar pants on fire.

Stop it! I don’t like you and your annoying me! Pinkie screamed back in her mind, biting her lower lip as she continued walking and let a cold wind blow against her body.

You didn’t say that all those years ago. You loved me and I loved you. We we’re best friends Pinkie! Now that you found Twilight, you just want to forget me? I wonder how many ponies think YOU are annoying? Oh right, they believed that you were a killer.

Shut up!

And what about Twilight? If she loooved you soooo much, then why did she believe Luna? Why didn’t she come look for you and find out the truth herself?

Pinkie’s head began to throb a bit but she refused to let Pinkamena know that she was now in pain from her destructive questions.

She did. She looked for me for ten years. I-

Bahahahaha! Pinkamena laughed hysterically in Pinkie’s head, You’re so silly Pinkie. She looked for you because she wanted to KILL you, not so she could find out what really happened. Remember? She had you wrapped in plastic and a hacksaw just for you. She was going to tear you limb from limb and not give it a second thought until you let her sift through your memory. Is that love Pinkie?

Pinkie’s pace became more brisk now as she now just wanted to get back home and see Twilight and somehow silence Pinkamena in her head..

Answer me Pinkie! Is that love?

I don’t care what you say! You’re just trying to be mean!

No! You’re mean! You’re mean because you pretend that I’m not you! You pretend that we were never friends ever since you got back with that bitch!

Pinkie gritted her teeth after hearing such insult to her mare.

Don’t call her that! If anypony is that, it’s you!

Pinkamena chuckled in her mind with a low dark tone.

So you’re calling yourself a bitch?

Shut up!! I’m not you!

Pinkie scrunched her muzzle and felt tears beginning to well up in her but she held them back. Pinkiamena was trying to convince that they were the same and though Pinkie didn’t believe it, something deep down inside her was telling her something different.

The pink mare ripped her mind away from Pinkamena and now only concentrated on where she was going.

“What the-? Where am I?” Pinkie said to herself, noticing that she had actually wandered off.

She was no longer surrounded by tall buildings and bright lights but a dark and lonely alleyway that seemed to stretch through the city. She turned around to see if she could see any sign of streets and lights, but there was none.

I must’ve messed up where I was going.

Pinkie didn’t put it past herself to make such a silly mistake. There had plenty of times in her life that she would let her mind get the better of her though she wished it wasn’t because of Pinkamena.

She began trotting back, figuring that if she just went the way she came that it would lead her back to the streets and building she was now accustomed to.

Crack!

“Gah!” Pinkie yelped, jumping and turning to immediately what caused the startling sound.

Her eyes scanned the dimly lit alley but found nothing. She didn’t see anything staring back at her or any eerie figures lurking in the shadows but why would one be looking for such things?

Because Pinkie was no fool.

Twilight made it more than clear plenty of times that she always needed to watch her back. Luna had Equestria and that meant that she had eyes and ears for anywhere and everywhere.

She turned away and continued walking.

Why are you scared Pinkie?

“I’m not scared,” Pinkie replied, thinking that she was alone and no pony could overhear her.

Then why can I feel your fear? Are you afraid of Luna coming back for you and finishing you and Twilight off?

“That’s not going to happen! Twilight and I will-”

Pinkie’s ears suddenly perked up, catching something that sounded like a chain dragging across the ground. She turned around again with urgency and her eyes scanned closely for anything abnormal. Her heart began to pound a bit harder and her breath slightly more shallow.

“Is anypony here?” she called out with a gentle but firm tone.

There was no answer.

Fear is so exciting Pinkie Pie! Pinkamena laughed with a foalish innocence, Does it excite you because it excites me and if it excites me and I am you and you-

“Stop!” Pinkie exclaimed, now letting her annoyance turn into anger,“All you do is say mean things to me! Why don’t you ever be quiet?!”

“Maybe you should be the one that needs to be quiet,” a voice whispered in her ear.

“Huh?!”

Before she could blink or even turn her head to see who was behind her, she felt something hard hit her on the side of her head. Her mind instantly shut down and the sheer force she had been hit with sent the pink mare to the ground, her body falling with a hard thud.

The pony looked down at her unconscious body and a sick smile spread across its face. It was dressed in black armor and greaves with a crescent moon burned over his eye. Scars and stitches littered his orange face and his mane and tail were yellow with a burnt orange streak running through.

His name was Blaze, General of the Lunar Guard.

(Next Part: Taste The Blood 7-2)