Chapter 123

Rainbow Dash and I scurried through the hospital’s vast interior, its air thick with the scent of sterility. We zig-zagged between random medicine carts and empty gurneys, making our way down the long, florescent-bathed hallway.

Correction: Dash was scurrying; I was struggling to keep up.

I had no doubt that she disliked being here again, and that she’d be worried that one of the nurses might recognize her—despite my constant reminders that we weren’t even on the same floor that she was. Still, she zipped along at top non-magical speed, her brain being gnawed at by curiosity and anxiousness.

Why was Maud here? Why was she lying outside in the grass so early in the morning? What did Applejack mean by ‘she was all messed up?’

It wouldn’t be long before we had the answer; the aqua-eyed robot’s room was just around the bend.

As we rounded the corner, Dash’s speed wavered when she saw Pinkie Pie standing in the hall, just outside the door.

She was talking to a police officer.

Both Dash and I slowed. We closed the distance at a walking pace, listening, but were unable to hear what the officer was saying. Pinkie’s change in appearance was immediately noticeable: her face was blank, her head low. A major difference was her hair, which hung straight and limp as can be, showing its true length by hanging past her backside.

Even when Rainbow Dash and I were only ten feet away, Pinkie had yet to notice us approaching.

This was when Applejack emerged from the room, holding her hat to her chest.

“Uh… Pinkie Pie? She’s awake.”

Pinkie’s mouth dropped open and she turned away from the cop —who was in mid-sentence— to shove past AJ and disappear into the room. After a glance through the doorway, the farm girl turned to face Dash and I, letting her hat hang at her side.

“AJ? What’s going on?” Dash asked apprehensively.

“She’s uh... in here,” Applejack answered absentmindedly, waving us inside.

The rainbow-haired girl and I glanced at each other before following her in.

The room was a private one, all white, with a small, blue cabinet on the right and a large window on the left, casting what would have been bright sunlight across the bed—if a blanket of clouds hadn’t rolled in on our way across town.

The room was cluttered with familiar people. Sunset was standing to the left by the window, where AJ had joined her; on the immediate right was Twilight, who glanced at us as we entered. Past her, sitting in a chair was Rarity, with Fluttershy standing behind her, squeezing her shoulders.

Pinkie had pulled a chair to the bedside and was holding Maud’s hand, being careful not to disturb the IV lines coming from her wrist.

Maud herself looked especially pale. Her eyes were open, but it didn’t look like she knew where she was. Her shoulder, on the same side as the hand that Pinkie was holding, was heavily bandaged, as was the opposite foot, which was wrapped in a cast and supported by a large, foam cushion.

“What… happened?” Dash asked, uncharacteristically quiet.

Her voice prompted everyone to turn and look at us.

When they did, I was quick to notice something quite consistent: they all had smudged make-up—those who wore it, at least. Those who didn’t had red eyes, aside from AJ, who appeared quite stoic, but was certainly not her usual self.

I was unsettled by this, obviously. Something was very wrong here.

It wasn’t long before I noticed that Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had locked eyes and were staring at one another. After a tense moment, followed by a few blinks, Dash made her move. She slipped past Twilight to approach the shy girl.

As Fluttershy turned to face her, Dash threw her arms over the taller girl’s shoulders and hooked them around the back of her neck, pulling her in for a tight hug. Saying nothing, Fluttershy returned the embrace and locked eyes with me as Dash’s head found itself on her shoulder.

I gave her a smile. She attempted to send one back, but was unable to force it, which served as a quick reminder of where we were, let alone why we were all in this room in the first place.

I brought my eyes back to Maud. Pinkie was still sitting next to her, lost in her own little world and completely oblivious to the reunion.

She leaned closer to Maud, whose eyes opened further as she tried to ascertain where she was. After forcing down an uneasy swallow, Pinkie finally spoke. “Maudie? Can you hear me?” she said, very quietly.

I had never Pinkie speak this softly before.

After a slow blink, Maud’s head turned to face her sister. “Hi, Pinkie Pie.”

Pinkie attempted a comforting smile, but it was quickly shattered by trembling lips. A quick glance down to the bed helped the party-girl gather herself. She drew a breath and looked at her sister again.

“How do you feel?”

“Tired. And sore,” Maud droned as she glanced down at her shoulder, studying the bandages. Then she faced forward, letting a heavy pair of eyes sweep across the room, pausing briefly on each of us. “Why am I here?”

Pinkie reached out to touch her sister’s face, but stopped short. Her chubby, pink fingers hovered there, trembling, and then she withdrew, balling them into a fist that she put against her chest.

Maud brought her eyes back to her sister. “Pinkie…”

The party girl glanced toward the door, past me. I looked over my shoulder to find the cop standing right behind me with a notepad and pen, waiting. Pinkie watched him for a moment, not moving until she was able to face her sister again.

Exhaling slowly, Pinkie swallowed and gave Maud’s hand a squeeze. “Do you... remember anything about last night?”

Maud stared at Pinkie for what felt like an eternity. Then her eyes sank to the sheets. “No.”

The party-girl glanced down at her lap, deflated. After a deep breath with closed eyes, she looked up at her sister. “We… I-I found you outside this morning, under your bedroom window—which was open.”

Normally, anyone else would have looked befuddled by this, but Maud just looked blank. “Why?” she asked flatly.

“We think…” Pinkie paused and inhaled deeply to steel herself. “We think that you were trying to… get away.”

Maud blinked once.

Reluctant to continue, Pinkie had to force herself to speak. “Maudie, someone... came into the house last night.”

A blank stare. “Who?”

Pinkie shook her head. “W— … we don’t know.”

This seemed to rouse Maud, and she was prompted to glance around the room a second time, making eye contact with each of us. Then she brought her eyes —which were more alert now— back to her sister. “Pinkie, why are your friends here? Where’s mom and dad?”

The party girl froze. She covered her mouth when her bottom lip began to quiver, and she stared at Maud with eyes that quickly began to fill with moisture.

I have no idea how long this went on for, but it had to have been one of the longest moments I’d witnessed in a very long time.

The room was silent, save for the ticking of the clock, which seemed, by my perception, to have slowed and now sounded more like a deep clunk each time another second dragged itself past, becoming outdated and irrelevant, despite being some of the longest in history.

I glanced over at Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who had released one another to watch the conversation; Dash, who clearly shared the same fear as me, stared anxiously at the Pie sisters, hoping that what Pinkie’s silence alluded to wasn’t actually true.

“Pinkie,” Maud repeated, prompting her sister to lock eyes with her again. “Where are our parents?”

Pinkie didn’t move.

“Where’s Limestone?” Maud continued. “And Marble?”

The very mention of that final name caused Pinkie to shut her eyes, which squeezed a heavy stream of tears down her cheeks. They ran down, leaving wet trails and pooling on top of her hand, which was still sealed tightly over her mouth.

Maud became still when she saw her sister’s response; she slowly faced forward again, her eyes drifting down to her lap. She drew a deep breath. “Oh,” was all she said.

A gasp, broken into three rapid parts, found its way into Pinkie’s lungs when she knew that Maud understood, and she quickly lost her composure. She put her head down to hide her face in her arms, which were folded on the bedrail, her shoulders bouncing rapidly as she bawled in silence.

Maud simply stared down at her legs, still as a statue.

By now, Rainbow Dash’s head was whipping back and forth, searching the room for someone who might tell her something better. “No way,” she said. “This can’t—you guys!” She stopped when she met eyes with Applejack, who was glaring back at her sternly. To Dash’s horror, AJ stared for a moment, sighed, and then shook her head.

The message was heart-wrenchingly clear, and the athlete’s eyes widened as she turned the other way to look at Fluttershy, who, after only a second or two, turned away in time to hide her tears.

I stood by the doorway, arms folded, watching the scene take place. It was surreal; perhaps, if I slept, I could chock this up to being a bad dream, but no. Sadly, this was really happening.

I watched, feeling completely ineffectual as the pink girl cried at her sister’s side, her long, flaccid hair draped over the bedrail and most of the way to the floor while her sister sat in the bed, completely devoid of… anything resembling emotion.

I was no stranger to loss. I’d been through a great deal of it as I traveled throughout the centuries —while causing my share of it— but this, happening to these girls? This hit hard.

We, as a solid unit, had dealt with plenty over the past year. This group didn’t deserve this. Granted, most people don’t, but these women, who I’d gotten to know, who I’d become protective of, who I could trust, who I felt safe with, who I’d fallen in love with—they did nothing to earn this. Especially Pinkie: the happiest, silliest, most harmless, most innocent person one could meet; she deserved this least of all. It didn’t matter that her relationship with her family had been rocky as of late, she still loved them. We all knew this.

But now here she was, utterly destroyed, reduced to tears in front of all of us.

The smell of vanilla invaded my senses. My attention was captured by it, and I brought my eyes down to find the face of Rarity right in front of me. Her smooth, white cheeks were tracked with mascara, her eyes heavy and moist, staring into mine in search of comfort. When she found none, she simply leaned forward and buried her face in my chest, her arms snaking their way around my lower back.

As I wrapped her shoulders in a hug, I looked around the room while the heat of her face soaked through my shirt. Twilight was in the same spot; she stood motionless, staring into space. AJ was much the same. Rainbow Dash had taken a seat on the floor and leaned against the wall, hugging her knees as she stared downward with empty eyes. Fluttershy sat next to her with her feet sprawled out, resting her temple against the side of Dash’s head with streams of moisture lining her cheeks.

Sunset stood with her back to the window, mindlessly running her fingers through her hair, her eyes fixated on nothing in particular. I watched her for a moment; something seemed to click in her mind and she looked up at Pinkie for a few seconds, then she turned to lock eyes with me as if she could feel me looking at her.

She watched me with those turquoise eyes. Then she attempted a smile, but failed—presumably because a smile felt inappropriate, given the situation. She cleared her throat and approached me, slipping past an immobile Applejack to fill the spot next to me and the fashionista.

Our eyes never lost sight of one another the entire time, and the look she was giving me reflected the look I knew I was giving her; a look of resolve, a look that clearly expressed what we were both wondering:

Who was responsible for this?

I turned to look into the hall where the cop was standing, currently facing the other direction. Then I brought my eyes back to Sunset. “Did you, uh…?” I finished by tipping my head toward the officer.

Sunset sighed and then folded her arms, nodding. “Yeah. He doesn’t know anything.”

Pursing my lips, I glanced at the Pie sisters again.

The red-head reached out and tapped my arm. “Don’t worry. Whoever did this, they can’t hide from me.”

Rarity was prompted to speak up, her words muffled until she lifted her head to look at me. “But why? Who would do this? And to such a sweet family?”

“I don’t know,” I replied, after which I planted a kiss on her forehead. “But me and Sunny are gonna find out. And when we do, you’ll have a chance to practice your carving skills little more.”

“Indeed.”

Sunset raised a hand, eyes closed. “Just… hold on, you two. There’ll be lots of time to talk about that, but right now, we have no idea who did this.”

“Ohh…” Rarity grimaced as she glanced over her shoulder towards the bed. “I suppose you’re right, darling. So sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Sunset replied quietly.

Rarity sighed. “I suppose… we should be thankful, really. I mean, that we still have Pinkie Pie—and Maud, obviously. Fortunately, Pinkie Pie was watching movies with Applejack last night; I shudder to think what might have happened if she’d been at home.”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah. Thank Celestia for AJ.” She paused, and then raised a brow before looking at me with her eyes widened. “Wait… what about Sonata? Where was she last night?”

“She’s fine,” I replied. “She showed up at Flutters’ when Twi and I were… talking, and uh, you guys had already gone out to the field, so… you kinda missed her.”

Rarity paused. “Wait. Sonata was at Fluttershy’s last night?”

“Yeah. She showed up in Pinks’ car; said she went to the Pie’s first and Pinks wasn’t there, and I guess she didn’t know the way to AJ’s so she just came to Flutters’ to watch TV and hang out with Link.”

A light scowl marked the fashionista’s brow. “Hm. How very… convenient. For her.”

“Did you not notice Pinks’ car when you left?” I asked. “I’m kinda surprised you guys didn’t know she was there.”

Rarity rolled her eyes and huffed quietly. “For your information, we were just getting ready to leave the field when Pinkie Pie texted us to tell us what had happened, so we hurried back to the yard to get our cars and come to town. It’s not like we stopped to take inventory of whose vehicles were there!”

I took my hands from her shoulders to hold them up in defence. “OK, fine. Jeez.”

“Take it easy, you too,” Sunset cut in. “But yeah, anyway… you’re right, Rare; she’s lucky she didn’t stick around Pinks’ house or she might have ended up like the rest of them. Maybe.” She shook her head, frowning. “Or maybe not. Who knows? Sonata’s definitely been around the block a few times—it’s hard to say if she could have fended-off whoever that was. Not that it really matters now.”

Rarity began to rub her chin thoughtfully.

I faced Sunset. “You think ‘Us’ would’ve had anything to do this?”

Sunset bit her lip and thought about it for a moment. “No,” she said, giving her head a shake. “What would be the point? They wanted super-soldiers; they wanted us. They had no interest in murdering a family—even if they were connected to us. If anything, you’d think they would have threatened them, you know? Hold them ransom to try to get us to turn ourselves in. If they murder them right off the bat, they’ve got nothing to bargain with; plus, Chrysalis knows damn well I’d be on her doorstep in a heartbeat, ready to kill her ass if they did something like that.”

“Yeah.” With a sigh, I brought my hand up to rub my temple. “I dunno. It doesn’t make sense. Who else would do this?”

“No idea,” Sunset replied. “The Pies weren’t exactly known for having enemies.”

“Hm.” I stewed for a moment, chewing the inside of my cheek. “I take it there’s no footage on the app we can look at?”

Sunset shook her head. “Already checked. There’re no cameras out there in the boonies.”

“Shit.” I glanced down to the right to check on Fluttershy. Her eyelashes were wet, her cheeks glistening. Rainbow Dash looked numb as can be. “You’re probably right about ‘Us’ though, Sunny. This isn’t really their style, but we shouldn’t jump to any conclusions just yet. Not ‘til we at least know something. Still, I can’t see ‘Us’ having the balls to mess with us like this. They’ve seen what we can do when we’re pissed off, right Rar—“ I paused, expecting the indigo-haired girl to be there.

But she was gone.

“Uh…” I took a look around, including a quick glance into the hall, but the only thing left of the fashionista was her scent. “Where’d she go?”

“Not sure,” Sunset replied inattentively. “I didn’t see where she went.”

“Prolly went to the shitter to fix her make-up,” I figured, to which Sunset seemed to agree.

The red-head and I faced the bed again, watching the sisters mourn together as we submerged ourselves in contemplative silence. Pinkie had lifted her head and was wiping her eyes and cheeks with her hands. As soon as her vision was clear enough to see her sister, however, she covered her mouth and broke down again. After a few minutes of this, I turned back to Sunset again, unable to endure it all.

“So…” I said with a sigh. “Any ideas?”

Sunset pursed her lips, deep in thought.

I faced her. “Sunny?”

She turned to me suddenly, eyes wide. “Oh… uh, honestly? I’ve gotta wait to hear back from Shining Armor first.”

“Twi’s brother? Why?” I asked, raising a brow.

“Well, I sent him a message telling him what happened. He’s gonna see what he can find out about the case. If he could become the Crown, I’ll have access through him to the files, and all the evidence that the police have. I’ll know everything they know, which’ll give us a major advantage in finding whoever did this.”

“You clever girl.”

She folded her arms. “I might even be able to investigate the crime scene myself—but that’s kind of a stretch. We won’t know until Shiny gets the assignment; hopefully he does—and soon.”

“We’re gonna find this fucking guy, Sunny.” I said, nudging her arm.

“Yeah.”

A soft tap declared its presence on my shoulder, and I turned to see who it was.

Fluttershy. “Um… Goldie? Do you know where Rare went?”

After a quick glance into the hall, I locked onto those heavy teal eyes again. “Not sure. I think she might have gone to the washroom, but I’m not really sure. Why?”

The shy girl held her phone up. “I just tried to text her, but it said she was unavailable.”

I looked at the phone. She was correct; her message had been thwarted by a red exclamation point.

“Hm.” I took my own phone out and sent her a text—one that might rouse her attention.

ME: Ur missing the 4 way, sugarpuss

After the pinwheel of artificial thought made half a dozen revolutions, a smaller note popped up under my message.

“Huh. That’s weird.” Sunset stood next to me to see the screen. I switched over to The App to track Rarity’s location, but unfortunately, her beacon was nowhere to be found. “Shit… she must have her phone off.”

Sunset shook her head, frowning. “Why would she do that?”

“I dunno, but…” I paused to count the beacons that represented the rest of us, all of which were in one spot: in this very room. “I have no idea where she is now.”

“W-what could she be doing?” Fluttershy asked. “And why doesn’t she want us to know where she is?”

I shook my head and switched to the outside cameras to see if her car had left the parking lot, but was yet again met with something unexpected.

“What the fuck?” I furrowed by brows at the screen.

“What?” Sunset asked, leaning closer to see.

“The cameras are off.”

“Damn it,” Sunset huffed.

“Yeah,” I continued. “They’re off all the way across the south end of town; I take it that was her.”

“What the fuck is she up to? Can you turn them back on?” Sunset asked.

“I don’t see why not,” I replied as I circled the area with my finger to highlight it. “I don’t get why she’d—“

Before I was able to hit the icon to turn the cameras back on, something struck me. “Oh shit.” I faced Sunset, mouth ajar. “We gotta go,” I said as I put my phone away.

“What? Why?” Sunset asked, surprised.

“I know where she’s going,” I said, prompting the red-head to raise a brow.

“Where?” she asked.

“Well where are you usually headed when you go through the south end of town?”

The red-head stared at me for a few seconds, then we both turned to look at Fluttershy, who shrunk into herself once she realised she was being scrutinized.

Then Sunset shook her head and brought her eyes back to me. “But… wait, why would she be going there?”

“What was the last thing she said before she left?” I asked.

“Uhh…” Sunset furrowed her brows, shifting her jaw side-to-side as she tried to remember. “We were… talking about the Pies, and how lucky it was that Pinkie was at AJ’s… uh… and then—“ She paused and then gasped suddenly; her eyes locked onto mine, wide as can be. “Oh shit, Sonata!”

“Is your bike here?” I asked quickly.

She nodded.

“Good. You’ll be able to get out there faster than anyone else.”

“Got it. On my way,” she said as she began to step past me to leave.

“And take Twi with you.”

Sunset stopped and looked back at me, confused.

“Just take her, Sunny,” I insisted. “If Rare gets violent, Twi is the only one who’ll be able to stop her.”

Her eyes widened at the thought, but she understood and gave a quick nod. “Right. Twi!” she shouted, turning to face her dazed friend. “TWI!”

The lavender girl snapped out of whatever it was she was staring at, blinked a few times, and then faced Sunset. “Huh?”

The red-head waved her along. “We gotta go. Now!”

“Why? What’s happening?”

“I’ll tell you on the way, just come on!”

Sunset rushed out of the room with a confused Twilight following close behind. With them now gone, Fluttershy and I locked eyes.

She looked worried. “Oh dear. You don’t think she would hurt Sonata, do you?”

“I dunno,” I said, pulling her into a hug. “Hopefully not, but Rare’s been untrusting of her since the beginning and, to be honest, I kinda see why she’d suspect her; it was a pretty lucky move for her to come to your house last night.”

“Hmm.” The shy girl rested her temple on my shoulder.

As we held onto each other, something blocked the light from the window on my left, and I turned to find Applejack standing beside us.

“What’s all the hoopla about?” she asked, nodding toward the door.

“We’re pretty sure Rare is blaming Sonata for this,” I explained, nodding to Pinkie and her sister as I spoke. “Sunny and Twi are gonna go make sure she doesn’t do anything crazy.”

“Whut? Shit…” AJ sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “That god-dang drama queen.”

I placed my hands on Fluttershy’s arms to separate us. “I should go, too.”

My girlfriend sighed, looked down, and then nodded.

“Can I come?” AJ asked. “Ya might need my help, and… I reckon I don’t like hospitals much—‘specially lately.”

I gave her a nod. “Yeah, you can come. How about you, Flutters?” I asked, facing the shy girl again.

“Um…” She turned to look at the sisters, then she looked over her shoulder at Rainbow Dash, who was still seated on the floor. “I… I think I’ll stay here with Pinkie and Maud. And Dashie.”

I nodded. “Fair enough,” I said, leaning in for a kiss.

“Text me to let me know everything’s OK,” Fluttershy requested.

“I will. Don’t worry; it’s gonna be fine.” I turned and waved AJ along. “Let’s go.”

Once AJ and I had left, Fluttershy sighed and headed back to where Rainbow Dash was sitting. She slid down the wall and then folded her arms on her knees, glancing up at Maud, who hadn’t moved a muscle since she’d learned her family was gone.

Then, Rainbow Dash surprised her by speaking.

“I am such a jerk.”

Fluttershy turned to her friend, eyes wide. “Why would you say that?”

After a sigh, Dash replied. “Because of… what I was gonna do.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I was sick,” she replied, studying her hands as she spoke. “I was ready to let myself go down in some dumb blaze of glory—to show everyone how awesome and brave I was… and for what?” She faced the shy girl, her eyes full of moisture. “No one would have cared about that. It wouldn’t have mattered to you guys how it happened; just that it happened, and you would have felt like…” —she looked up at the pair of devastated sisters— “like that.” She faced Fluttershy again, clearly struggling to keep her tears at bay. “I get it now. I see why you did what you did, Flutters: you didn’t want to feel like this, like I feel right now.”

Fluttershy was quiet. She glanced at the bed briefly, watching the pink girl stare vacantly at the sheets, cheeks soaked. “It’s so much more… real than you expect, when you actually lose someone. No one really thinks about it until it’s staring them in the face.” She returned her eyes to Rainbow Dash and sighed. “But... I still feel awful about what I did.”

Unable to keep it together, the rainbow-haired girl closed her eyes and began to sob, teeth gritted, bottom lip shaking. “I’m sorry, Flutters…” she squeaked, leaning into her friend’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I tried to do this to everyone. A-and… I’m sorry I was a jerk to you for saving me.”

“Oh, Dashie…” Fluttershy wrapped her arms around her friend, whose tears soaked her soft, pink hair. She’d barely made out what Dash had said through her sobbing, but she still got the message. “It’s OK,” she said, running her fingers through those coloured locks. “It didn’t turn out that way. And I’m sorry I did what I did, too, but I couldn’t stand the thought of having to live forever without you.”

Fluttershy slowly turned to face the bed, sighing as she let her friend cry on her shoulder. After a moment of rumination, she cleared her throat to speak again, softly.

“I may have saved you, but I couldn’t save us from this. It looks like the universe had other plans; like we were meant to suffer in some way.” She let her head tip back to rest against the wall, her eyes shifting to the ceiling. “It’s like Goldie always says: these things happen whenever they want. Death is never courteous.”

***

Outside, Applejack and I made the long run from the building to the parking lot. The wind was blowing hard, making AJ hold onto her hat to keep it in place, squinting her eyes as the rain blew in sideways, pelting us relentlessly with droplets that were just above freezing.

Once we reached my truck, I unlocked it as fast as I could and we both climbed inside, pulling the doors shut to find relief from the elements.

“Dang it!” AJ cursed as she removed her hat to straighten the brim, her hair blown into a soaking mess.

I glanced over at her as I slipped the key into the ignition to start the engine, feeling droplets of water run down my nose.

“Where in the hell did this piss-poor weather come from!?” AJ sniffled as she wiped her face and then plopped her hat on again. “Hard ta believe it was so nice just a little while ago.”

“I dunno,” I said, dropping the shifter into gear to head for the exit. “Hopefully it doesn’t slow Sunny and Twi down too much.”

She glanced over at me. “Ya don’t really think that… Rarity’ll hurt Sonata, do ya?”

I shook my head. “I hope not, but I can’t be too sure. People can do some weird things when stuff like this happens; everyone has their own way of dealing with it.” I looked over at the farm girl. “Rare’s just… upset. She needs answers. Someone needs to be held accountable for this, and since she saw a legitimate reason to suspect Sonata, she’ll be fixated on her, and she’s gonna act on it.”

AJ shook her head. “Ugh… dang it, Rarity. What d’ya always gotta be so dramatic fer?” She licked her lip and then paused, looking over at me, curious. “D’ya think Sonata had anythin ta do with it?”

“I doubt it,” I replied. “And this is why we gotta make sure Rare doesn’t hurt her; not just cuz she’s probably not at fault, but because Pinks in gonna need her. She’ll never forgive Rare if she takes Sonata away from her, too.” I gave a sigh and glanced at AJ. “I just hope Rare realises that before it’s too late.”

*****

After rolling into her girlfriend’s driveway, Rarity brought her car to a skidding halt.

She shut the engine off and opened the door to get out, glancing at herself in the rear view mirror before exiting. She took note of her appearance, which was atypically haggard—though this was one of those extremely rare instances in which she didn’t care one iota. The run from the hospital lobby to her car had all but destroyed her carefully crafted appearance, which had already been tarnished by her tears: those beautifully coiffed locks of indigo were blown down and nearly blackened by the rain. It hung straight and scraggly down the sides of her face, and her make-up had bled from her eyes and ran down her cheeks, looking like dark, poisonous flowers that stood on long, black stems.

But she didn’t care. There was only one thing on her mind right then.

Rarity exited the car in haste, re-entering the dastardly wind that would do well to add insult to her appearance’s injury; on her way to the front door the rain blew her hair, which whipped around her face, snagging a few dried leaves from the previous fall that happened to fly past.

She shoved the front door open and entered the house. Inside, sitting in the middle of the couch was Sonata, still watching TV. Rarity’s fists balled when she saw that blue bob peeking over the backrest, its owner enjoying herself like all was well in the world.

Rarity swung the door shut and marched forward, leaving wet prints on the floor, surrounded by a trail water of drops that fell from the tips of her hair. She approached the couch from behind; apparently Sonata was too engrossed in the show to notice the racket, and so she continued to face forward—right up until Rarity grabbed her shoulders and yanked her over the back of the couch, tossing her to the floor, next to the table.

Stunned and curious —and a little sore— Sonata looked up to see what had happened, but then let out a bloodcurdling scream when she saw the cadaverous aggressor standing over her.

“AAAAAHHH! Samara Morgan!”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “Ugh! Shut-up, you… you… buffoon!”

Recognising the voice, Sonata’s breathing ceased, her eyes wide with shock. “R— … Rarity? What happened?”

“Yyyyyou!” Rarity snarled, stepping forward, which in turn caused Sonata to crawl backward a few inches. “I KNEW IT! I knew all along you couldn’t be trusted, but did they listen to me? Oohhh no!”

“What are you talking about?”

The frazzle-ista wagged a finger at the siren. “Can it! Your inexcusably lame acting does not fool me. D’you really expect me to believe you are THAT lucky? That you just happened to be here when it all went down? Ohh, how perfectly convenient it is!”

Sonata blinked, utterly dumbfounded and confused by the rant.

“Don’t think for a second that can’t see through it,” Rarity continued, holding a finger up as she stepped over Sonata, positioning herself so the siren’s hips were between her feet. “You came here to hide-out while the deed was being done; you didn’t dare go to Applejack’s either, because you didn’t have the gall to smile in Pinkie Pie’s face when you knew what was happening!”

Mouth open, Sonata shook her head. “I… I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“PPFFT! Please!” Rarity huffed. “Spare me your phony nonsense. You may have fooled the others —even Sunset— but you don’t fool me! They trusted you. PINKIE PIE trusted you! I tried to tell them, but they wouldn’t listen.” As Rarity spoke, she raised one hand above her head, ready to receive the weapon that she would summon. “And now, because of our naiveté, the Pies are DEAD!”

Sonata froze, a look of horror taking hold of her features. “What!?”

Rarity paused when she saw the reaction. Jaw clenched, she stared down at the siren through a curtain of stringy hair, polluted with bits of old leaf. Her fingers trembled in the air as they waited for a blade to appear… but it didn’t. Not yet.

While Rarity’s conviction was strong, Sonata’s response was so genuine, so believable, it had caused her to waver.

Could Sonata’s acting be this convincing?

Rarity closed her eyes and shook her head to clear the thought from her mind. She drew a breath and reached higher, but again, she stopped when she saw the devastated maroon eyes of her foe looking up at her.

Sure, she could do it. Rarity could conjure up a nice, long blade, and with one quick swipe, it would be all over.

But what if she was wrong?

As she pondered this, her fingers hung in the air. She wiggled them once, and then a second time.

Were the sirens trustworthy? No. Were they scheming, conniving witches with a thirst for power? Absolutely, they were. But was Sonata an orchestrator? A mastermind? Or even a good actress?

Hardly.

Rarity remembered back in high school, Sunset telling them after the battle of the bands about her first encounter with the sirens in the front foyer. She remembered her saying that Sonata had almost exposed their plans, right then and there.

It was a trait that was hard to ignore: Sonata was not very good at deception. And now, she looked completely shattered by what she’d just been told.

Rarity’s time for ruminating on this came to an abrupt end when the front door burst open and in popped a soaking wet Twilight Sparkle, whose eyes widened upon seeing the stance Rarity had taken over the siren.

She gasped deeply. “Rarity, NO!” Twilight quickly brought both hands forward, stepping into her attack.

A burst of magenta-coloured energy erupted before Rarity and she soared backwards over the couch, landing out of sight on the hard, wooden floor with a loud thud.

Twilight withdrew her hands as Sunset entered and slipped past her, running towards Sonata. The red-head knelt by the siren, unintentionally dripping water on her—although she didn’t notice as she was quite understandably shaken by everything she’d just witnessed. As quickly and inconspicuously as she could, Sunset put her hand on Sonata’s forearm, her body tensing as a millennium’s worth of memories tried to surge through her.

She released her hold after a few seconds, sighed, then looked up at Twilight as she slowly approached, hands clasped to her chest, anxious to know what Sunset had learned.

After a deep breath, Sunset shook her head.

Exhaling, Twilight’s shoulders dropped.

Sunset brought her attention back to the siren. “Are you OK?” she asked, placing her hand on her shoulder.

Sonata just stared at the back of the couch, her breaths short and erratic.

“Hey!” Sunset shouted.

This snapped Sonata out of her trance and she locked eyes with the red-head, her breath trapped in her throat. “S-Sunset?”

“Yeah, it’s me,” she replied softly. “Are you OK?”

Sonata looked down at herself. “Um… yeah. I think. My elbow kinda hurts, but other than that I think I’m OK.”

Sunset nodded and gave the siren’s shoulder a squeeze. “Good.”

After staring for a moment, Sonata gulped and looked up at the red-head. “What did she mean, ‘the Pies are dead’? Is that true?”

Sunset paused. Then she licked her lip, looked down, and nodded.

Sonata drew a breath and placed a hand in front of her mouth. “But… when? How?”

“Last night. They were murdered. We don’t know exactly how—and we don’t know why, either.”

The siren’s eyes began to shift back and forth, then they widened and locked with Sunset’s again. “Is… P…?”

Sunset shook her head and gave Sonata’s shoulder a rub. “No. Pinkie’s fine; she was at AJ’s last night.”

“Ohh… that’s right.” A sigh of relief. Then a furrowed brow. “But… everyone else?”

“Maud’s in the hospital. She’s hurt pretty bad, but she’s gonna be OK.” Sunset glanced up at Twilight before continuing. “But, uh, everyone else is… gone.”

Sonata’s mouth hung open, her face blank. She slowly faced forward and stared at the back of the couch, blinking randomly.

***

It was about this time that Applejack and I arrived; I pulled off to the side and parked in the spot that I had come to consider mine. We jumped out and made our way to the front door through the wicked wind and rain, AJ with a tight grip on her hat as she kept her head down.

Sunset’s motorcycle was there, which looked like it had been abandoned rather hastily; there were two helmets lying on the ground between it and the front door, which was standing open. AJ stepped inside first. I followed, closing the door behind me.

“Is e’erybody OK in here?” she asked loudly, removing her hat.

Sunset was kneeling behind the couch next to Sonata, who was on the floor, with Twilight standing nearby. Link was seated next to the siren, curious about what was going on. All of them turned to face us when they heard the farm girl’s voice.

“Everyone’s OK; we’re good,” Sunset answered after failing a smile.

“Where’s Rare?” I asked, noting her absence.

“Um…” Twilight unclasped her hands to point at the far side of the room. “She’s behind the couch… on the floor.”

I could see it in Twilight’s face immediately: she looked guilty. After giving her a quick glance, I nodded and started past her. As I did, she turned her head to follow me.

“Sorry.”

I stopped and faced her, then I gave her shoulder a pat. I made my way around the couch next, looking for my girlfriend.

She was on the floor in front of the couch, curled up in child’s pose, hugging her stomach. Her forehead was against the floor, surrounded by a scraggly fan of long, wet hair.

I sighed and knelt down beside her, using a finger to sweep the cold locks aside so I could see her face, which was stained with mascara and contorted by sorrow.

She was weeping silently.

I placed a hand between her shoulder blades, feeling the cold dampness in her clothing. “Rare?”

No response.

I leaned down, putting my face close to hers. “Hey… it’s me,” I said softly.

Still, she said nothing; only her sobs were audible, her voice squeaking out between her teeth.

I straightened up again and sighed. Then I reached around her and rolled her against me. “OK… come on, let’s get you off the floor,” I said as I scooped her up in my arms and carried her to the couch.

I sat Rarity on the middle cushion and knelt before her, resting my hands on her knees as she hid her face in her hands, not knowing what else to do.

The cushion next to her sank when Twilight sat, wringing her hands nervously.

“I… I’m really sorry, Rarity,” she said quietly. “I just… I panicked when I saw you standing over her like that.”

Rarity took a deep breath and let her hands slide away from her face. They flopped down to her lap as she let her head fall back to stare up at the ceiling. She sniffled and then shook her head. “She had no idea, did she?”

Twilight, chewing her lip, glanced over the back of the couch at Sonata, then returned her eyes to Rarity with a pause. Then she shook her head.

Rarity saw the response from the corner of her eye, and she brought one hand up to cover her eyes, leaving her mouth exposed, her lips stiff and quivering.

She was lost. We all were. Pinkie’s family had been destroyed, and none of us knew why. There was no one to hold accountable, and Rarity was just now realising what’d she’d almost done: she was desperate for justice, but in her haste, she had blamed the wrong person and was ready to end them.

Behind the couch, Sunset listened as Rarity began to sob all over again. She kept her eyes on Sonata, who was still in a daze and staring into space.

The red-head glanced up at Applejack next, who was still standing by the door. She held her hat by her side, which was dribbling water into a small puddle on the floor, next to her foot.

Her eyes locked with Sunset’s suddenly, and after a short stare between them, AJ tossed her hat onto the shoe mat and turned to open the front door. She stepped outside, leaving the door open behind her.

Sunset watched as the farm girl walked straight out, about fifteen feet into the driveway. It was a surreal sight: AJ stood, hands on her hips, the wind whipping her pony tail, the rain soaking her shirt as she stared off into the trees, not caring about any of it.

Then, out of nowhere, a burst of rage erupted from the farm girl; she stepped forward, wound her leg up and kicked a swath of gravel across the yard, leaving a long, deep groove in the driveway.

Sunset’s eyes widened when she saw this and she stood immediately, almost forgetting about the siren. She stopped and looked down at Sonata, who looked up at her curiously, but sadly. Sunset held a hand out to signal her to remain still. “Just… stay here, K? Everything’s gonna be fine.”

Sonata let her head fall, and she nodded silently as Sunset headed outside. Sitting next to the siren, Link lifted a paw and gently patted her leg, inviting her to pet him for a scrap of comfort.

Sunset folded her arms as she stepped into that unforgiving wind, her hair and jacket whipping violently around her. She stopped several feet from AJ, who was pinching the bridge of her nose, head down, eyes closed.

“How’re you holding up?” Sunset asked, having to shout over the roar of the wind.

Applejack opened her eyes and turned when she heard Sunset’s voice, and the two locked eyes.

“Eh… I’m fine.”

Sunset raised a brow and then looked down at the gouge that’d been dug by AJ’s foot.

Applejack followed suit, chewing her bottom lip as she studied the mark. Then she closed her eyes and swallowed. “I… uh…”

“You wanna talk about it?”

AJ paused. Then she sighed. “I… when I dropped Pinkie off this mornin, I drove away, not knowin what’d happened. I left her there, ta find her family… in the house like that. All by herself. She found Maud last, a’ course. Lucky she made it; she coulda froze ta death out there, ‘specially bleedin the way she was.”

Sunset scuffed her feet in the gravel as she listened.

Applejack paused, staring at the ground. Then she said something rather unexpected. “This whole thing’s my fault.”

Shocked, Sunset brought her eyes up to her friend. “What? AJ, why would you think that?”

“Cuz, I…“ Applejack’s hand waved in the air, trying to gesture her words out. “Pinkie Pie invited me ta go over there fer ‘Predator’ night, and... I didn’t wanna go, cuz I didn’t wanna hang out with ‘er family. You know how they been lately! Plus I thought it might be nice fer her ta get outta the house fer once… ‘specially since Sonata weren’t around. But then lookit… LOOKIT WHUT HAPPENED!”

Sunset shook her head, knowing where this was going. “You can’t blame yoursel—“

“I shoulda been there!” she shouted suddenly, taking the red-head by surprise. “But I wasn’t, cuz I was bein selfish and only thinkin a’ m’self.”

“AJ… there’s no way you could have seen this coming,” Sunset replied. “This is not your fault.”

“Well that’s easy fer you ta say. The Pies ain’t dead cuz a’ you!”

Sunset huffed and shook her head. Then she faced AJ again. “They’re not dead because of you either.”

AJ started to turn away, not caring that her face was being battered by the rain. “I shoulda been there, plain and simple! They might still be alive right now if I… I-I coulda did s-somethin…”

Those last words wavered when they came out, and she slapped a hand over her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut.

This took Sunset by surprise. AJ was not known to lose control of her emotions. She couldn’t even remember the last time she saw the farm girl break down. Not knowing what else to do, Sunset stepped forward quickly and wrapped her friend in a tight hug.

AJ was quick to return the embrace, struggling desperately to hold in her sobs. They held each other there, standing together in the driveway as the nasty wind and rain blew past them, soaking their clothes and hair.

“I… I fucked up, Sunset,” AJ whimpered, her voice right next to the red-head’s ear. “This was the whole reason I got turnt, so I could pertect the people ‘round me; so I could stop things like this from happenin.”

“You didn’t fuck up, AJ… anymore than the rest of us did. Nobody saw this coming.”

Applejack exhaled into Sunset’s hair, then she shook her head.

“Listen,” Sunset continued. “Remember Golds’ story from the Wild West. Remember the family he was trying to help.”

AJ swallowed, but said nothing.

“Do you remember what he said about that? He said, sometimes these things just happen. It doesn’t matter how much you try to stop it, you can’t keep everyone safe all the time. You can’t be everywhere at once, and sometimes the universe just has other plans.”

“But… I can’t help feelin guilty ‘bout it. If I could go back, I could—”

“But you can’t go back. What’s done is done; there’s nothing we can do about it now, so none of that matters. What matters is what we do next.”

Applejack drew a deep, shaky breath. “And what are we doin next?”

Sunset released AJ and backed away just enough to look her in the face. “I’m gonna find out who did this, and then we’re gonna settle the score.”

After staring for a moment, Applejack’s eyes closed and she let out a sigh. “Dang. What happened ta the good ol’ days when we used ta solve these things with friendship?”

“Those things from before? They were caused by Equestrian magic. They could only be stopped by magic—the magic of friendship. But this? This is not magic. This is something different; magic can’t fix this.” Sunset paused for a moment and reached up to wipe the rain from her face. “Besides… do you really wanna be friends with whoever did this?”

AJ’s eyes opened again. She cocked her head to the side, and then shook it slowly.

“Nah. Not really.”

Author's Notes:

And so begins our main plot.