My Little Secret

by IJAB

Chapters

• Our Little Secret
• Hatchet To Ya
• Elementary, My Dear Sparkle
• No I'm Not, I'm a Chicken!

Our Little Secret

Pinkie Pie sat in her small room on the second floor of Sugarcube Corner, her eyes narrow and her pulse rising. She held in her hoof, today's issue of Equestria Daily. A news article about the latest major crime in Ponyville caught her attention. The brutal murder of Plum Sweet, a simple mare who worked making and selling sweets to foals. Reports indicate an intoxicated stallion approached her in the evening and made sexual advances, to which she refused, then he got violent.

She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, then continued reading. He was recently convicted and sentenced to death. After just over a month he faced his sentence, they sat him in a comfortable chair, and gave him a quick injection to the neck. He closed his eyes and fell asleep, painless and easy. "Justice has been served." Or so claimed this article. In Pinkie's eyes, this was the biggest injustice imaginable. She could only think of the confusion and terror in Plum Sweet's eyes as she endured  a pain beyond imagination. A savage brutal rape and beating leading to the death of a young sweet mare in exchange for a calm peaceful death proceeding a delicious meal. Something wasn't right with Equestrian "justice", something had to give. These monsters we were ensuring didn't have their pony rights violated were being rewarded with something most of the kindest ponies in the world would give anything for, a peaceful painless death.

The teary eyed pink pony angrily crumpled the paper up in her hooves and threw it across the room.

***

Pinkie saw each of her most recent party guests out the door, thanking every one of them for attending her celebration. Twilight Sparkle was the last to leave, she stopped and took the time to thank the party mare for having her company. With a quick and enthusiastic nod, Pinkie shut the door and began cleaning the rather large mess left behind by her friends. She never minded cleaning up, she saw it as another part of the party. Less fun, but important. Sometimes a couple of her friends would offer to stay behind and help clean up, but not tonight. It was late and they all were ready for some much needed sleep. She hummed happily to herself as she went along with her chores. As she wrapped up the last bit of cleaning, she realized that she was still strangely wide awake despite how late it had gotten. She looked out her window, the moon was shining dimly through a thin layer of clouds, no stars could be seen. Suddenly she heard an abrupt knock at the door. The startling break in silence caused her to jump, feeling embarrassed she walked towards the door.

“Who is it?” She asked with the utmost enthusiasm.

There was no response.

Pinkie’s interest was sparked, so she trotted over to the door and looked outside. She didn't see anything other than the empty streets, no pony in sight.

“Where’d you go?” She called out, the only reply was her own echo.

She ventured off, peeking around the corners, it was too dark to make anything out. She shuddered in the chilly night air, then turned around to head back inside, looking over her shoulder the whole way back. As she approached her door, she was startled to see a large dark brown stallion looming in front of the entrance. His eyes seemed to be shaking, and his mane was short and choppy.

"Oh hi there. Where'd you come from?" Pinkie smiled, trying to seem as friendly as possible.

"I... I just wanted to say, I think you're, really pretty." The bulky earth pony spoke slowly and with periodic pauses, as if speaking was difficult for him.

"Uh... Thanks?" Pinkie's smile turned into a worried frown.

"I've been watching you, lately, I, I think I'm in love with you." The big stallion stared down at Pinkie, waiting patiently for her reply.

"Whoa there big boy, I don't even know you. That's just creepy." Pinkie recoiled at his strange proclamation.

He hung his head and looked as if he were about to begin crying. "I knew you'd hate me..."

"Oh hey now, I don't hate you. I just don't know you yet. Now lift that mopey head up and smile. Pinkie won't allow any pouty sad heads around here!"

She trotted up to him, putting a hoof on his shoulder, then she put on the biggest most cheesy smile she could muster over the awkwardness of the situation. The large pony took this sign of affection as a welcome to share his own. He tightly grabbed Pinkie with his front hooves, hugging her with a crushing grip. Pinkie coughed as the air was quickly forced out of her lungs. She pushed her hooves up against him and tried to fight out of his grasp, but he was simply too strong and his hooves were tightly interlocked behind her. Tears welled up in her eyes, and began to drip on his shoulder.

"Why, are you crying. I thought hugs made you happy." He finally let go of Pinkie, who fell to the ground gasping for air.

"Not.. Not when they hurt..." Pinkie shuffled onto her hooves, and back away from the aggressive stallion.

"Why are you even here? Please just leave me alone!"

"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to hurt you with the hug, let me make you feel better." He walked up to Pinkie with surprising speed and reached out to grab her again.

Pinkie stumbled backwards, tumbling down to the dirt road. She scurried across the dirt and gravel, trying her best to keep her distance, but the persistent stallion followed, still reaching out for her, walking on his back two hooves. He looked down at Pinkie as she frantically tried to regain her balance and run away. She saw his eyes moving up and down her body, and knew if he caught up to her it wouldn't end well. The brown stallion focused his gaze on Pinkie's eyes, licking his lips as he thought about grabbing her again. Pinkie began to gallop away down the road, she hoped she could get to Fluttershy's house and hide inside until they could call for help.

"Don't run please, I want to make you feel good."

Pinkie tightly shut her eyes, trying to ignore everything he said. She opened them again, Fluttershy's house was in view. She looked back, the huge brown stallion was in full gallop, gaining on her with every hoofstep. She reached the door and began to bang on it rapidly with her hooves. She looked into the windows, no light was coming from within. The door was  locked. It seemed that Fluttershy wasn't home.

Pinkie shrieked and jumped out of the way as the large stallion came crashing into the side of Fluttershy's house. Pinkie looked around. She had nowhere to run that he wouldn't immediately follow and inevitably catch her. She looked into the Everfree Forest, it was dark and she might be able to hide. It was her only hope. Her chaser regained his balance and was once again galloping after her as fast as ponily possible. She made it into the forest and took a sharp turn, hoping to throw him off her trail. She continued running, looking for something to hide in that was less conspicuous than a bush or behind a rock. With no luck she found herself at the end of the trail, the path she followed lead straight into a small lake. She looked back, her attacker was right behind her. He came to a slow trot as he approached her, knowing she had nowhere left to run.

"Don't fight me, please, it'll only make this... harder, for us both."

Pinkie closed her eyes and prepared for the worst. She backed into the icy cold water and considered trying to go across the lake, although she didn't know how to swim. She thought maybe drowning would be a better fate than what she had in store. A big brown hoof gripped her hair throwing her away from the water and back onto the trail. Pinkie desperately tried to keep her balance but the force of the throw was too much. She came crashing down face first into the dirt. Before she was able to get up, a powerful hoof forced her face back down into the dirt trail. She felt the sickly warmth of the huge earth pony's body on her back. Her breaths grew short and heavy, and she began to have a coughing fit as she inhaled the dirt off the trail. Her attacker showed no sympathy as he continued his assault. He reached under Pinkie's stomach, pulling her waist into the air. Pinkie's tears flowed into the dirt and pebbles beneath her. Suddenly, she felt an overwhelming pressure on her back, causing her knees to roughly scrape across the ground. Then he fell over onto the ground next to her.

"Oh, oh my. Are you okay Pinkie?" Fluttershy helped her off the ground and brushed the dirt off her face and legs.

Pinkie wiped the tears from her eyes and laughed a little. "Thank you so much Shy, I'd have been dead if you hadn't done... whatever you just did!" Pinkie grabbed onto her savior, hugging her and kissing her cheeks.

Fluttershy blushed. "Well I saw you were in trouble so I knew I just had to do something. I grabbed the biggest rock I could lift, and dropped it on his head."

Pinkie's attacker laid in the dirt, silent and unconscious.

"Well I'm sure glad you did. But.. what are you doing all the way out here anyway?!"

"Oh well you see... I always take my pet possum for a walk down this trail at night. He doesn't like to go out during the day, but needs attention too." She gestured over to her pet with her nose. The cute little thing was lying there on its back with one eye open, playing dead. As soon as it noticed they were looking it closed its other eye and laid perfectly still.

"You're not fooling anyone... but good try."

Suddenly a moan escaped the collapsed stallion. Pinkie panicked and began to stomp on his head repeatedly and surprisingly violently.

"Oh no, oh no, this isn't good." Fluttershy glanced back and forth between Pinkie and the battered stallion. Pinkie was now standing over his bloodied face, breathing heavily.

"This is what he gets for doing what he did. Are you just going to let him get away with hurting me like that Shy? I thought you didn't let anyone hurt your friends." Pinkie looked at Fluttershy, pressuring her to join in on her vengeance. "Kick him!"

"Oh, well okay, if you say so." Fluttershy gave the nearly unconscious stallion a light tap on the head.

"No, too nice. Look at me Fluttershy." Fluttershy looked up and down at Pinkie's wounded body. Her mane was unusually messy and covered in a layer of dirt. Her face was dirty and scraped. Her knees were covered in semi-deep gashes from sliding across jagged pebbles.

"We need to make sure he doesn't try to do this to any pony else. Hmmph!" Pinkie's sharp voice reflected her unusual anger.

"I'm really angry that he hurt you Pinkie... You're right. I'll get payback for you." Fluttershy hit him again, slightly harder.

"Do it again Fluttershy, like you mean it." Fluttershy looked back at Pinkie's face. Small patches of dried blood stained her cute puffed cheeks. She walked up to Pinkie, licking her face, grooming her back to near normal. Then she looked down.

"I should have stopped him sooner, but I was scared. I'm sorry Pinkie."

"It's okay Shy. You can help by making sure he doesn't get back up and try to hurt me again."

Fluttershy thought about what he might have done if she hadn't intervened. Then the anger deep within her heart began to surface. The thought of her close friend being violated by a large, stupid, dirty stallion filled Fluttershy with a familiar rage. She looked down at the stallion, he was beginning to lean up again, his nose was cut and blood dripped into his eyes, blurring his vision.

"I'm sorry, please don't hit me again." He pleaded.

Fluttershy squinted her eyes. "Would you have stopped if Pinkie Pie had asked you to?! I don't think so!"

She then began to stomp on his face, this time with more force than Pinkie herself had originally displayed. She looked around the forest ground for a fallen branch. She spotted a medium sized stick and lifted it between her front hooves. She flew slightly above him and stabbed his left eye with the somewhat pointed stick as hard as she could, twisted it around, and yanked the eye out socket. The large brown pony cried out as he shook his head away from the weapon. She wiggled the stick, flicking the mutilated eye to the ground. Pinkie took a few steps back and smiled.

"Good work Shy, I knew you had it in you."

Fluttershy stopped for a moment and gave Pinkie a polite nod, then continued brutalizing her target. She stabbed the stick into his raw, bleeding eye socket, causing him to writhe across the ground. The concussive trauma to the back of his head left him with no sense of balance, but he could still feel the pain being inflicted quite vividly. Fluttershy dropped the stick and looked at the end, it was now soaked in blood and a clear liquid. The two mares shared a mutual laugh as they watched the now helpless stallion roll across the ground with his hooves covering his bloody eye socket. This feeling was exhilarating, much more satisfying than either one of them could have imagined. A simple act of revenge turned into something much more sinister. Toying with another life, inflicting pain as an act of self recompense, these things ignited a side of the two mares that they never knew could exist in any pony.

"Not so tough now are you ya big meanie." Pinkie mocked the suffering stallion, much to her own delight. "Let's kill him."

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. She walked up to his side, forcefully implanting her back hooves into his ribs. She felt a sweet pleasure as they cracked beneath her swift kick. The stallion wailed out in agony.

"No more please, I can't, take, it.."

"Are you sure? I thought you liked hurting ponies." Pinkie Pie enjoyed this moment, a little too much perhaps.

"Here, let me make you feel good!" She kicked in the exact same spot Fluttershy did, causing the already broken ribs to pierce his lung, filling it with blood. He simply laid there now, letting a low pitched whine out as pain overrode his other senses.

"Still not feeling good enough?" This time she kicked him across the face, knocking several of his teeth out. He hardly seemed to notice as he laid there shivering and choking on his own blood. Then he was silent.

"I guess that's it then Shy, lets go home, I need to get cleaned up. Mind if I use your shower?"

"Oh of course you can. You go on ahead, I'll push this body into the lake." Fluttershy began to push on the lifeless mass of flesh, urging it towards the shore.

"Oh you silly filly, I couldn't possibly let you do that all by yourself, here let me help."

The two mares worked side by side pushing the heavy dead weight into the water. He floated towards the center, and eventually out of view.

"Pinkie Pie, I don't want to sound... weird, but I'd like to do this again sometime with you. Maybe we can find another bad pony and teach him a lesson, like this one." Fluttershy looked at the ground.

Pinkie wrapped a hoof around her. "Of course we can, I'd have fun with that, wouldn't you have fun? I like fun.."

"Me too" Fluttershy put a wing over Pinkie as they trotted down the path back to her home.

"I think this is the start of a new and exciting relationship, don't you?" Pinkie smiled, Fluttershy simply closed her eyes and nodded. The two mares disappeared into the night, blissfully imagining what they might end up doing next.

After a night of frantic scrubbing and obsessive cleaning, the two mares woke up. Fluttershy was the first to wake, then she gently nudged Pinkie til she finally opened her eyes.

"Um, Pinkie Pie? I'm afraid we're going to get in trouble for what we did last night." Fluttershy's worried eyes made Pinkie frown, she knew she was the one who pushed Fluttershy to do what she did.

"Don't worry about it Shy, I'll never let you take the fall for something I made you do." It'd kill her if she got caught, the poor sensitive little thing... Pinkie thought, looking out the window.

"Oh, okay then." Fluttershy hugged her ensuring friend, then stood up to prepare for the day ahead.

She walked into her kitchen to find something for breakfast, looking around she spotted a large variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, and even sweets. Nothing seemed appetizing at the moment.

EEEEEP!

Fluttershy jump into the air, landing on top of her fridge. She looked back into the living room where she had heard the sudden sound that had startled her. A newspaper had been dropped through her mail slot.

"Shy! Are you okay?! What happened?" Pinkie quickly came wobbling into the kitchen to investigate her friend's distress, her eyes were unfocused and her balance was leaving something to be desired.

"I, uh, I just got scared when the mail came. It happens almost everyday." Fluttershy blushed.

"Well you can come down now, I'll go kill the big scary newspaper monster." Pinkie sarcastically rolled her eyes and walked towards the paper.

Fluttershy winced and gulped. Images of a large ferocious newspaper destroying her home came to mind. She shook her head and fluttered to the floor, following Pinkie into the other room. She had already opened the Equestria Daily paper and skimmed through all the seemingly random articles.

"Aha, look at this Shy."

Mother kills infant and blames ghost, defendant pleas temporary insanity. Mother spends six months in mental facility. She has since been claimed rehabilitated and is scheduled to be back home in Ponyville, today.

Pinkie's eyes narrowed, she loved infants, and she hated the fact that this mare isn't being punished for what she had done.

"Fluttershy, we need to do something. First, think of the poor baby pony she killed, think of all the birthday parties to poor thing will never get to have. Now think of the fact that she will probably do it again someday. I can't allow that, are you with me?!" Pinkie looked into Fluttershy's eyes, her own widening, slightly watering. Pinkie wasn't leaving no for an option.

"I, um... of course I'll help you Pinkie, you're right." Fluttershy's voice became stronger, and more confident. "We can't let this mare get away with what she did. No way!"

"Yes! Okay Shy, we need to plan this out, and make sure you don't tell ANYPONY ELSE! Not even our best friends can know, I don't think they'll understand. I don't like keeping secrets, but this really has to be our secret okay?"

"Got it." Fluttershy smiled.

"Our little secret."

Hatchet To Ya

Pinkie put on a serious face and quickly darted from corner to corner as she crept up on her target's home. Fluttershy followed close behind, stopping every now and then to make sure nothing was behind her. The street lights were casting large shadows that were keeping the nervous little pegasus on edge.

"There Shy, there it is!" Pinkie's whispers bordered yelling. She pointed out the house, it was a normal looking Ponyville home.

"Are you sure?" Fluttershy looked at the house, nothing set it apart from any of the others along the street.

"Yes look here." Pinkie held a torn page from an address book. Neighana Patel, 4660 N. Coltalina St. "See? This is it."

The two quietly snuck around back, pausing inside each bush. They looked up and into the back window. There they saw a creamy white mare crying into her hooves, sitting alone at a table. Pinkie inched closer, looking around to see if she could slip into the house unnoticed. Suddenly Fluttershy saw a huge  black stallion looming over her. She screamed and crashed into her friend while trying to dart away. The two startled mares tumbled into the street.

"Fluttershy! What the hay?!" Pinkie snapped at the cowering pegasus.

"I saw someone, he was right there a second ago!" Fluttershy pointed to the corner of the house.

Pinkie's eye twitched as she smacked her own face with a hoof, slowly wiping her expression into an angry frown. She pointed to the street light just around the corner to the left of the house.

"It was just your shadow! Are you really that..." Pinkie was cut off by the calls of a concerned mare.

"Are you two okay? What's going on out here?" A creamy white unicorn with a long brown mane called out to the two arguing mares laying on the dirt road. It was Neighana.

Pinkie sprung to her hooves. "Oh um, we're just..."

"Looking for my lost bunny." Fluttershy completed the thought.

"Yeah, here bunny bunny bunny!" Pinkie quickly leaped from bush to bush, pretending to search for a lost pet.

"It's freezing out here, come inside and have some hot tea."

Pinkie's eyes lit up, she looked around, the streets were empty, most of the lights in the houses were off. This was her perfect opportunity to get inside unnoticed.

The three walked back into the house, Pinkie was carefully surveying the surrounding area, making a hundred percent sure no one saw them enter the house. Fluttershy was simply relieved to be in the light. The cunning pink mare shook her mane and tail spastically for a second, allowing the warm air to fill her cold coat. She then looked around the house, they were definitely alone in there. She noted that the unicorn's horn could become a problem if she tries to subdue her, but a quick death wouldn't serve the purpose. This needed to be punishment, a painless death would be a reward.

"I'll be right back you two, I already had a kettle boiling." Pinkie watched her brown tail flip back and forth as she walked into the kitchen, she almost seemed... cheerful, much unlike the way she appeared through the window earlier.

"Alright, just so you know I like mine with extra sugar!" Pinkie yelled out, a distraction while she searched the room.

Fluttershy nervously shuffled her front hooves on the floor. This felt right when it was a big stallion trying to assault her friend, but this mare just seemed like a normal pony, and to top it off she was doing them a kindness by inviting the two into her warm home and offering them tea.

"Pinkie," Fluttershy whispered. "I don't know about this one, she seems nice."

Pinkie Pie froze, her tail drooping to the floor. "Nice?! Are you crazy?! She's a baby killer, that's the exact opposite of nice, its ec-in, which means super mean." Pinkie's loud whispering caught Neighana's attention.

"Everything okay in there you two?" She trotted back into the living room levitating a tray of tea cups and a steaming kettle. "I'm sorry everything's a mess in here, I'm still not done unpacking and honestly I didn't expect guests."

"Didn't expect guests? Why wouldn't you expect guests right after you moved into such a friendly town?" Pinkie quizzically pried, already knowing the answer.

"Well, you two don't know who I am do you?" The unicorn looked off to the side, setting the tray of tea on a coffee table. "Let's just say I've done something in my past that I regret."

"Oh, I know who you are." Pinkie smiled, now feeling like she's cornered the mare into a confession. "You claimed that a ghost killed your baby with a hatchet didn't you? I'm just wondering now, what exactly did you do that you regret?"

The stunned unicorn began to tear up. "I think you two should leave now."

"Why do you think that? Weren't you going to offer us some tea?" Pinkie's smile widened and her eyes locked with her target's, she knew now for sure that this mare deserved to be punished. Fluttershy watched and listened patiently, waiting for Pinkie to make a move before even considering doing anything herself.

The cunning pink mare walked up to the steaming kettle, carefully gripping it with her teeth. "Mind if I pour myself a cup?" Pinkie spoke with the handle in her mouth, muffling her words, but still quite understandable.

"I'd rather you didn't, leave before I call for help." Neighana protested.

"Oh, okay then." Pinkie swung the piping hot water into Neighana's face. She yelled out in pain, frantically wiping the scalding hot water off her eyes. Her horn began to glow as she made eye contact with a quickly approaching Pinkie. Before she could let any magic off, Pinkie forcefully stamped her hoof onto the unicorn's horn, sending an intense wave of pain through her head.

"Tie her up Shy, I'll make sure she doesn't use any magic for now."

Fluttershy quickly began searching for something to tie the restrained pony up with. She flew into the kitchen and glanced around; nothing of use. She flew into the back of the house, the laundry room had a rolled up clothesline; perfect. With a few quick knots, the unicorn was effectively rendered helpless. Pinkie had shoved a rag in her mouth and tightly tied part of the rope around her face, holding the gag in place.

"There we go, nice and quiet now." Pinkie chuckled and gave Fluttershy a nod of approval.

Muffled cries escaped from the bound unicorn, tears were rolling off her cheeks.

"Shh, don't be such a cry baby, we haven't even started punishing you yet. Speaking of that, I need you to talk to me about something. I have a few questions that might actually help you die happier, it'll feel good to get a few things off your chest, trust me."

Fluttershy walked up right beside Pinkie and smiled at the sobbing mare, she rested her wing on Pinkie's back, encouraging her to continue.

"If you scream, I'm going to kick your teeth out, be warned." Pinkie walked up to Neighana with a bright smile and pulled the rag out of her mouth. She just sat there, sniffling and trying to think of a way to reason her way out of the situation.

"Question one, why did you kill your baby?" Pinkie was harsh and straight to the point.

"I.. I didn't I swear!" She tightly closed her eyes and looked away.

"Bzzt, wrong answer." Pinkie giggled and walked up to her again, then violently slapped her across the face. "Now lets try that again."

Neighana's mouth was bleeding now, and she searched for the proper response that might save her life.

"I couldn't control myself, I just wanted it to stop crying, I lost control of my body and attacked it. I already got mental help, please, don't you think the loss of my baby is punishment enough?"

"Hmmm," Pinkie placed a hoof on her chin, "nope." She then gazed into the terrified mare's eyes. "Question two, why did you come back to Ponyville, knowing what you did hurt everyone around you?"

"I didn't have anywhere else to go, I'm sorry!" Neighana cried out.

"I guess that's a good enough answer, what do you think, Shy?" Fluttershy closed her eyes and shook her head in disagreement.

"I don't even know where I'm going with this question thing anyway. Well, this one's important, how did you kill him, did you chop him up into bits, or did you give him one swift blow to the head?"

Neighana began to cry uncontrollably once again, her answer was nearly completely incoherent. "I jus.. I hit em.. I didn' mean.. I jus.. I'm so sorry."

"Stop that, I have no idea what you're trying to say. Did you make any of that out, Shy?"

"Mhm, she said, I just started to hit him with the wood hatchet my husband left on the kitchen counter, I didn't mean to kill him, I just wanted him to stop crying, I really have no idea what came over me or how I let myself lose all control like that. I'm so sorry and I wish I could trade places with him, he didn't deserve to die." Fluttershy smiled and put her nose in the air, then immediately cowered down once she realized that she seemed to be boasting.

Pinkie just looked at Fluttershy cock eyed for a moment, then went back to her mission. "Okay, so you want to trade places huh? I can't do that for you, but I can at least put you in the same place. That's close enough, right?" She smiled.

Pinkie trotted off to the other room, leaving Fluttershy alone with her.

"Hey, I can tell you're not like her, please, let me go, I don't deserve this."

Fluttershy smiled and looked at the desperate mare. "It's okay, it'll all be over soon. Are you... scared? I'd be scared if I were you." Fluttershy's eyes never broke contact as she watched the panic rise up in the terrified unicorn's expression.

A moment later Pinkie returned with a small hatchet tightly gripped in her mouth. "Is this the one you killed the little foal with?" She spoke with a mouthful, only partially comprehensible.

The tied up mare closed her eyes and tried to hide her face from the coming impact. "Please, I'll do anything you want, just please don't kill me."

Her plea fell on unwavering ears, Pinkie trotted up to the mare and delivered a fearsome blow to her mouth with the flat blunt end of the hatchet, splitting her lip and sending a couple blood-soaked teeth bouncing across the hardwood floor.

"Oops, hehe, wrong side." Pinkie Pie smiled and winked at Fluttershy, who covered her mouth as she giggled.

She swung the small weapon again, this time slicing the skin on her target's chest. The mare began to scream out in agony, begging anyone who was nearby for help. Pinkie quickly shoved the white rag back into her mouth and tied it in place. It quickly became a deep red as it soaked up the blood from Neighana's mouth.

"That's better, no more yelling for you, you'll spoil the party." Pinkie picked the hatchet back up off the floor, and continued her punishment. With a swift swing, she shaved a chunk of flesh off her shoulder, causing the unicorn to fall over on her side and desperately flail around in an attempt to get away. Pinkie laughed quietly as she watched this horrible mare get what she deserved. With a couple more quick chops to the chest, Neighana began to spasm spastically due to her heavily fractured ribs and overwhelmingly agonizing pain.

"This is fun, you wanna try?" Pinkie held the axe out in her mouth to Fluttershy, who grabbed it nervously with her teeth. She walked up to the broken, bleeding pony. With a deep breath she swung the hatchet down, straight into the mare's leg, just above her hoof. Fluttershy was startled and let go of the weapon when the injured mare began to cry out again and flail her hoof around in an attempt to dislodge the hatchet.

"Good going Shy, you got the dang thing stuck, now what?" Pinkie rolled her eyes.

Fluttershy cowered for a moment, feeling guilty, but soon decided to correct her own mistake. She waited for the right moment, then grabbed the handle in her mouth and began yanking on it. It was tightly stuck in the mare's thick shin, but she continued to yank on it until the blade came loose. After pulling it out, Neighana tucked the hoof underneath herself in an attempt to keep it safe from further injury. Pinkie walked up next to Fluttershy and looked down at the broken pony. She kicked her bloody ribs, rolling her over and revealing her deep leg gash.

"Ew, that looks nasty, you can see the bone and everything, yuck." Pinkie took pleasure in mocking the wounded mare, then she stomped on the injury, feeling the bone split beneath her powerful hoof. Neighana began to writhe across the floor once again, tightly wrapping her other leg around her split shin, screaming out into the rag and desperately crying. After a few minutes of agony, she fell asleep, or passed out due to pain or fatigue.

"Well I guess the party's over huh?" The pink mare looked over to her friend, Fluttershy nodded.

Pinkie planted the hatchet deep into the unconscious mare's neck and began to clean everything up, she left all the evidence of a murder behind, but eliminated any and every sign that either of the two had ever stepped hoof in that house. She picked up one last tiny yellow feather off the floor and declared the house clean. With that, the two mares quietly crept out the back door, and trotted back to Fluttershy's house, making sure to stay low and out of sight.

"You can stay here again if you want Pinkie, I'd like to not be alone, especially after what happened tonight." Fluttershy bashfully hinted at her subtle request.

"Sure, I'll stay if you want, Shy. Your bed's a lot softer than mine anyway, and those soft wings of yours make the best blanket ever." Pinkie smiled wide and gave her friend a warm hug.

Fluttershy blushed and returned Pinkie's hug, then trotted off to bed. It was much later than she had realized, and her lack of sleep was catching up with her. Pinkie felt the same as she curled up in bed next to Fluttershy.

"I think today went well, what do you think?" Pinkie quietly asked with her eyes closed.

Fluttershy wrapped a wing around her friend. "I think so too, I can't wait to see what we do next."

Elementary, My Dear Sparkle

Knock knock knock!

"Noooo, go away...zzzzzz" Pinkie rolled over and covered her face, blocking the dim sunlight flooding the room from her eyes.

"Pinkie?! Is that you in there? I need to talk to you guys."

The flustered pink mare rolled out of bed with only a few hours of sleep on her shoulders, she bit Fluttershy's wing, pulling her off the bed onto her hooves.

"Whossa wha?" Fluttershy opened her eyes, suddenly forced into reality again.  

"Someone's at the door, I think it's Twilight." The two trotted off to greet their guest, sure enough when they opened the door, there stood Twilight Sparkle. She stood there levitating a notepad and quill, wearing a dark brown deerstalker on her head, a hat made famous by the legendary detective Sherlock Hooves.

Twilight tightly grabbed onto Pinkie, hugging the air out of her lungs. "I've been looking everywhere for you, I'm so glad you're okay. But why haven't you been home? The Cakes are worried, we all were after what happened."

"Um, what happened?" Pinkie nervously glanced at Fluttershy, then met Twilight's gaze.

"You didn't hear? There was evidence of some kind of scuffle breaking out in front of Sugarcube Corner a couple nights ago. They tracked it to Fluttershy's door then into the forest. They found a dead body in the lake and everyone was worried when we couldn't find you."

"Ohhh, that? Yeah I have no idea." Pinkie went inside and sat down, leaving the door open for Twilight.

"They found another body this morning on the north side of town, they're saying that the two murders are unrelated but I think otherwise. I just want to ask you some questions about two nights ago, did you see or hear anything strange after your party?"

"Uh..." Pinkie scratched her head with a hoof for a minute as if she were trying to recall some strange activity. "Well I did have half a tray of cupcakes left over, that's strange, usually you guys eat those up right away."

"No Pinkie, I meant did you notice anything weird outside that night."

"Fluttershy walks a possum through the forest at night, that's weird." Pinkie smiled.

Fluttershy nodded, "It's true, that IS weird."

"Okay? That's not really what I was after but... Have you been here the whole time Pinkie?" Twilight jotted down a few notes and waited for her friend's reply.

"Yup I came over here right after the party and haven't left the house since." Pinkie smiled and Fluttershy nodded in agreement.

"Okay then, I've learned not to question the weird things you do, but I have to know, why?"

"Uh, I um, just..." Pinkie quickly kissed Fluttershy on the lips and put her arm around her neck. Fluttershy's eyes widened beyond that which was thought ponily possible and blushed til her bright yellow face was a deep red. She looked at Twilight and quickly put on a sheepish smile, wrapping her arm around Pinkie as well.

"You see? We're dating!" Pinkie excitedly proclaimed. "It feels good to finally tell somepony, now we have date stuff to do, so you should probably be leaving now Twi." Pinkie pushed the hesitant unicorn out the door, sliding her hooves across the floor.

"Well that certainly explains it but..." Pinkie slammed the door, cutting off Twilight.

She peeked out the window to see her friend trotting down the road.

"Sorry about that Shy, I had to think of something quick."

"Oh that's okay... It needed to be done." Fluttershy blushed again, speaking softly.

"The only problem now is we have to act like that all the time in front of our friends." Pinkie began fixing her messy mane back to its normal poofy form.

"Let's just stay inside..." Fluttershy walked into her room and collapsed on the bed, still exhausted from a long night.

Pinkie followed and plopped down on her stomach, causing Fluttershy to bounce slightly. The pegasus giggled and jumped up on the bed, bouncing Pinkie off over the edge.

"Oh my, I'm so sorry Pinkie, I didn't mean to..."

"Hey! You're asking for it Shy." Pinkie narrowed her eyes and leaped into the air landing on the now terrified pegasus. Fluttershy screamed in fear for her life as Pinkie began bouncing on the bed, causing Fluttershy to tumble from side to side, unable to gain her balance. The tumbling and flailing pegasus accidentally tripped her bouncy friend, causing her to fall over, landing directly on top of her.

Little did they know, Twilight was peeking in the window, observing their actions.

Well, it looks like Pinkie was telling the truth, they seem happy. The investigating unicorn thought as she quickly took a note, then quietly trotted away.

She soon met up with some crime scene investigators at Neighana's home. They began going over details with Twilight Sparkle. They noted that all the evidence of a murder was left blatantly in the open, as if they didn't even attempt to hide it at all. However there was absolutely no evidence what-so-ever that anyone else had been in the house at all.

No pony would have guessed that Pinkie was a master at cleaning up one mess around another. In her younger years when she first moved in with the Cakes, she'd often throw parties when they were away. If she cleaned up the entire house they'd immediately know why. So she learned to clean up every small trace of the party, while leaving the normal clutter and bakery messes exactly the way they were. She learned to differentiate between a sprinkle that was left on the floor by the bakers during their business, and one that was right next to it left by a party guest. She enjoyed that part of the party, and felt accomplished when even she couldn't tell that anyone had been there other than herself. This played an important roll in throwing the investigators for a loop. Baffled at the lack of evidence combined with the intentionally left evidence, they turned to the smartest pony in Ponyville.

"It would seem we have a criminal mastermind at hoof. I'll need some time to review all the notes I've taken and will get back to you as soon as I make a breakthrough. In the mean time, please continue searching for even a single clue as to who could have done this." Twilight ordered the investigators around as if she were actually in charge of them.

"Ms. Sparkle, they say a ghost killed her kid, what if it really was a ghost, and it got her too?" Investigator #3 asked, feeling his question deserved a legitimate answer.

"Number Three, that's nonsense, there are no such things as ghosts. I'll catch the pony responsible soon enough." Twilight trotted away, heading back to her library to go over the notes.

"I agree with you Number Three, you can never be sure, especially with a case as weird as this. That would explain why there's no evidence of anyone else being in here." Random Investigator #1 encouraged his paranoid friend.

Twilight entered her home and met Spike who was busy dusting the already dusted bookshelves.

"Ah Spike, take a note please, I need you to take notes of the notes I'm about to read off to you." Twilight flipped through her notebook and waited for Spike to prepare.

"Wait, you mean you're going to let me help with the investigation?! Yes, you can count on me Twilight, I promise I won't get in the way." Spike readily pulled out a notepad of his own and waited for Twilight to begin reading.

"Well you can't expect me to do this without my number one assistant can you? Oh and you'll need this." Twilight levitated a smaller version of her deerhunter cap onto Spike's head.

"Ah sweet, this is awesome. Oh, one more thing... Um, can I please have the mustache again?"

"Ha, well I suppose it would suit the situation." With a flash Spike had his long black mustache back, giving him a sharp boost of confidence. He began fiddling with the tip of it with his claws.

"So the notes then?" Spike began to write the key points of everything Twilight read off to him.

"Interesting, interesting. It seems like we're dealing with some kind of criminal mastermind doesn't it?" Spike hastily came to the same conclusion that Twilight had earlier; that the two murders were connected.

"Nice Spike, that's exactly what I said. I think with the two of us working together we'll get to the bottom of this in no time. Even if they may have deserved it, murder is murder, and justice will prevail."

Pinkie and Fluttershy went to Sweet Apple Acres later that evening to request a bushel of apples. Fluttershy had run out, she left her own basket of them unattended after hastily feeding some pets before bed last night and her animals invited themselves to the meal later that day. Half of her pets loved apples so they were a necessity in Fluttershy's eyes.

"Hey there you two, what can I do ya for?" Applejack happily greeted her friends.

"You can't do us for anything, we just want apples." Pinkie gave her friend a confused look.

"Um, I just want the usual, Applejack... There was an accident with the last batch and my pets helped themselves. I hope it's not too inconvenient, I can come back later if you want." Fluttershy looked down at the grass and batted at a small flower with a hoof.

"Ain't no trouble at all, we've always got extra apples 'round here." Applejack grabbed a conveniently placed basket that was already full and gave it to Pinkie with her mouth. "That'll be six bits please."

"Six? I thought it was five bits for a basket..." Fluttershy looked back down and reached into her saddle bag, pulling the bits out.

"What can I say, rough economy and all." Applejack continued her work.

Pinkie spotted Caramel peeking at her from inside the applebarn, he then quickly ducked back inside.

"Hey, what's Caramel doing here, and why's he acting all shady?" Pinkie gave the basket to Fluttershy and asked.

"Oh Caramel? He ran into some trouble back in Appaloosa, he's bunkin up here til it blows over."

"What kind of trouble?" Pinkie tilted her head and looked into Applejack's eyes, knowing she couldn't lie.

"Well... I reckon that ain't any of your business."

Fluttershy sat the basket down. "You can tell us Applejack, we're your friends." She smiled and closed her eyes, making the hesitant earth pony feel more comfortable.

"Well alright if ya'll really wanna know, keep it hush hush though. They're sayin' he kidnapped a young filly and did some really bad things to 'er. They're also sayin' he killed her. I know it sounds bad but I made him promise he was tellin the truth about not doin anything."

Pinkie's heart dropped into her stomach, her intuition told her Caramel was a hundred percent guilty. Fluttershy gulped, knowing exactly what was on Pinkie's mind.

"Well at least he promised right? No one would ever lie about something like that so I'm sure he's innocent." Pinkie's face reflected her swallowed anger with a nauseous looking frown.

"Uh yeah, right then. I really gotta be gettin back to work now, I'll see you two later. And remember, hush hush. I trust you guys."

"See ya later AJ, and don't worry, you can trust us." Pinkie smiled and waved her off. Fluttershy picked the basket and nodded politely.

The two headed back towards the meadow, quickening their pace as the sun went down. Fluttershy hated the thought of being caught in the dark again.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking Shy? We need to look into this." Pinkie glanced over with mistrusting eyes.

Fluttershy nodded again, not wanting to speak with her mouth full. Pinkie took an apple from the basket and sunk her teeth into it. Fluttershy lowered her eyebrows and glared at her forward friend.

"What, I'm hungry!" Pinkie spoke with her mouth full, spitting small chunks of apple onto the road.

Fluttershy rolled her eyes and smiled. The two made it back home just before sunset, and began to go through old Equestria Daily papers looking for any news articles talking about the crime in Appaloosa. They found a paper dating about a week ago, talking about the discovered body. It was a third grade filly, her name was undisclosed and the only information they had about who may have committed the crime was a vague description by a witness who claimed they saw him take her from a school playground. A medium sized stallion with a light orangish brown coat. His mane is medium length and dark brown. His cutie mark seemed to be three bluish silver horseshoes.

Pinkie and Fluttershy looked at each other for a moment, then nodded in unison.

Pinkie's eyebrows lowered and her grin grew as she ran through several scenarios in her mind. "This one's gonna be tricky Shy, we have to make sure Applejack doesn't suspect us at all. And I have the perfect idea."

No I'm Not, I'm a Chicken!

"So, what's our plan? ... If you don't mind me asking that is..." Fluttershy couldn't help but wonder.

"I'll tell you everything you need to know soon enough Shy, but for now..." Pinkie's eyes narrowed. "I have to get tired."

"Tired?"

"Yep, tired, but you need to get sleep, so go sleep, I have to do some stuff, and I'll be back later." Pinkie didn't wait for a reply before bouncing out the door into the night.

Fluttershy followed as far as the door way and yelled out to her quickly fleeing friend. "Okay, I'll just go sleep then!" Although she was yelling as loudly as she could, it wasn't nearly loud enough to catch her friend's attention.

With a gulp, Fluttershy closed the door and went through her house tending to her somewhat neglected animals. Then she trotted off to bed.

Pinkie quickly checked off everything that needed to be done tonight in her head, trying to make sure absolutely everything was considered and accounted for. It was late, the moon was high in the cloudless sky as she came to a slow trot down the empty Ponyville roads. A slight breeze blew across her back and through her mane. An old Equestria Daily paper skidded across the road in the light breeze, stopping right in front of Pinkie's hooves. She looked at it for a moment, then spotted a small stallion up ahead carrying a load far too heavy for him. He had two large crates on his back and a big pale of water in his mouth. Pinkie looked over her shoulder in time to see the perfectly still leaves of the large trees behind her begin to ruffle in the wind. She timed them, just over two seconds before they stopped, another six seconds until the breeze hit her and the paper. If the wind hadn't gained any speed from the last light gust, it would push the paper four meters down the road, directly into the stallions path. Judging from his stride, he'd step over it with the first hoof and his back right hoof would slip on it, causing him to fall face first with the full force of the heavy load on his back being placed on his neck and chest, serious injury was more than likely. Depending on his reaction time, his injuries would range from a cracked sternum, to two broken legs, to a snapped neck. Pinkie smiled and muttered to herself, Twitchy twitch twitch, buckin twitch.

Tricking her friends into thinking she had some unnatural ability to sense things about to fall was no difficult task, especially those as dimwitted as any Ponyville resident. It was a fun way to occupy time when she was bored but Twilight was another story, she took convincing with other versions of the Pinkie Sense along with an elaborate scheme. In the end she fooled her, in Pinkie's mind this was a huge accomplishment. But even so, she was still a very clever pony. With her on the case, underestimation wasn't an option. Pinkie's thoughts were interrupted by the light gust of wind hitting her mane, sending the paper sliding into position. The struggling stallion didn't notice, it was perfect. He continued down his path, stepping over the paper with his first hoof. Pinkie grinned, another perfect analysis.

She flicked her tail into the air. "Hey you! Wait!"

The stallion stopped in his tracks, startled. "Wha, wha, who's there?"

Pinkie trotted up to him and took the pail out of his mouth, setting it on the ground. She kicked the paper out from under him.

"You need to be careful, you'll hurt yourself carrying all this heavy stuff alone silly."

"Oh Pinkie, it's you. Yeah I know, but I'm in a hurry and didn't want to make two trips." The small stallion blushed.

"I'll help you, where ya goin'?" Pinkie picked the pail back up and trotted side by side with him.

"Just down the block, not too much farther. Thanks by the way, I really appreciate your help." He smiled wishing he had the means to repay her.

Pinkie just smiled and continued down the road.

"Here we are, thanks again Pinkie, you're the best." They had arrived at the Ponyville Homeless Shelter, the crates contained food and other supplies being donated. Pinkie peeked inside, there she saw Scootaloo along with a few other familiar faces, she considered herself lucky to have the Cakes.

"Here Pinkie, I want you to have this, it's a bit chilly out here." He took his scarf off and hoofed it to her, she gladly took the token of appreciation and put it on with a smile.

"Thanks, and it's no problem, Pinkie's always ready to help out a friend in need." She placed a hoof on his shoulder and wore a gentle smile.

They shared a light laugh and Pinkie trotted off continuing her tasks at hoof. She began to wonder what he would have done or said if he knew she had saved him from a painful and horrible fate. Not that it mattered, he didn't deserve it. She made her way down a paved path, one of the only one's in the town. It led up to an official building, inside she could find archived police reports. She went around back and lifted a window, Ponyville isn't known for it's high security in any case. She crawled in and kept it quiet, just to be safe. With a fast double take, she tip hoofed down the hall, spotting the room she needed. She lightly opened the door and silently shut it behind herself.

"Shared case files, aha." She pulled the file drawer open and looked down the list for something indicating the crime in Appaloosa. Cheer Blossom, Abduction, Rape/Homicide. She pulled the file out and went over the details. Her heart became a lump of pain as continued down the long and detailed report. With teary eyes she placed the file back and closed it. These details would play an important roll in Caramel's punishment. She quietly left, and trotted away nonchalantly.

"Alright Pinkie, level head, calm mind, blah blah. You can do this." She went back to Sugar Cube Corner and wrote up about ten letters, all reading nearly exactly the same.

Hey guys it's me, Pinkie! You're invited to attend the biggest best party ever! Come celebrate the new relationship between Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, the perfect pair! Invite everyone you know, there's enough room here for everypony!

Applejack's letter included an invitation for Caramel as well. They all also included directions to meet at the Ponyville Community Center. Pinkie knew every invitee would attend as not to risk seeming prejudice against same gender couples. It was getting late, and Pinkie's eyes were feeling heavy. She walked up to a mirror, she had small bags under her eyes and they were a bit red due to her recent restless nights and lack of sleep. Perfect.

Pinkie headed off to Zecora's hut. She trotted through the forest and found the trail. With a few loud knocks Zecora was awake. She opened the door and glared at Pinkie.

"I can't sleep Zecora, I need your help." Pinkie made sure to look and sound as miserable as possible.

"A lack of sleep in your eyes I see, might I recommend a hot cup of tea."

"No... I tried that, I need something stronger." Pinkie nudged her with an elbow, gesturing at a strange looking decorative box.

Zecora gulped and widened her eyes.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone I just want to buy some."

Zecora coughed and cleared her throat. "Ahem, if your problem is you cannot sleep, eat these leaves and count some sheep."

"Yeah yeah whatever just give me the stuff."

Zecora rolled her eyes, "Just eat one don't get me wrong, they'll help you sleep but are very strong."

Pinkie chuckled and pulled some bits out of a small bag that she was apparently carrying the entire time.

"Twenty bits enough?"

"Yeah sure." Zecora took the bits and went to her box, she opened it and pulled a false bottom out. Underneath was a small pack of dried leaves, she pulled five leaves out and put them into another smaller bag.

"Who told you about my stash anyway?" Zecora hoofed the bag over to Pinkie.

"No one, I just kinda assumed. What I don't get any more rhymes?" Pinkie quickly changed the subject.

"Shut up you, I'm tired." Zecora waved her off and shut the door.

Pinkie opened the bag and sniffed inside, making sure these leaves were the proper potency. They were an illegal substance in Equestria due to their ability to not only induce a state of euphoria but to potentially cause permanent brain damage. One leaf would let the worst insomniac take a nap, five would tranquilize an elephant. Pinkie tucked the bag inside her scarf and continued on her journey back to town. She popped back into Sugar Cube Corner and whipped up some batter quickly, adding two crumbled leaves into the small batch. She baked a pan of four cupcakes, and put three of them into a small basket. After she wrapped it up and took it outside, she headed off towards the southern side of Ponyville, the outskirts that most tried to avoid. On her way she passed a construction site. There was a cement truck there and plenty of bags of it to be mixed. She noted that they were in the process of building and filling the foundation of what was meant to be a rather large and sturdy complex. Two of four divided sections were filled and leveled with concrete, and the truck was parked along a leveled and empty section, obviously the one they'd fill next. She took a mental note to observe this place tomorrow night.

Upon arriving outside of town, she soon spotted a small group of shady ponies standing around a burning trash can. One small and grey, another was big and white. One was a medium sized and light brown earth pony with a black mane. Close enough...

"Hey there black mane. Come over here, I have something for you." Pinkie waved the basked of cupcakes around with her hoof. "I've got special cupcakes!"

All three ponies got excited, recognizing exactly what Pinkie meant. However the medium brown one was the only one to leave the fire. He excitedly stared at the cupcakes and asked Pinkie what he had to do to get them. These ponies were used to receiving strange requests in exchange for special baked goods. The baking slightly altered the chemical properties of the drug, changing it from a high dose of tranquilization to a lingering mind numbing trip.

"Oh nothing too hard, just come with me and let me paint you up a bit, then you have to go to jail for a day or two, no biggie right?"

"That's it? And I get all three? Deal!" The junkie pony was quick to jump on the exchange, especially one that didn't involve sexual exploitation.

"Good, follow me then!" Pinkie was glad this went over smoothly. Without trouble from the unusable ponies.

After a long trot they found themselves behind the community building, a small toolshed stood attached to the corner. It was mostly rundown and obviously unused. Pinkie led him inside and sat the basket of cupcakes down on a dusty shelf.

"Go ahead and eat those up, I'll be right back, and after you get out of jail there'll be a bonus cupcake with your name on it." Pinkie bounced off into the night. The stallion ravenously devoured the cupcakes, all three almost immediately, causing him to feel the effects as soon as possible. His eyes dilated and he slouched up against the hard wooden wall, drifting in and out of consciousness.

Pinkie returned with a blue bottle of paint in her mouth. She rolled her eyes at the pathetic mess laying out in front of her and got to work.

After a long night she trotted back to Fluttershy's house. The moon had set and the sky was a dark but lightening blue. As she walked down the dirt road she enjoyed watching the stars disappear one by one as the rising sun brightened the sky. The morning air was sweet and refreshing and the sound of birds chirping gave her the sensation that everything would go well today. She made it back just before sunrise. Pinkie tucked the bag of leaves away into one of Fluttershy's drawers tightly wrapped up in her new scarf, but not before taking half a leaf out and eating it. She laid down next to her snoozing friend, she was completely exhausted and ready to collapse into a deep sleep. Sadly she couldn't quite yet. She woke the sleeping pegasus and told her everything she needed to do, she told her about the party, and told her every key detail. Nothing could go wrong or everything would. Fluttershy listened closely, heeding every word. She was more than happy to have confidence placed in her hooves, this wasn't something she was used to, but it felt right for the first time in her life.

Pinkie succumbed to the effect of the leaf and passed out on the bed, snoring obscenely loudly. Fluttershy laughed at the poor beat mare and went about her chores.

"Okay Fluttershy, you can do this. Don't mess it up, Pinkie's counting on you." Fluttershy gave herself a pep-talk every so often just to settle her own nerves.

"Step one, deliver Pinkie's letters." Fluttershy grabbed all ten of the letters and headed out. She decided it'd be faster if she took flight so she kicked off into the air and flapped her wings. She began to glide quickly across the breeze and made her way to Twilight's library. As she approached, she began to fear crashing, she fluttered frantically and came to a skidding halt across the dirt road. Her heart was racing and her nerves were broken.

"I won't be doing that again..."

Twilight must have heard the commotion outside her door, she opened it in time to see a stunned yellow pegasus gasping for breath.

"Oh hi there Fluttershy, what brings you here so early in the morning?" Twilight looked nearly as tired as Pinkie did.

Fluttershy recomposed herself and trotted up to the door, peeking inside. She saw a mess of papers and documents strewn across the floor and tacked to the walls.

"I just brought you an invitation to our party... I really hope you can come... as long as you're not too busy that is..." Twilight grabbed the letter with her magic and opened it.

"Oh I see, congratulations you two, I wouldn't miss your party for the world. Especially since this time Pinkie's actually celebrating something worth celebrating." Twilight smiled awkwardly after realizing Fluttershy might take that as an insult to her new marefriend.

"I'm glad to hear that Twilight. I can't wait to see you there. I have more letters to give out now, bye."

"Bye!" Twilight returned inside.

"Cool, another one of Pinkie's awesome parties huh? Can I come too?" Spike excitedly jumped up off his bed.

"Sorry Spike, look here, a blue stamp. That means this is a grown ups only party, and you're a baby."

"Come on Twilight, you're not that much older than me, just because I age at one tenth your rate doesn't mean I'm less mature." Spike puffed his chest out.

"Alright, you're on Spike. You can come, but I expect you to behave like the mature dragon you are, and we'll probably be out late, since we're not supposed to arrive until after seven tonight." Twilight figured this could be a good experience for the young growing dragon.

"Yes! I promise you won't regret it." Spike jumped into the air with a fist pump.

"Now that that's settled, back to work. Let's review what we have so far." Twilight pointed at the cork board with her hoof.

She thought about everything they'd gone over for a moment. "A dead stallion, very large and seemingly strong. He came to Ponyville from Manehatten after being released from jail for beating his ex-marefriend and putting her in the hospital. He was struck in the back of the head then brutally beaten to death, the murder shows signs of hate and vengeance. Motive? Revenge for the beating of that mare? Inconclusive."

"Well Twilight, lets look at the details of the murder. He was hit from behind, either the attacker hid and snuck up behind him, or someone else attacked him while he was distracted." Spike scratched his chin and pondered at the thought.

"Well judging from his injuries, there was only one attacker, at least one at a time. Two kicks to the ribs in the exact same spot indicate that it was done in quick succession. His gouged out eye seems to be a sign of hate, probably a reaction to him hurting someone close to the attacker. Probably someone who cared about the mare he assaulted." Twilight smacked her head with a hoof.

"That theory leaves no connection to Neighana, the two have noting in common. I hate to second guess this, but maybe the murders aren't connected after all." Twilight sat down, brushing papers across the floor apathetically.

"Twilight, if we do find a connection between the two, then we'll have a huge lead on who to pin to the murder. If there really is no connection, then we might as well declare this case unsolvable."

"Let's take a break, we'll find the connection soon enough. I can tell there's obviously something tying the two crimes, but I'm not sure what. Anyway, let's go get breakfast."

Fluttershy arrived back home, all the letters were given out and everyone accepted the invitation with the exception of Bon Bon, who claimed she had to be somewhere tonight. But there was still another letter to take care of, a sealed letter strangely addressed to the Appaloosa Police Station. Fluttershy disregarded this strange fact and put into her mailbox, raising the red flag.

"Step two, gather decorations." Fluttershy recalled Pinkie telling her exactly where to find the party cannon, a precision instrument invented by Pinkie herself and a prime example of her ingenuity. With the party cannon available, the decorations would be able to wait. Step three was going to be a challenge.

"Step three, food and drink preparation." Fluttershy began reading and rereading directions on how to bake different things. She messily mixed up batter, splashing it on her face and across the kitchen counters and floor. She quickly shoved a cake pan full of batter into the searing hot oven.

"Cake making, not as easy as I thought it'd be."

The clock ticked as the deadline approached, it was getting late in the afternoon and Fluttershy was shuffling around between menial tasks. She was stopped in her tracks by the sickening smell of something burning. She looked back into the kitchen, black billowing smoke was coming out of the oven. She squeaked and rushed towards the burning cake.

"Oh no, oh no no no." She quickly shut off the heat and opened her back door, fanning the smoke out with her wings.

The smell of it must have caught Pinkie's attention, she came trotting into kitchen with a worried look on her face. However the sight of a frantically flapping Fluttershy put a smile on her face. Pinkie stood there for a moment, watching her silly friend desperately forcing smoke into the outside air. She let out a mild sigh, Fluttershy was simply adorable. She was doing her best not to disappoint, even though putting herself in this position is something she never imagined doing. Fluttershy hated feeling like she was being depended on. Pinkie let out another sigh, this one deeper and slightly heart wrenching, Was it wrong to get her involved in this mess?

"You're supposed to bake it not burn it Shy."

"Oh Pinkie! I'm so so sorry, it was an accident, I'm not used to this." Fluttershy let her failure get the better of her, she lost the ability to speak and her eyes filled with tears.

"Don't you cry now, Pinkie will take care of everything!" Pinkie put on an obnoxiously large smile. She trotted up to the sobbing pegasus and wrapped her arm around her. "I'll take care of you Shy, don't worry about it."

Pinkie cleaned up the mess and helped Fluttershy learn to properly mix and bake. Pinkie did enjoy taking her mind off the arduous tasks ahead, even if only for a moment.  

Fluttershy was more than relieved that Pinkie got up when she did. She really did save the day. With a pleasant ding the treats were prepared. They wrapped up what they had made and Pinkie said they could bake more in the Community Building's kitchen while they sat everything up. Pinkie grabbed her scarf from the drawer, tucking the bag of her leaves inside. Then they headed out.

Pinkie's nerves were on edge as they walked into the building. This was the first time she had set something up with such a large margin of error, if anything went wrong, everything would come crashing down on her.

"Fluttershy, I need to go over something important with you." Her smile was gone and her voice was flat and serious.

"Remember what we're doing here, this isn't just a party, we're going to get rid of a very bad pony." Pinkie closed her eyes and went over how she planned on explaining to Fluttershy what she needed her to do.

"I know Pinkie, but I was thinking... Why can't we just tell the police where he is and let them take care of it." Fluttershy nervously waited for a reply with her head lowered.

Pinkie's gaze hardened, and she stamped a hoof. "Fluttershy, you want to know what happens if we tell the police? I'll tell you, they'll take him, put him in a warm jail cell with a bed. Then he gets sentenced to death and shipped off to prison. They'll feed him everyday and on his last day he gets to have a delicious feast of his choice. Then what you ask? Then they give him a shot and he falls asleep!" Pinkie's hooves shook and she teared up.

"I'm... I'm sorry Pinkie, I didn't know..." Fluttershy retreated back, regretting having said anything.

"It's alright Shy, it just makes me so angry when I think about it. Do you want to know what he did to her?  What he did to a sweet innocent little filly?" Fluttershy quickly shook her head from side to side.

"Well it wasn't good, and he deserves what I'm going to do to him. Every agonizing second." Pinkie stamped her hoof again.

"I'm sorry I yelled Shy, now come here, I need to tell you what you need to do when everyone gets here. But make sure to wait for my signal, don't do anything unless you know for SURE that I'm DEFINITELY signalling you to. I don't want you to get hurt." Pinkie brushed the dangling curl out of her face with her hoof, then went up to Fluttershy and explained the details of her task.

As Pinkie told her what was going to happen and what her part was her eyes widened and she gulped.

"Okay Pinkie, got it, confidence." Fluttershy searched deep into the recesses of her mind for a trace of confidence, nothing.

Pinkie nervously glanced at the large clock hanging in the room. "I'll be right back Fluttershy, I have to check on something."

She headed out and around back and opened the old shed. The strung out stallion laid there partially awake. "Here, eat this, you'll like it." Pinkie held out a small fragment of dried leaf on the tip of her hoof.

He sniffed it, then licked it right off her hoof.

"Ew!" Pinkie wiped the hoof on the tip of her scarf with a disgusted expression. "You're just nasty..."

She shut the door and let him fall back to sleep, the setting sun glared in her eyes as she rounded the corner and headed back in. The guests should be arriving soon. As she re-entered the building she immediately noticed Fluttershy. She bit her bottom lip so hard she almost broke the skin, her eyes began to water slightly and the urge to laugh was nearly overwhelming. Fluttershy sat at a bar stool, her legs crossed and her mane brushed back on one side and a thick strand dangling over one eye. She had her hoof in her mane twirling it around and she was making different 'sexy' faces in a small mirror on the counter. She was practicing looking confident and the sight was unusual to say the least. As soon as she spotted Pinkie she lost her balance and began frantically fluttering her wings, but she still fell off the stool and came crashing to the floor. At that point Pinkie had lost it and began rolling around on the floor laughing, her eyes tightly closed.

"Fluttershy!... You!... Oh you... Ha..."  Pinkie couldn't form a complete thought through her laughter. As she began to calm down she opened her eyes. Twilight stood above her looking down with an eyebrow raised.

"What did I miss?"

"Oh hi Twi, you're early." Pinkie looked at her upside down, still laying on the floor with a bright smile.

"Yeah, I came early because I might be leaving early since Spike insisted on coming along." Twilight glanced around the large open room, several tables were set up and well decorated. A large cooler was on another table near the wall and several snacks sat on a table next to it.

"You two set all this up by yourselves?" Twilight asked, already knowing the answer.

"Sure did, well it was actually mostly Fluttershy. She made almost all the food and sat up the tables herself. I just kind of supervised. She said she wanted to be a big part of this since she knows how much parties mean to me." Pinkie spoke off the top of her head, everything she said was a lie.

"Wow Fluttershy, I didn't know you had it in you." Twilight gave her a smile of approval. "It looks great."

A few more guest walked in, along with a bar tender who approached Pinkie and asked where to set his stuff up. She directed him and he pulled his large cart of supplies in and around to the back of the bar. Shortly after, a DJ pony trotted and and began setting her stage up.

Twilight looked surprised. "How did you get all this set up in one day, don't you have to make reservations for these ponies?"

"Well I set all this up a while ago, you see, today is also the day I first came to Ponyville. Don't you remember me giving you and invitation a long time ago? Of course you don't silly, that was too long ago to remember. Anyway I found a better reason to celebrate." Pinkie wrapped her arm around Fluttershy.

"I do remember getting that invitation now, I misplaced it though." Twilight shook her head.

Pinkie smiled awkwardly and trotted away from Twilight to greet more arriving guests. Fluttershy nervously glanced around at the growing number of attendees. As she spotted Applejack and Caramel walking in, her eye twitched.

"Okay Fluttershy you can do this... confidence..." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment to clear her mind.

She walked up to Caramel and gave him a quick wink. "Hi there cutie, maybe we should hang out later." She licked her lips and made sharp eye contact, then trotted away, provocatively waving her flank back and forth.

Fluttershy opened her eyes, she was still standing in the same spot, Applejack and Caramel were still being welcomed by Pinkie. Fluttershy's eye twitched again and she trotted away from them and everyone else.

"I can't do this..."

Pinkie chuckled under her breath, she knew Fluttershy wouldn't do it, but still got some amusement out of her attempt.

Everything seemed to be going well, all the guests were having fun and continued to congratulate Pinkie and Fluttershy on their new relationship. Applejack seemed to be less than willing to let Caramel leave her sight, which was proving to be a somewhat expected yet annoying problem. Rainbow Dash and Rarity were having a conversation about something, Pinkie couldn't even begin to imagine what it could be about but felt like she could use that fact to her advantage. She noticed Applejack giving Rainbow a few jealous glances now and then. It was always obvious that there was some strange mutual connection between the two, and neither liked the other receiving too much attention for some reason.

Pinkie walked up to Rainbow Dash and gave her a long warm hug, too long for Applejack's comfort.

"I missed you lately Rainbow, we never hang out anymore." Pinkie kept a hoof around her neck and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. Rarity rolled her eyes and walked away.

Applejack raised an eyebrow, she wasn't going to stand by any longer. "Congratulations on falling for your new partner Pinkie, you two are just too darn cute together." Applejack blatantly pointed out that Pinkie was taken although there was no real reason to.

Rainbow Dash nodded. "You got that right AJ."

"Thanks guys." Pinkie smiled again and hugged Rainbow Dash tighter this time, Rainbow was confused at the display of affection, but Pinkie smiled deviously and looked into Applejack's eyes.

"Well I should be checking on Fluttershy now, see you two later, have fun now." Pinkie walked past Applejack towards Caramel, knocking her hat off with her tail.

"What the hay Pink, awe forget it." She picked her hat up and began quickly and quietly talking to Rainbow Dash about something. They were both shrugging and glancing back and forth between Pinkie and Rarity. Applejack was distracted now and that's all that mattered to Pinkie.

As she approached Caramel she lured him away from his overbearing cousin. "Hey there you, wanna come have a drink with me?" Pinkie's cute eyes and smile meant no wasn't an option for this stallion.

"Uh, sure. I'll just uh, follow you then kay?" Pinkie led him to a table close to the bar, Fluttershy was in her practiced pose sitting on a bar stool behind Pinkie.

Pinkie made exceptionally boring small talk allowing Caramel to get distracted by Fluttershy, who was hard at work making sure not to make eye contact with anyone.

"You looking at my girl?" Pinkie raised her eyebrow. "You know, she told me she thinks you're really cute, maybe you should go talk to her."

"She said that about me? No way, but isn't she your's?"

"Yeah but who says a couple curious fillies never want a stallion in their lives now and then." Pinkie had him eating out of her hooves now. He lost all sense of rationality at the thought of being in between some mare on mare action.

He raised his neck up and peered over Pinkie to get a better look. Fluttershy was delicately holding a glass between her hooves drinking from a straw. Caramel's movement caught her attention, and when she made eye contact with him, every ounce of accumulated confidence vanished. She spat the drink back through the straw refilling the glass, then began to choke. She pounded her own chest with a hoof and eventually fell off the stool again. Her face was flushed and her nerves were lost. She scuttled back to her seat, blushing nearly to the point of blacking out.

Pinkie resisted the urge to facehoof, instead she giggled and pointed out how cute that was. "See? She really does like you, you have her acting all nervous. No go, go talk to her, I'll distract Applejack so she leaves you two alone for a while."

"You will? Well gee, thanks Pinkie." Caramel trotted off towards Fluttershy, and Pinkie trotted off towards Applejack. She turned her head and looked Fluttershy in the eye then gave her a quick nod.

On her way to further distract Applejack she noticed Spike was already falling asleep. She stopped on the way and grabbed three trays of cupcakes. Walking on her back hooves she balanced a tray on each hoof and one on her nose. As she made her way between Applejack and Rainbow Dash, she pretended to lose her balance and came crashing down to the floor with all the frosted treats falling on top of her.

"Ten second rule! Quick, eat them up now!" Pinkie laid down on the floor sprawled out and covered in sweet foods.

"What the hay, count me in!" Rainbow Dash began eating the tiny cakes off Pinkie's body with pleasure. Pinkie giggled as Rainbow Dash tickled her with her tongue.

She looked up at Applejack with fiery eyes and a cocky grin, who then grabbed Rainbow Dash's arm with her own and led her to the other side of the room. The two began arguing about something and Rainbow cowered down under Applejack's lecture.

"Oh you two, secret couples always have the weirdest issues to work out." Pinkie thought to herself.

Fluttershy swallowed her shyness for a moment, desperately trying to remain confident. "Oh... Hi, I'm um, Fluttershy."

"I know who you are, wanna have a drink with me?"

"Yeah... Um, want to go in the kitchen with me where we can talk in private." Fluttershy shook her head back and forth rapidly, finding a trace of bravery. She stood up and walked into the kitchen, holding the door open for a moment, looking over her shoulder with a smile and narrowed eyes.

As the door shut she nearly collapsed due to mental stress, but she knew it wasn't over yet. She persevered, finding reassurance in Pinkie's kind words.

"You can do this Fluttershy, you can do this, you can do this. She's counting on me." The kitchen door swung open, Caramel had taken the bait.

Fluttershy gulped, "I got you something, here, eat it." She slid a cupcake over on a plate, then began to eat one of her own.

"Nah I've had enough for one night. I want to get a taste of you instead, sugar."

Fluttershy's eyes became wider and teared up as she squinted her eyebrows. "Please?" Her voice was nearly inaudibly high.

"Ha, well if'n it means that much to ya, I'll eat it." Caramel took the drugged cake and quickly ate it, shortly after, he recognized what he had just eaten, and began to feel dizzy. Nearly two entire leaves were laced through that single cupcake, rendering him unconscious in seconds.

Fluttershy let out a deep sigh of relief, it was finally over. She tied his hooves up tightly and dragged him into the kitchen's walk in freezer. It was difficult and took time, but she managed it. She laid a few empty boxes over him and shut the lights off, then headed back out to the party. Pinkie was patiently waiting for her to come back out, almost fearing the worst. Fluttershy made eye contact from across the room and gave her another quick nod. Pinkie felt as if a bale of hay had been lifted off her back.

Just then, bright blue lights appeared flashing outside. Pinkie jumped up and ran to the window. The Appaloosa police had received her anonymous tip mailed out earlier in the day.

"Applejack come here, quickly!" Pinkie shouted, however instead of Applejack the whole crowd of party guests gathered around the window. Applejack squeezed her way through just in time to see three blue horseshoes on a light  brown flank being pushed into the back of a police carriage. She bit her lip and backed away nervously, if the police knew she was hiding her wanted cousin she'd be charged with harboring a known fugitive. Pinkie went outside to talk to the police, the guests remained inside and gossiped among themselves.

The police soon went away and Pinkie came back in. "It's alright every pony, they heard there was a criminal here and they caught him, we're safe now so don't let this spoil the party." She looked down at Applejack with a fake sympathetic expression. Applejack seemed to buy it as she gave Pinkie a light smile and walked to the cooler.

Pinkie was more than satisfied with the way everything had gone, that junkie pony would be released from jail as soon as they realize there was a mistaken identity. He'll probably just merge with the outcasts of Appaloosa, or make his way back to Ponyville. No one would believe a word he said even if he did try to talk, not that he could even remember anything that happened after his near overdose of special cupcakes. Applejack will eventually hear about the mistaken identity, even though she doesn't read the news, and she seems perfectly convinced that what happened actually happened. When she does find out, she'll assume he no longer trusts her and went into hiding on his own, never to be heard from again. Twilight left hours ago with a sleeping Spike, something Pinkie hadn't counted on, but it was better that the annoying unicorn didn't have anything to say about the situation.

A couple more hours went by, and all the guests headed out, Rainbow carried the inebriated orange earth pony on her shoulder with a wing tightly wrapped around her. Pinkie had to insist that her and Fluttershy stay behind and clean alone several times to several ponies. She claimed they wanted some alone time tonight and cleaning was something they enjoyed doing together.

"Phew, finally, right Shy? I thought they'd never leave." Pinkie smiled at Fluttershy, who was looking pretty tired.

"Yeah, right." Fluttershy yawned and poked her nose into Pinkie's side, tickling her a bit. "Well, we did it Pinkie."

"You did it Shy, I couldn't have done this without you, I'm really proud." Pinkie closed her eyes and rubbed her nose against her bashful friend's.

Fluttershy blushed again, "Thanks Pinkie..."

The two mares quickly cleaned up the mess in less than two hours. Large full garbage bags were left near the back door for morning maintenance to deal with. They then headed back to the freezer. Pinkie opened it up, inside was a now mostly awake and shivering stallion, he looked up and made eye contact with Pinkie. His hooves were tightly bound and his muscles were locked up due to the freezing cold air around him.

Pinkie began to grin ominously, the dim freezer light casting terrifying shadows across her malicious face.

"Gotcha."