Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo stepped outside the school when the final bell rang. Apple Bloom hadn't attended that day. It wasn't like her to miss class, and even though they were all still upset over what happened to Pinkie, they would have figured Apple Bloom would still show up.

"Where do you think she's been all day?" Scootaloo asked.

"I don't know. We should head to Sweet Apple Acres, see if anypony over there knows."

They entered the apple orchard and stopped briefly at the clubhouse. Nothing but the games and toys they left inside. They continued on to the Apple family's home and heard Apple Bloom sobbing through the front door. They peeked inside and saw Granny Smith sitting in her rocking chair in the living room with Apple Bloom in her lap, crying her eyes out.

"Oh, hello girls," Granny Smith said, barely audible.

The two fillies crept up to the old pony. "Apple Bloom, what's wrong?" Sweetie Belle squeaked.

She barely was able to speak through her sobbing. "It's.. it's Applejack. She's.. " She couldn't bring herself to finish. She was her big sister, Ponyville's toughest pony. Her mentor, her idol, her friend.

Granny sighed heavily, "There was an accident or somethin' last night, girls. Nopony understands what happened. Big Mac ran into town 'n brought the authorities early this mornin'. They didn't find no signs of break-in or nothin'. She just.. she's gone, girls. Ah'm sorry."

The little ones sat there staring in disbelief. Who could have done such a thing? Nopony's ever wanted to hurt Applejack. Their eyes watered as the situation sank in.

"Big Mac is probably still in town. We need to make arrangements for the poor dear. Probably place her with her folks. Would only be right," the elderly pony continued. Apple Bloom leaned her head against her grandmother's chest. She'd been crying so hard for so long, she was running herself out of breath. Nopony could blame her for being so distraught, and hearing mention of her parents just made things worse.

"Applejack's friends are probably aware of what's happened too. The police wanted to talk to 'em, see if they had any answers," Granny said.

"Ah'm sorry, girls," Apple Bloom managed to say through her tears, "Ah don't think Ah'm gonna be very good company right now."

Sweetie and Scootaloo hung their heads, wishing they knew how to fix things for their friend. The three of them could always depend on each other for just about anything. Crusading, sticking up for one another, helping with homework, whatever the situation was. Before Pinkie Pie, they never had to deal with death before. Not personally, anyway. If Apple Bloom wanted to be left alone, as her best friends, they were going to respect her wishes.

"We understand, Apple Bloom," Sweetie Belle said. "If you want anything, you know where to find us, OK?" The upset filly nodded, hiding her face in her hooves.

Sweetie motioned to the door and the little pegasus quietly followed.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle sat in the clubhouse, leaning against opposite walls. Neither had said more than five words in the fifteen minutes after arriving.

The orange filly finally broke the silence with a heavy sigh, "I don't suppose you want to do anything."

"Not really."

"Yeah, same. Was going to say we could try some crusading to get our minds off things, but without Apple Bloom, it's not the same. Wouldn't be fair either if one of us got a cutie mark without her. She'd probably feel kinda betrayed," Scootaloo grumbled.

"Yeah, she wouldn't want to hear that right now either. Not after all this," Sweetie Belle slouched. "I almost want to go see Rarity, but if she's already heard about what happened here, I can imagine how she'd be."

"What do you mean?"

Sweetie put her hoof on her head, imitating her melodramatic sister, "'I vant to be.. alone!' I don't need to deal with that right now."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes, "Do you really think she'll act like that?"

"That's how she usually acts when something's bothering her."

"Did she do that after Pinkie died?"

Sweetie Belle thought for a moment, "Well.. no. She stayed up in her room most of the day. I heard her from downstairs. I went home after a little while. Kinda figured she didn't want to be bothered." She rubbed her leg, wondering if she had made a mistake that day. Applejack had helped Rarity and Sweetie Belle become much closer after the Sisterhooves Social, and doubtless the fashionista was eternally grateful to the workpony. Granted, they didn't see eye to eye when it came to some things, but they were still close friends.

"Look," Scootaloo suggested, "how about we go see Rarity and if she's being insufferable, we'll go someplace else. Deal?"

"Alright," Sweetie Belle sighed.

Sweetie Belle slowly inside Carousel Boutique, bumping the door gently into the bell overhead, with Scootaloo right behind her. They heard a faint sobbing coming from upstairs, followed by a familiar 'Com-i-i-ing!' after a moment. The greeting didn't seem to have the usual spunk it does. Rarity stepped onto the first floor and saw her little sister with her pegasus friend.

"Oh, hello Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo," Rarity greeted them. "Oh dear, I must look absolutely dreadful. I'm sorry, girls. How was your day?"

The unicorn's hair was a disaster, her white cheeks were stained grey from tears that she had obviously been shedding, and her make-up was smeared under her eyes where she tried to wipe away any indication of her misery. Just the fact that she didn't bother to try and gussy herself up for what may have been a customer showed the fillies that she was taking Applejack's death almost as hard as Apple Bloom. Not that she'd ever want to admit it.

"Not so good," Sweetie Belle moped. "Apple Bloom wasn't in school today, so we went over to Sweet Apple Acres to see if somepony knew where she was. Granny Smith told us that something happened to Applejack." The little ones hung their heads.

"You heard then, huh?" They nodded. "The authorities stopped by here earlier this afternoon asking me if I had any idea about what may have happened. They said they had no leads. I.. I just can't figure out who would do something to her, or why. She was one of the sweetest mares a pony could ever know."

"Yeah, that's what Granny Smith said," Scootaloo commented.

Rarity walked up to the heartbroken fillies and sat down. She pulled them in close and hugged them tightly. "Listen girls, if you promise to behave, I'll let you stay a little while. It's been slow today and I was thinking of closing up shop a little early. I really don't want to deal with demanding customers. Not after the last few days."

"We will," Sweetie Belle said honestly. She and Scootaloo weren't about to put on their usual innocent act today.

"Thank you, sweetheart. I would like to be alone tonight before I turn in, but until then, it'd be nice to have some company," Rarity sniffled, stroking her sister's mane. "Come on. Let's go get a snack or something. Try and take our minds of this whole ordeal."

It was unsurprising to Rarity that Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo had kept their promise and behaved. As much as she tried to conceal it, Rarity was devastated by recent events and the girls could see right through her facade. They didn't need to add any more stress to the mix, such as leaving a big mess that needed to be cleaned up like they usually did.

Rarity helped the youngsters with their homework and quietly played with them for a little while before it started to get late. On their way out, she squeezed them both tightly to her chest, not really wanting to let go. Rarity knew they needed to head home, but the silence that permeated the Boutique during the day before they had arrived allowed no real distractions from her sorrow, save for the occasional customer. She tried to come up with some new designs to take her mind off things, but that failed. She tried to put some dresses together for a client. That failed too. Hearing the voices of ponies she cared about was about the only thing that stopped her from having a breakdown that day.

"Sis.. we kinda need to go now," Sweetie Belle smiled.

"Heh, yes, it is getting late. I'm sorry, girls," Rarity said, letting them go. She nuzzled their heads with her own. "Be careful on the way home, OK?"

"We will. G'night Rarity," Scootaloo said.

"Night, sis."

Rarity waved goodbye and her heart sunk when the door finally closed. She was alone again. She sighed to herself and made one last round through the Boutique, tidying up the kitchen where it needed and straightening out any of her displays that may have required it before heading upstairs to prepare for bed.

She looked like she hadn't slept in a week as she went over her reflection in the mirror. It was usually a big production getting herself straightened up before she turned in, but tonight, she couldn't have cared less. She hoped it wouldn't be a recurring theme as time went on. It wouldn't have been considered beauty sleep if she went to bed looking as terrible as she did. But, there were more important things right now and she cast aside her concerns for her own well being tonight. She dragged herself to bed and, thanks to how emotionally taxing the last few days had been, drifted off to sleep almost right away.

The sun shined brightly in the windows her of inspiration room. Every gem that she had attached to her brand new designer clothing line sparkled and winked in the light. It couldn't have been a more glorious day if Celestia herself appeared and gave Rarity the keys to the kingdom. She opened a window and took in a deep breath. The scents of fresh cut grass and newly awakened flowers filled her lungs and lifted her spirits. Today was the day she was going to create a masterpiece of fashion that would immortalize her in the minds, and hopefully closets, of Ponyville and Canterlot's elite.

She went to her work station and began drawing up some blueprints, each one more amazing than the last. This one! This is it! She lifted up her genius and gazed at the paper in awe. There wasn't a moment to lose! She went to grab a roll of fabric and heard somepony whisper for her.

"Rarity!"

She turned around. The room was empty. The only things that could be mistaken for ponies were her ponyquinns, and they didn't feel much like talking, well, ever. She shrugged and returned to her work.

"Rarity! Come on, aren't you going to say hello?"

Confused, she turned to the window. Was someone maybe calling out to her from the ground? The voice did seem to be coming from that direction. She looked outside and saw nopony.

"No, silly, you walked right past me! I'm not outside."

Even more befuddled, Rarity started heading towards the stairs. She took only a few steps and was in the center of the room when the muffled, yet somehow familiar, voice spoke again.

"Oh oh! Too far! Back this way!"

She was starting to get irritated by the childish games. She headed back towards the window one step at a time.

"There! Stop! Hi!" Rarity stood in front of one of her ponyquinns. Was she going mad? Was this some practical joke someone was pulling?

"What's going on? Who's there?"

"Aw, Rarity, I know you remember me!" Suddenly, a pair of large blue eyes popped out of the ponyquinn's head that she stood before and stared almost menacingly at her. A slow, wide grin, partially hidden behind stitches where the display's mouth could have been, followed. Several long threads grew from the top of its head and casually draped themselves over the right side of the ponyquinn's face. The bright sun outside faded into obscurity and the window slammed closed.

The unicorn jumped at the sight. It suddenly hit her whose voice it was. "P.. Pinkie? Is that you, dear?"

The ponyquinn relaxed its legs and the metal spoke it sat upon melted into a puddle, lowering its passenger to the ground, before slithering away on its own. The white fabric that created its skin turned pink and the threads thickened and morphed into her flattened mane. Her tail popped out of the former dummy's rump and Pinkie walked up to the nervous Rarity, the party pony's ever present smile never fading.

"Hi!"

"Gracious, Pinkie, you scared me half to death. But it's nice to see you again," Rarity smiled.

"Well, I was scared all to death, so, it could be worse, right?"

Rarity hugged her deceased friend, "I don't know if this is just a dream or if I'm losing my mind or what, Pinkie. I just hope that, wherever you may be, you're doing alright. We all miss you so." The unicorn frowned when she thought of what happened the night before. "Now Applejack's gone too. Since last night."

Pinkie gently pushed Rarity off. "Aw, Applejack's fine. Trust me. But I'm here now, with you! We should do something fun!"

The fashionista's smile returned, "Of course, Pinkie. What would like to do?"

Pinkie looked around randomly before spotting Rarity's masterpiece on the table, snatching it up and pulling it to her face. "Oooh, that's really nice, Rarity! I gotta tell ya, I've always wondered what it was like to make something that a pony could keep for longer than a meal. But I never really knew how to make a dress at all, let alone as beautiful as the ones you make!"

"Don't sell yourself short, Pinkie. Your treats were always amazing and you know it," Rarity chuckled.

"I have an idea! How about I make a new dress and you tell me what you think? I remember what you had to do when you made mine for the Grand Galloping Gala," Pinkie suggested.

Rarity clapped her hooves together, "Ooh, that sounds wonderful! Let's go ahead and get started!" She turned around and headed toward the rolls of fabric before she felt a hard tug at her rump, falling hard to the floor. Pinkie had a hoof on her purple tail.

"Um, could you get off my tail, sweetie?"

"No."

"Beg your pardon?"

"If I get off your tail, you'll be able to get away!"

She darted her eyes back and forth nervously, "Um.. get away? W-What do you mean, Pinkie?" Her unflinched smile and unblinking eyes were already making Rarity uneasy. Hearing her friend talking about 'getting away' made her sweat.

Pinkie tapped her chin, "Let's see, if I remember right, you want to make sure your fabric is nice and smoothed out before you stitch it together, right? Just tell me if I'm doing something wrong!" The metal liquid the ponyquinn stood on reappeared and crawled up Pinkie's leg, forming an iron. An ominous puff of steam flew from the holes.

Rarity eyes reduced themselves to the size of pinheads, "P-Pinkie, w-what are you doing?"

Pinkie ran the scalding iron over Rarity's legs, her flank, her back, her sides, the top of her neck. Rarity shrieked in agony as her skin blistered and burned into a sickening shade of pink. The smell of singed coat invaded her snout and almost made her gag. At first, her legs desperately tried to grab onto the floor and sprint away. But as Pinkie continued to drag and steam the instrument over her body, her muscles began to fail her. Every time she tried to move, thanks to the severe burns, it was nearly unbearable.

Even gasping for breath proved to be excruciating. "Pinkie! Why are you doing this?!" she pleaded with eyes watering.

Ignoring the question and satisfied with the first step of her creation, the iron melted itself down and retreated. Pinkie trotted over to the rolls of fabric and cut out several uneven shapes. She snatched a needle and thread from the workstation.

"Now we can put the dress together!" Pinkie slapped the fabric onto Rarity's cauterized skin, causing her to scream again. The thread tied itself into the needle's eye and Pinkie stabbed it through the cloth and into the unicorn's right back leg. With each prick of the needle and yank of the fiber, her wails slowly became one long scream.

Rarity's internal struggles landed her on the floor of her room. Her exposed, tortured skin was left with a series of holes on her affected leg and flank. Blood trickled down like a red river. Another set of punctures appeared out of thin air around her other legs, then her sides, and finally her back. She was hollering so loud, her throat started to crack.

"There we go! Those are some really pretty colors, don't you agree, Rarity?"

She laid there, barely able to move, with pieces of fabric physically attached to her flesh, thick puddles of blood forming on the floor. "Sweetie Belle! Spike.. Spiii-hi-hi-hi-hiiike..." she sobbed helplessly.

"Awww, little Spikey-Wikey isn't going to see you wakey wakey! Here! Let's take a look at you." Pinkie lifted Rarity up onto all fours and stood her up as straight as her legs allowed. Even standing still or shivering in pain just made everything hurt more.

"Hm.. wow, this is harder than I thought. I don't like it at all. Let's try again!" Pinkie grabbed the fabric and ripped it off piece by piece, causing Rarity to screech again. Bits of her skin here and there tore off, connecting some of the puncture wounds. Other pieces of her skin were completely removed, exposing the tissue underneath and causing heavier bleeding. All her strength spent, Rarity's legs slid out from under her and she flopped onto her belly. Her eyes began to roll into the back of her head.

Pinkie gasped, "Oh my gosh! I think that's it!" She hoisted Rarity to her hooves again and marveled at her work. "It just needs one more thing," she said, tapping her head. The idea hit her. She stepped up to Rarity and pulled a purple bow out, tying it to her horn.

She hopped around the broken unicorn with glee. "Yay! Beautiful! Now all we have to do is put it on display! Thanks so much for all your help, Rarity!" The metal liquid congealed below Rarity and shot into the air, driving itself into her stomach. It jolted the last breath out of her body. The once beautiful Rarity's head slowly lowered and her eyes finally closed.