Le Petit Four
A fan-made Sequel to Sgt. Sprinkles' "Cupcakes"
By FinalGamer and James Corck.
Rainbow Dash's disappearance was at first not noticed by the local populace of Ponyville. Despite her exuberant unmissable presence they knew she would always be found napping on a cloud or flying far and high into the skies where nopony could see her, her head literally in the clouds. It wasn't until perhaps a week later that ponies began wondering where she had been, and her disappearance caught more attention than other cases of missing ponies.
This was also troublesome because of the rota change for weather control, but it was all they could do. Only one pony knew where she had gone, standing in the doorway of the bakery, looking throughout the streets. She could tell them, she could tell them everything but her instincts told her not to, some mysteries were best left as mysteries. It was rare for her to say this but in this case it was. She couldn't spoil the surprise! After all, everypony would learn about it: One by one.
She smiled and bounced on a glowing summer day, giggling aimlessly about, sneaking through alleyways occasionally and nopony would ever take notice, already accustomed to her wily ways. And she smiled a hidden smile, knowing that in a way, all the ponies she personally knew were now a part of herself, and all her friends.
For the most part, there was no reason to do so. She was happy enough just walking down the main street gazing around at the usual bright colours and cheering the locals up with her presence, a familiar face whom was met with either irritation or cheer. But then she felt the twitchy gut.
She had the little twitches that could tell her something bad would occur. Whatever the case would be, it would be something bad they had to avoid, a walking Geiger counter of misfortune. But the twitchy gut was different. It was a twitch nopony could see, a small perk of her eyes as the only clue, a special little twitch she never told anyone about. It was her signal to invite another friend.
It happened before with Rainbow Dash. She saw her flying overhead one day and the twitchy gut came. It excited her, to think she could have one of her bestest best friends over to help her with her trade! A shame she had to leave, but it was a momentous occasion. She had known many ponies, but none of them were true friends like Rainbow Dash was. But then her twitchy gut came, the first twitch to signify something near. She would look across the streets, gazing at each and every pony until the second and third twitches came. When three twitches struck within the pit of her stomach, there she would find her next assistant.
When her eyes laid upon one pony, the three twitches came, making her gasp with intrigue.
"Really!?" she said to herself. "...ooooooh...fancy...everypony'd love something fancy to try! But I have to make sure first! I have a number to take!" And with that she trotted off back to her lair.
She had her lair located underneath Sugarcube Corner. The trap door to the basement concealed it perfectly for nopony to see. She trotted downstairs, went past the main room and entered another one. There was a large table with a can of red paint and a party hat filled with cut out numbers inside. There had to be around five hundred numbers. Pinkie Pie stuffed her muzzle inside and plucked a number out.
"YAAAAY!" she yelled letting the number fall from her mouth and on the table. It got soaked on red paint.
Rarity had been rather pleased to be not so busy for once. As much as she relished a big project to take on with thread and needle, she enjoyed a little downtime to herself as well, lying upon her bed resplendent within her inner sanctum of the heights of fashion fresh from Canterlot. She would dream of gracing royal galas, of sequins shining off her flank, silken hoof sleeves bringing their colors out, and tassels…well, not tassels. Don't be ridiculous, they would look terrible with sequins, she thought. But she dreamed away nonetheless for fresh new ideas.
"Aaaah...the life of a fashionista," she murmured to herself as she bathed in the sunlight from her window. "A life so fraught with stress and pleasure...mmmm...wha?" Something had flapped against the window briefly blocking the light from her body, the sound of a light fwap against the window making her rise from her bed and discover a letter had been pasted onto her windowpane. She could tell from this distance by the gaudy pink who it was from. With a slight sneer she slowly opened her window and brought the letter inside, tenderly cutting it open with a letter opener and pulling the rather excitably-scrawled message out to read.
HI Rarity!
How ya doing!? Hope I'm not bothering ya but could you help me down at the bakery?
I really wanna impress ponies with something REALLY Fancy and you're the fanciest pony I know!
Hope to see ya soon!
Pinkie P.
"Oh, such awful muzzle-writing," was her first comment. "How can one even run an establishment without knowing the pleasures of cursive? But...fancy?" The compliment struck her nicely enough. "Does that mean...What if...oh Celestia, please let it be true! I knew this day would come!"
And with a rather flustered sense of excitement awakening within her, she left a message on her door saying she was out to brunch and briskly cantered all the way to Pinkie Pie's. Thoughts ran within her head at what her sugar-laden friend could possibly want with her expertise.
Knocking politely on the door, she was greeted with the most exuberant face she had ever seen on her friend. She had seen Pinkie Pie excited before, but this was...pure jubilation.
"RARITY! Ya made it! Come in come in!"
"Oh well, hello dear Pinkie, I got your message even if you delivered it rather...unorthodoxly."
"Hehehe, sorry Rarity, but I couldn't let anyone see me deliver you that li'l note, it's a surprise after all!"
"Ohh? Well...I can see why, after all when one is about to embark upon an odyssey of delectable delights such as this, you have to be discreet until ready to unveil, correct?"
"YEAH! Oh you totally understand. I'm so happy to hear, thank you!"
"Well, to be quite frank, I knew this day would come my sweet Pinkie." The bouncy pink pony looked quizzically at her friend, put slightly off-kilter.
"You...you did?"
"Oh why yes! I always knew that one day you would be willing enough to try creating something more...fancy, as you put it."
Pinkie Pie only nodded vigorously, surprised to feel that Rarity of all ponies was thinking on what felt like the same wavelength.
"Oh yeah, yeah, yeah! Just had to be the right time was all!"
"Well there is no shame in admitting uncertainty until you're ready, but I am happy to see you ready to make something more...elegant. Don't get me wrong dear, your cupcakes and pastries are simply MARVELLOUS. But sometimes, you need something of...a different class, just to mix it up a little."
"Oooh yeah, and I been waitin' fer it. I didn't think the day would ever come but well, here we are! Hehehee!"
"I'm rather surprised you didn't do this sooner Pinkie, you already know you're a wonderful baker!"
"Well, like I said, just had to be the right time was all!"
"Hahaha, indeed."
Rarity was genuinely surprised that Pinkie of all ponies would have such patience to not try this sort of thing sooner, but she appreciated her more for that, if anything it made her respect her more as being serious about her own craft. In a small way, she felt a certain kinship to Pinkie, as a fellow artist. She understood that to make food was just as complex as making a dress. It was all about the right quantities, what went together with what, and above all else, having a sense of taste. As she pondered this, she didn't notice Pinkie push a plate of cupcakes to her face, beautifully glossy, blue icing and sprinkles in every color under the rainbow before her muzzle.
"WH-what the-"
"Dontcha wanna try one so we can get started?"
Pinkie grinned with the tray in her mouth, speaking through gritted teeth. Rarity gently lifted one up with her unicorn horn, suspended in mid-air.
"Ohhh, really I'd love to but I'm not too hungry-"
"Aw come on Rarity, it'll get you aaaall ready!"
"Well...I suppose I must reacquaint myself with the taste so I can properly assist you."
She gently bit off some of the cupcake, before finding it far too delicious to refuse a second bite and left half of it remaining, munching eagerly, her tongue turning blue with a myriad of other minor colors.
"Mmmmmph! Oh my word Pinkie Pie. How DO you make these so delicious!?"
"Hehehe, you'll find out soon enough! I can't believe yer so eager to help me Rarity, really appreciate it!"
"Oh well, I am always willing to help a pony learn the wonders of a more refined taste! I may not be as skilled as you are with baking but I can certainly help with...w...with...oooh..."
"You alright Rarity!?"
"I...ooof...I feel a little...woozy. M-maybe it's the sug-uhhhh..." With that, she soon collapsed onto the floor, the cupcake she had been holding splatting onto the floor beside her, with Pinkie Pie giggling down at her.
"Awww you didn't even finish! He, he, he, oh well! There's plenty more where that came from!"
At first, she didn't feel anything. She could hear distant voices, giggles and sounds of metal clattering and clanging against each other. She couldn't see anything but black. Rarity blinked and the blackness turned into grayness. She kept blinking and the view turned into a faded grey as she looked around. She was in a completely dark room with a pale white light pouring through a half blocked window. When she tried to move a sting of pain crossed her forelegs. She looked to the right and to the left. Several leather straps held her tightly against a table. She could see it was an operation table since it was made out of shiny metal. The stench of formaldehyde filled her nostrils. In abject horror, her mind raced through her memories.
She was with Pinkie Pie.
She ate a cupcake.
Then she collapsed and everything turned to black.
She looked around until she saw a pink smudge in the distance, covered in shadows. It moved frantically. Rarity tried to talk, but nothing came from her mouth. She looked down and passed the tongue over her lips. She tried to, though. She couldn't move her tongue. It flapped side to side against the corners of her mouth, and her jaw hung loose. She started mumbling and moaning, frightened to death.
"Blhbmmh…Blmhmbh!"
The pink smudge moved away from where it was and disappeared in the darkness. Rarity opened her eyes until their hurt her as she moved her head side to side. Where did it go? Where was it? Was that Pinkie? Why would her friend do something like that to her? Rarity looked down as she saw the rest of her body strapped to the table. Her left leg was tied up in blue leather straps. She recognized that shade of b-
"SURPRISE!"
Pinkie Pie appeared right before her eyes with a demented smile that showed her teeth.
"Hiya Rarity! I'm so excited to have you here! Welcome to my basement!"
Pinkie Pie bounced away and Rarity observed in disgust at the attire she was wearing. She had a gown made out of cutie marks sewn together with a very thick thread. There were six Pegasus wings sewn on the back of the gown. Two of the wings were the same shade of blue as the straps on her left leg. Pinkie had a necklace made out of unicorn horns hanging over the gown. The grisly attire terrorized Rarity as she felt her stomach twisting and her mind getting hazy. She tried to talk, but more babbling came from her mouth.
"Oh, don't worry." said Pinkie Pie. "That's the codeine. It'll wear off in a few minutes." Pinkie Pie walked close to Rarity. "I am so excited! Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, I can't believe I have you here, Rarity! And since you know how important this is, I think you and I are going to make the best cupcakes yet!"
Rarity didn't understand. As Pinkie Pie moved away from her eye sight, she tried to look around her. Aside from the metal table and the straps on her four legs, there was nothing else around her. She looked at the straps. They were smeared with something. It took Rarity a few seconds to feel the stench and see the red liquid oozing from the skin. That's not leather, she thought. She tried to pull them and break free but they were so tightly tied to the table she couldn't even lift her limbs. She felt the sweat cooling over her coat and between her joints, on her neck and over her brow. If Pinkie Pie was joking, she didn't find that funny at all.
Pinkie Pie returned to Rarity's side. She noticed the unicorn was shaking and asked with genuine concern.
"Awww Rarity, are you afraid? Is it 'cause it's dark? Here, lemme help you with that."
Pinkie Pie disappeared again and a few seconds later an explosion of white light coming from the ceiling filled the room. Rarity closed her eyes and even with that the light hurt her retinas. Slowly, she opened her eyes and as she did so, she wished she had not.
The sight before her was revolting. The walls were white, or at least they used to be, smeared in red, black and brown. There were crusts of dried blood inbetween the tiles. From the ceiling hung bundles of rotten intestines and guts that dripped fluids over pans and tables. There were cleaned up bones piling on a corner that had belong to other ponies. On one side, there was a macabre center fold made out of foal heads. Rarity noticed one of them was Diamond Tiara. Then…Was it Pinkie Pie? Had Pinkie Pie been kidnapping ponies all this time to gut them open? Oh no, oh no please, please, don't tell me that's what she will do to me, no, no! Her struggles grew more panicked as she pulled from the straps until her limbs burned with pain. The panic and confusion rendered her magic useless.
"Awww, come on Rarity, don't get so upset." said Pinkie Pie. "Look, we're not alone!"
Pinkie Pie grabbed the table with both hoofs and turned it to the side of the basement that was behind Rarity. The fashion unicorn felt the strength coming back to her jaw as she screamed with her mouth fully opened at what she saw. Hanging from a wall there was the taxidermised corpse of Rainbow Dash. The rainbow mane and the tail were not as bright as they used to be and the blue coat was more grey than blue. She had no wings and her face had been stretched into a bizarre gesture. Was it a smile? Rarity was paralyzed and her throat ached.
"You see? You don't need to be so afraid now." said Pinkie Pie, pulling from the table and returning it back to its original position.
Rarity drooled down her chin as she looked at Pinkie Pie.
"P-Pinkie…Pinkie, please, let me go." said Rarity. "Please, I promise I won't say a word. It will be…it will be our secret, yes? I swear, Pinkie-Pie-swear! Huh!?" Rarity was desperate. Her eyes were wet.
"Awwww, but I can't, Rarity. You see, I don't make the rules" said Pinkie Pie. "I'm just doing my job. And it's so wonderful I get to do it with another one of my friends! This is gonna be so much fun!"
Rarity felt the strike of fear getting in her gut and up to her brain. All of a sudden, she felt there was no escape. She had her entire body paralyzed except for her head. She could charge a spell on Pinkie Pie, but then what to do? Would she scream for help until Pinkie Pie woke up and finished her? Rarity didn't know any powerful magic. She wasn't Twilight. The most powerful thing Rarity could make was control sewing implements and dress making tools. And for the look of the basement there were none there.
"Pinkie…Pinkie please, I beg you." said Rarity. "If you are still my friend, if you still love me like I still love you, please, don't hurt me. Don't hurt me more than you already did." she broke into tears.
"Awwww, don't cry silly." said Pinkie Pie as she got close to Rarity. She sat down on the edge of the table and wiped the tears off of Rarity's face. Then, she grabbed her by the shoulders and gave Rarity a hug.
Yes. Yes, it worked, it worked! I knew Pinkie wouldn't-
"If you cry, the cupcakes will just get sour."
Pinkie Pie got off the table as she moved towards the fridge. Rarity looked at her with tears rolling down her face as she started hyper-ventilating. She had to get out of the table and alert everypony that Pinkie Pie was a mass murderer. She had to. She pulled again from the straps but they wouldn't give in. She tried to use her magic to open the locks on the table but she kept missing. Pinkie Pie moved slowly, oblivious to Rarity's attempts at getting out of the table. It was like she knew she wouldn't get away from her. Pinkie Pie got close to what looked like a surgical tray and opened one of the drawers. She took a big knife with her teeth and moved to Rarity's head.
"Now Rarity, lemme show ya I can use my mouth real well."
Pinkie Pie moved the knife to Rarity's forehead and sunk the blade into her flesh. Rarity screamed as the blade cut the flesh around her horn leaving a deep red channel between her horn and the rest of her head. A few blood drops rolled down her fur and over her eyes falling on her nose. Rarity shook her head as the drops tickled her nostrils. Pinkie Pie kept cutting as the pain struck through Rarity's mind and into her eyes. After Pinkie Pie was done, Rarity's horn was peeled off at the base but still held on to her skull thanks to the nerves and the bone. Pinkie Pie moved to the surgical tray, dropped the knife on it and opened another drawer. When Rarity saw her pulling out a hack-saw, she started screaming.
"NO! NO, PLEASE NO! HELP! HELP, ANYPONY, PLEASE HELP ME! HELP ME!"
Her desperate screams just amused Pinkie Pie.
"Come on Rarity, you look silly screaming. Besides…" she patted the walls making deaf sounds on the padded surface. "Soundproof walls! That way Mister and Miss Cake can sleep while I work here. You gotta be considerate."
Pinkie Pie moved with the hacksaw to Rarity's head as the unicorn shook it side to side, making it impossible for Pinkie Pie to start sawing. Pinkie Pie put the hack saw down as she looked at Rarity. She was acting so not like Rarity. All her ladylike attitude was gone, or at least part of it.
"I won't let you! I won't!" screamed Rarity.
Pinkie Pie thought she had no other choice. She moved around the table and pulled another leather strap with a muzzle in the middle of it. She threw it over Rarity's face and pulled hard against the table. She pinned her head with a thunk and tied the leather strap to a mechanism. Rarity had her mouth closed so violently she didn't have time to get her tongue back in. The muzzled forced her to bite the tip off. She felt the sting of the spongy flesh getting cut as her mouth started filling with blood.
"Now that's better." said Pinkie Pie.
She grabbed the hack-saw again, climbed up to Rarity's head and placed the dented edge on the horn's base. Rarity felt the blade's cold metal turn into fire as Pinkie Pie started sawing off the bone. It didn't hurt at first but then the dents started cutting through the nerves and the sinew. Rarity gurgled through the muzzle as blood bubbled from the corners of her mouth and down her neck. She wanted to scream. The pain struck through her brain as Pinkie kept sewing.
When Pinkie Pie stopped she was only half way through cutting the bone. She grabbed it with her fore hooves as she looked at Rarity.
"Time to break the spell!"
She pushed the horn down snapping the bone with a dry crack. Rarity screamed through the muzzle as her throat gurgled in a pool of blood and saliva. Pinkie Pie moved away from Rarity as the hole where she used to have her horn started dripping blood between her eyes. Pinkie Pie grabbed the horn and sucked it.
"Awww, it doesn't have a flavour." she said with disappointment in her voice.
Rarity felt she was losing it. Her eyesight became blurry and she felt the cold fingers of unconsciousness grasping her mind. Before she could completely slip into a sea of blackness, she felt something wet and icy cold hitting between her haunches. She looked at Pinkie Pie. She held an empty bucket in her fore hooves.
"Ah, ah, ah! No sleepy! We don't like sleepy heads here." said Pinkie Pie. "Where's the fun if you fall asleep?"
Rarity looked up to where her horn used to be. She felt sick when she saw nothing there but a gush of blood. All of her life revolved around that horn. Her magic abilities, her skill with the needle and the scissors, they were all gone. She wouldn't be able to do dresses ever again. Pinkie Pie moved behind her and released her head from the muzzle. Rarity spat blood and saliva over the floor leaving a red stain all over her lips.
"Awwww, are you sad?" asked Pinkie Pie, throwing the horn over the table carelessly. "Come on, I was actually hoping you'd give me some advice."
"A…A-Advice on what?" said Rarity as she licked her lips and spat some more.
"Well…"
Pinkie Pie moved closer to Rarity as she rubbed a hoof over her coat. Rarity trembled under Pinkie's touch, repulsed by her friend. The sole touch and the sudden switch on her perception of Pinkie nauseated her. Rarity looked away as Pinkie Pie rubbed her face and cleaned the red blood from her lips. Rarity roared as more blood dripped from her forehead.
"I've always wanted to make myself a dress." said Pinkie Pie. "But I am not that good at doing dresses. This…" she said pointing at her gown. "…was the best I could do."
"Oh, oh P-P-Pinkie Pie, I can…h-help you do d-dresses. I will teach you to do the …m-most beautiful dresses." said Rarity, desperation rasping her voice. "If you let me g-g-go, I will do you the...b-b-best dress ever, yes? W-what do…you say P-Pinkie?" she added in between gasps.
"Oh Rarity, don't be silly! I took off your horn, you won't do a dress ever again."
Rarity let the words sink in. She couldn't remember the last dress she had made. Was it for Fluttershy? Or maybe Twilight? It didn't matter anymore. She would never fully recover from that mutilation. The pain inside her head was such that she couldn't think on anything else. Pinkie Pie continued with her talking.
"But you can still help me!" complained Pinkie Pie.
"H-how?" said Rarity, before exploding into a fit of rage. "HOW!? How am I going to help you!?"
"Oh, that's easy sneezie!" said Pinkie Pie. "You can provide the supplies!"
She passed her hoof over Rarity's body. She had such silky fur. The touch of it under her hoof was so delicate Pinkie couldn't hold a moan of pleasure. Rarity groaned as she tugged from the straps while gritting her teeth. They wouldn't budge and her skin was starting to turn red around them, white furs stuck in the seams. Rarity looked up at Pinkie Pie, who was rubbing both her fore hooves over Rarity's stomach.
"Mmhmm, Rarity…" and the next words she said them licking her lips. "I love your coat."
Rarity shivered in terror as Pinkie Pie moved away to get another tool from the surgical tray. She dunked the hack saw and the knife inside a bucket full of water to clean them as she turned around with a scalpel on her mouth.
"I pondered where to start getting the supplies from for a good while. I guess I better start with the colored parts, don't you think Rarity?" said Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie Pie moved behind Rarity. With her fore hooves Pinkie Pie forced Rarity to lay her head over her right side. The cold table rubbed against Rarity's cheek as blood rolled over her right eye. Rarity closed it. With unnatural reflexes, Pinkie threw the leather strap from before over Rarity's head leaving the back of her head exposed. Her mane had its root coated in sweat and dried blood from the horn extraction, but it still looked bright and fabulous. Pinkie Pie puffed it between her hooves.
"Oh Rarity! Your hair is the best hair a pony could ever wish! I've always wanted hair like this."
Rarity closed her eyes as her breathing intensified. Her quick raspy breaths for air and through her teeth made her feel dizzy. The panic grasped her gut and soaked her thighs with sweat. With her chest going up and down out of control, she begged Pinkie Pie to stop.
"Pinkie, please don't. Don't!" Her voice cracked. "I can do your hair like mine! I can dye it! We can go to the Spa together and get your mane exactly like mine! Please, don't scalp me! Please Pinkie, please! Please! PLEASE, DON'T!"
Pinkie Pie didn't reply to Rarity's begging. She just said:
"I guessed using a scalpel for this was the best idea. I mean, come on, I am going to scalp you, right?" said Pinkie Pie coldly.
With those words, Pinkie sunk the scalpel's blade in Rarity's hair line. The pain wasn't as intense as it was on her horn, but it still cut her breath. Rarity chocked and her throat made a silent scream in agony that turned into a cough. The blade, cold and sharp, cut through the skin and under her mane. Pinkie Pie worked the scalpel all the way down to the neck's base and then up again. The thin hairline was soon hanging from a few tendons and skin fringes. Pinkie Pie dropped the scalpel on the surgical tray and grabbed the mane with her teeth.
"Let me get out of your hair!"
The pink pony pulled from the mane as she ripped it off, spraying blood all over the table. Rarity screamed as she stopped feeling the rustle of her mane rubbing her shoulders, the fire growing on her head and down her neck and the warm touch of thick blood licking her coat. She saw a curl disappear from over her head. Pinkie Pie released Rarity's head from the leather strap and when the horn-less unicorn turned around, the rub of the table over her skinned head made her scream. She stopped when she saw Pinkie Pie walking in front of her, holding the purple mane with one of her front hooves. The sight made her retch as she made efforts not to throw up.
"Oooh Rarity, such lovely hair you had!" said Pinkie Pie, putting the scalped mane on her head and dancing around. "Ah la-la-la-la, la, la!"
She stopped and threw the mane over the table, next to Rarity's chopped off horn. Pinkie Pie grabbed the scalpel again and moved to Rarity's hind quarters. When she saw that, Rarity lost it.
"No…No! NO! NO! NO! PINKIE, NO! STOP! PLEASE STOP! STOP, PINKIE!"
Pinkie didn't pay attention to her friend as she grabbed Rarity's tail by the base. She whipped off the sweat covering the area as she grabbed the scalpel with her mouth and the tail between her fore hooves. Rarity felt the blade cutting her skin again, mercilessly. The cold blade burned her flesh. The sensitive area was a haze of agony as her muscles tensed, making the pain even more intense.
"You won't get away with your tail between your legs!" joked Pinkie Pie as she grabbed Rarity's tail base.
"Anything but that Pinkie! ANYTHING BUT THAT! NO! DON'T! PLEA-!"
Rarity couldn't finish the line. When Pinkie Pie tugged, Rarity's entire body locked as the strike of pain crossed her spine. The tail came off with a loud rip as a jet of dark blood covered Pinkie's face and the bottom of the table. It sounded like fabric being torn apart. Rarity was more shocked by the sound than by the pain. Her lungs were in extreme pain and her throat was dry, making her gasp and spasm. She couldn't talk. She swallowed what little saliva she had only to start hyperventilating again. When Pinkie Pie showed up holding the purple tail in her mouth, Rarity couldn't hold the vomit. She turned her head to the right as she retched over the floor, the bile burnt her throat so sour it was.
"Ooooh, look Rarity!" said Pinkie as she put the tail over her nose. "I have my beloved moustache back!"
Pinkie Pie threw the tail next to the mane with a fluffy sound, as she moved away from Rarity's point of view. The hemorrhage made Rarity lose focus. Everything beyond her legs blurred. She couldn't see the details on the tables before her and the surgical tray was just a grey smudge. Pinkie Pie talked from behind her.
"This is gonna be such a beautiful dress! You know, back in the farm, we couldn't have dresses. There was no money for them, not even ugly ones. It was sooooo depressing! Even the farewells were depressing! You have any idea what my dad said before he died? He left for the farm and asked me to take care of the turnips. That's the last thing he said to me: Take care of the turnips."
Pinkie Pie bounced back again in Rarity's sight. She was wearing a white mask covering the front of her muzzle and had wrapped her pink mane in a surgical towel that was held down thanks to a pair of pink tweezers.
"That's when I learnt to say hello and goodbye properly like it's the last thing you will say to that pony! Treat your loved ones well so you won't die feeling bad. I know my daddy felt bad when he died. I felt so bad too." she looked depressed, but soon cheered up and asked Rarity something that sunk her heart even deeper than what already was. "What was the last thing you said to your loved ones? You remember? What was the last thing you said to Sweetie Belle?"
Rarity's lip quivered as she tried to think straight. That morning she woke up early to take care of the orders. When she woke Sweetie Belle up to send her to class, her little sister got angry, like every morning. Still, Rarity treated her kindly. Sobbing, as she licked her lips to remove the excess of tears and mucus dripping from her nose, Rarity tried to answer.
"I…I…I s-s-s-said to h-her…H-have a g-good morning. I'll…I w-will s-see you after l-lunch."
Pinkie Pie lowered her eyebrows as she smiled, approving her friend's actions.
"Awww, did you tell her you love her?" said Pinkie with an honest tone of concern.
Rarity knew she did. She always did. Sweetie Belle didn't reply to her, though. She never replied to her, she was angry for having to go to school that early, but Rarity always shrugged it. This time, she wished she heard her sister say "I love you" one more time.
"…Y-yes."
"Did you kiss her?"
Rarity felt something new in her: Loath for her friend Pinkie Pie. She looked at Pinkie and made no effort to hide the anger when she said the next words.
"I…G-gave her a…h-hug."
Pinkie Pie bounced away from Rarity with a smile.
"That's so sweet, Rarity! See? Your sister will remember you forever knowing she was loved. Me, otherwise, I will live knowing my daddy didn't love me. That's okay, I guess. I still have you. Well, I will have you for the next few minutes before you are gone."
Pinkie Pie rummaged over the surgical tray and grabbed something big, circular and with a handle. It was a mirror.
"You have to see this Rarity, you've never looked so unique!"
Pinkie Pie held the mirror up before Rarity, who closed her eyes as tightly as possible. The skin on her head pulled when she moved her face away. She didn't want to look at her reflection. She knew it was going to be dreadful and revolting. She didn't want to leave this world with that last image of herself. She wanted to remember how her beautiful purple mane fell over her face and how her horn glowed on her forehead.
"No!" said Rarity. "I won't! Leave me alone, you monster! Leave me!"
Pinkie pouted her lips as she brought the mirror closer and hit Rarity with it on her forehead. The hornless unicorn screamed in pain as a red stain of blood appeared over the mirror. Pinkie Pie whipped it with a cloth.
"LOOK!" demanded Pinkie Pie, her tone angrier than ever. "LOOK! Or I will cut off your eyelids!"
Rarity pondered the possibility since she was going to die anyways. In the end, she decided not to add more suffering to her misery. She opened her right eye very slowly and when she saw the reflection in the mirror she opened both eyes and choked a scream. Her head was bald. The horn had left a deep hole that looked like it had been made with a bore. She had dots of blood all over her face and around her mouth. With the pure white skin and the sunken eyes, she looked like one of her mannequins, hairless and lifeless.
"Where…" she mumbled. "Where am I?"
"Oh well, part of you is there…" said Pinkie Pie pointing to the table. "…And the rest is here." she added while petting Rarity. "But not for long!"
Pinkie Pie took the mirror from in front of Rarity and she moved around the ground looking for something else. Rarity had a sudden urge to wipe out the blood from her head and dunk her face into a bucket of water. She wanted to run away and get cleaned up. As Pinkie Pie returned, Rarity wondered if that was what happened to Rainbow Dash. Did Pinkie Pie slaughter her to death? Why was Pinkie Pie doing this? To make…Cupcakes. Pinkie Pie showed up holding a cup of water in her hooves.
"Drink!" said Pinkie Pie with a smile.
"No." said Rarity.
"Drink, or you will dehydrate. Come on!" said Pinkie Pie with an even bigger smile.
Rarity guessed she had no choice. Pinkie Pie would dunk the cup of water down her throat by force, so before getting more punishment she obliged. Rarity opened her mouth and Pinkie Pie poured the water down her throat. Even though Rarity welcomed the fresh liquid, it tasted foul with a touch of bitter and sweet. It also smelled raw, like fish tank water.
"Fresh, isn't it? It's Gummy's favorite bath water!"
Rarity felt her stomach twist again as she started coughing and spitting. Another gush of vomit went up her throat as she emptied the water she just drank over the pile of vomit on the floor. A disgusting splatter soaked Pinkie's hooves. She didn't care as she moved away to drop the cup over the tray. She took a bottle of something that looked yellow and opened it. Rarity recognized the powerful smell of linseed oil. Pinkie Pie squeezed the bottle over Rarity's belly and over her hind legs and rubbed it with her bare hooves. Rarity thrashed as she tried to make Pinkie's task more difficult. The smell went inside her nose and made her dizzy. Pinkie Pie kept rubbing until Rarity felt oily all over her stomach, her chest and her hind quarters. The oil mixed with the blood, making her body slippery.
"I will let your skin absorb the oil. Then I can start taking your supplies." said Pinkie Pie while throwing away the bottle.
The party pony turned around and took another thing from the tray. Rarity's eyes widened when she saw Pinkie holding a large syringe with her mouth. It was filled with a silvery liquid. Pinkie Pie walked towards Rarity and injected the syringe on the inside part of Rarity's hind leg above the groin. She emptied the liquid inside her body as Rarity felt her stomach twist with the sensation of the fluid getting inside her body.
"It's a paralyzing agent." said Pinkie Pie. "It'll paralyze your leg while keeping your nerves awake."
Rarity's breath intensified as Pinkie sat down on the floor and waited patiently for the serum to take effect. Rarity felt the burn on her forehead mitigate as time passed. She looked over the table behind Pinkie as tears came to her eyes. Pinkie, noticing this, pouted her lips and tried to give her friend some conversation.
"Awwwww, don't be sad Rarity. You know your precious mane will be used for something better. You should be happy!"
Rarity loved her mane. She took care of it every day of her life. When she was a little filly, all she needed to cheer up was puff up her curls and look at her reflection in the mirror. She couldn't register the fact that Pinkie Pie had scalped her and turned her into a husk. She felt empty.
"Why…Why a-are you d-doing this, Pinkie?" said Rarity as she swallowed with difficulty, her throat full of spikes.
"Oh, you mean chopping off ponies?" said Pinkie Pie. "Well silly, the supplies have to come from somewhere! I don't just mean dressing supplies, but the food!"
Rarity looked at Pinkie Pie with widened eyes.
"F-f-f…"
"Food, yeah. You know…" and Pinkie Pie put both fore hooves on her mouth as she mimicked eating noises. "Om, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom! Food has to come from somewhere. Thank the Princess there's enough ponies here!"
"Pinkie…P-Pinkie you can't…That's…But…B-But…"
Pinkie Pie stood up and moved to Rarity's leg. She hit it a couple of times to make sure there was no muscular reflex. After a few smacks on Rarity's flank, Pinkie Pie grabbed the clamped leather straps and removed them from Rarity's leg. The hornless unicorn saw that as a chance to kick Pinkie Pie in the face and so threw her leg against her friend's head.
But her leg didn't move.
It stood there, laying on the operation table as it dangled over the edge, lifeless. She felt the sharp metal edge digging in the inside of her knee joint. Pinkie Pie grabbed Rarity's leg and placed it over the table, as she grabbed it with her fore hooves.
"Now THIS is better!" said Pinkie Pie. "I had sooooooo much trouble when I did this to Rainbow Dash. I had to electrocute her to teach her not to move. Luckily, you won't have to go through that."
Pinkie Pie moved to the surgical tray as Rarity made empty efforts to move her leg. It was impossible. She felt her right leg also lifeless, even though she could feel the drops of oil running down her fur. Pinkie Pie turned around with a pair of pliers in her mouth. She was holding a burning white nail with them. On one of her fore hooves she had a hammer.
"N-No…"
Pinkie Pie moved to Rarity's leg and placed the nail on the seam between the hoof and the leg. The heat burned the fur and made a raw stench that flooded the room.
"Pinkie, please. Please! DON'T! NO! NO!"
Pinkie Pie raised the hammer up and slammed it down on the nail so hard half of it dug inside Rarity's flesh. The hoof made a crunchy noise and it detached from the leg with tendrils of blood and flesh still connecting them together. Rarity squealed in pain as she screamed so hard her voice turned into a wail of anguish. She coughed, gasped, swallowed saliva and screamed more. She didn't dare look down as Pinkie kept hammering until every tendon was cut and the hoof was removed. Without even fluttering an eye, Pinkie Pie moved to the other leg and repeated the process: Remove the leather straps, grab a new burning nail, and stab it inside Rarity's leg, removing the hoof completely. Rarity gurgled in the puddle of blood that was her throat as she felt her other hoof coming off. Pinkie Pie grabbed both of them and threw them to a trash can.
"You never looked good with horseshoes anyways." said Pinkie with a spot-on impersonation of Rarity. "And now, for what really matters!"
Pinkie Pie grabbed a new and clean knife with her mouth as she moved to Rarity's belly. With frightening precision she made an incision over Rarity's crotch that circled around her waistline, passed over her legs and around her cutie mark. Pinkie made another couple of cuts, each one on the inside of Rarity's legs. The fashion pony didn't feel anything anymore. Her entire body was a pile of agony. The cuts didn't add any more pain to her. Pinkie Pie stopped cutting and moved to the surgical tray, grabbed a circular blade and started digging under the skin, separating it from the muscle. The red fibrous flesh started to surface from underneath the white furry coat. Once she had removed a flap of skin, Pinkie Pie stopped and grabbed it with her teeth. She winked at Rarity as she pulled from the skin, tearing it.
Rarity screamed like she had never screamed before as her wails turned into sobs and then into gasps. She was hyperventilating as she felt a second rending of her flesh. Pinkie Pie was relentless. The pink pony pulled from the skin, turning Rarity's flank from white to red. The cutie mark was gone. There was only quivering muscle tissue left. She pulled until the skin met with the cut she made on Rarity's leg and tore apart. Pinkie Pie took the dangling flap of skin and shook the blood off of it. She was so happy.
"Ooh! This is awesome! Look Rarity!"
Rarity looked at Pinkie Pie, her eyesight blurred out with mist inside her eyes. Pinkie Pie had covered her left flank with Rarity's skin. There were red smudges of blood over the pink fur and the diamond cutie mark covered the balloons of Pinkie's. Pinkie flapped the skin up and down showing off both marks as she giggled.
"I have two talents now!" she said.
Rarity loved her cutie mark. As she looked at her skinned left leg, she started reminiscing to how she got it. Every element of that story was now gone, stripped off of her and lying over several tables before her. Pinkie Pie moved to the other leg and started pulling from the skin like she did with the other one. The muscular tissue bled over the table but not enough to empty Rarity's body. Pinkie Pie took off the second flap of skin and laid it over the table, next to the mane and the tail. She then moved to Rarity's head and under the table, pushed a few buttons and the table got completely horizontal respect the floor. Rarity couldn't move from waist down and Pinkie knew this.
"Oh my, my, my, look at you Rarity! You are a mess!" said Pinkie, imitating Rarity's voice. "I have to fix that. Your upper part has to match your lower part!"
Pinkie Pie went to the surgical tray, took another syringe and returned to Rarity's side. She plunged the needle inside Rarity's neck and emptied the contents at hypodermic level. The fluid spread over Rarity's muscles and quickly paralyzed her upper limbs. Pinkie Pie removed the leather straps as she returned to take the knife she just used. Rarity had her eyes soaked in tears with trails of red and grey coming from them in waterfalls.
"Awww, Rarity…"
The Pink pony got her face close to Rarity's and kissed her on the cheek. She passed a hoof over her cheek and under her chin as she smiled at her.
"At least yer not alone, eh? You'll go away, being with a friend. Not everypony can say that! Eh!?"
Pinkie Pie moved to Rarity's chest.
"My daddy certainly can't."
Rarity followed Pinkie Pie with her eyes as her hairless head rested over the table, the ears coated with oil and blood. Pinkie moved the knife from her mouth to both of her fore hooves as she tried to hold it with a lot of difficulty. She had to hold it like that or else she wouldn't be able to give Rarity one last token of appreciation.
"I've been thinking on a song, for you! To cheer you up, I'll sing it while I work!"
Pinkie Pie dug the knife inside Rarity's armpit. Rarity screamed again, her screams not sounding like the screams of a pony anymore, but more like the agonizing howls of a dying animal while Pinkie Pie sang slowly.
Inch by inch,
skinning you alive.
Pinkie worked the blade towards Rarity's neck as she traced it over the ribs, the blade scraping the bone.
Such white skin,
cutting up your muscles snip by snip.
Pinkie Pie took the blade out of Rarity's body as she made a second incision over the sternum. The blade made the sound of nails over a chalkboard until it connected with the skinned part on Rarity's belly.
Making sure the knife's digging nicely.
Pinkie Pie took the knife to Rarity's shoulders and made a circular cut on each one of them before doing another vertical cut that went all the way up to Rarity's fore hooves. She took a moment to pass her hoof over Rarity's coat once more.
It's about the texture,
it's like silk!
I just can't believe
this skin's so nifty
Pinkie Pie threw the knife away. She wouldn't need it anymore. She ran to the surgical tray and pulled the circular blade from before. She dug it under Rarity's ribs and cut through the muscles to release the skin.
Making sure it is
Correctly shifting.
Pinkie Pie laid the circular blade over the table as she moved to check Rarity. She was still breathing, her chest going up and down in rapid successions and her eyes stuck looking up to the ceiling in a catatonic state. Pinkie Pie sighed in relief as she took the skin flap between her teeth and pulled hard. The skin came off the ribs and stripped Rarity's upper torso to a red and white freaky pattern. Rarity screamed in surprise as she looked down to see her own lungs through the thin layers of tissue and endodermic skin. Pinkie Pie pulled until her friend's chest was skinless. She dropped the big piece of skin, shaped like a vest, next to the other skin pieces and hair pieces.
I'm skinniiiiing you aliiiiive!
Pinkie Pie took a moment to look at all her supplies. She had a wonderful set of skin and coat pieces big enough to make a full body dress for a pony. The purple mane and tail would be perfect for her new hat. The horn will look great as a complement. She had all she needed for her new dress. All that was left to do was preparing the ingredients for the next batch of cupcakes. She took a step forward as she looked at Rarity over the table. From her neck down, Rarity's body was red with pink smudges and glistened like it had been covered in jelly. From her neck up, it was pure white like a dress making doll, and her eyes were sunk inside her skull, circled in black.
She was still alive, but not for long. Pinkie Pie grabbed another syringe and plunged in Rarity's chest. She threw the empty syringe over the surgical tray and took out a bigger knife as she moved close to Rarity's head.
"Well, almost done!" a perennial smile on her face. "Now I'll just empty your body and that will be it."
Rarity opened her eyes in abject terror as she tried to speak. The constant screaming had left her throat dry and almost unable to utter a single word. Swallowing and gasping, breathing fast, Rarity managed to mumble a few words.
"P-Pinkie…Pie…"
"Yes?" said Pinkie with a sweet smile.
A thousand thoughts crossed Rarity's mind. She wanted to go home. She wanted to go back to Carousel Boutique and keep making dresses. She wanted to wake up from that nightmare, if it was a nightmare. She wanted to beg Pinkie Pie to stop. She wanted to clean up, or even take a sip of water or punch, even if Gummy had been swimming in it. She wanted it to end. She wanted to see her sister one more time. Her sister. Sweetie Belle.
"P-Promise…Promise me th-that…You w-won't do this t-t-to…Sw-Sw-Sweetie Belle…"
For the first time since she started preparing Rarity for her last minutes, Pinkie Pie lost her smile. That was a very odd request. It was a promise. Rarity was her friend. Sure, she had to kill her and gut her, but she was still her friend. Pinkie Pie took that as serious as she ever did. A promise is a promise. She put down the knife on the table.
"I swear it." said Pinkie Pie. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!"
Pinkie Pie took back the knife as she moved between Rarity's haunches. Rarity rested her head over the table as she enjoyed the last sips of air inside her mouth. She passed her tongue over her teeth as she felt a pressure between her legs. Pinkie Pie's knife. Everything slowed down. Rarity looked down her body as she saw Pinkie opening a big incision in her stomach. It had the shape of the letter I. The flaps of muscle and sinew opened and Rarity saw her organs. Pinkie talked, but Rarity couldn't understand a word she said. She cut through the conducts and the tendons holding the organs in place. She took them out one by one as she threw them inside a trash can. Rarity dropped her head down against the table as she felt her life going away.
It felt strange. She thought it would be scary, that it would terrify her. After almost one hour of sustained torture, mutilation and psychological abuse, Rarity welcomed the peaceful sensation. Everything around her eyes turned black. The last thing she saw was Rainbow Dash's stuffed corpse. The last thought that crossed her mind was "If only I had…more time to finish those designs." The last thing she felt was the knife sticking behind her ears and cutting down her neck.
Then, she was gone.
Pinkie Pie took the trash can out and left it ready to be taken by the Ponyville Garbage Services. She returned to her basement as she put all the pieces of skin and hair inside a bag and closed it, leaving it prepared for tomorrow. She would take them to her room and start sewing her dress. But now there was something she had to do. Something more important than any of that. She looked over the table where her friend used to be. There was nothing left but the dismembered limbs and the emptied torso. Rarity's head lied over the table next to the centerfold. Her eyes were closed.
Pinkie Pie ignored it and walked to the next room.
She switched the lights on.
On the wall there was a panel that was as wide and tall as the wall itself. It was full of squares, and each square had a photo and a name. Every pony in Ponyville was registered there. Many of the photos had a red mark over them. Pinkie Pie put her hoof inside a bucket of red paint and placed it over Rarity's photo. She felt a touch of sadness hitting her. As she looked down, feeling somewhat depressed, she looked back at the panel and looked for Sweetie Belle's photo. She placed her hoof, leaving a red marking as well. She then moved to the party hat and took Sweetie Belle's number out of it.
"A promise is a promise, Rarity." said Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie Pie cleaned her hoof and left the room, switching the lights off. She moved to one of the tables in the butchering room and sat down in front of it. There was a notebook covered in pink stickers and pretty pictures of flowers and clouds. She opened it. It was full of recipes.
"Okay!" said Pinkie Pie with a sudden burst of happiness. "I have a perfect name for your cupcakes, Rarity! I bet yer gonna love it!"
Pinkie took a pencil between her lips as she wrote in big letters the name of her new recipe.
"Petit…Four…" she said. "Mmmm, that sounds so fancy... It's perfect."
Pinkie Pie absorbed herself into her own thoughts as she began writing down the recipe while the night passed away.
THE END.