I'm not sure which was more surprising; The fact that Fluttershy was coming back or the fact that Rainbow wanted me to kill her. I asked her to repeat herself like three times before I finally understood.

"B-but how?" I asked.

"We're friends with morons, that's how." said Rainbow bitterly. "Twilight wished her back to life, Rarity wished that she'd have somewhere to stay, and Aj wished that she had a disguise, so nopony will be able to tell its her."

"So, Fluttershy is alive?" I said again. I started smiling for the first time in six months. "That's great! All we have to do is find her, and we can fix all of this! Well, sort of. I can't fix you being dead, but at least I'll have a friend!"

"Pinkie! Are you nuts?! Wait, don't answer that, I already know." groaned Dashie. "She's back, not fixed! She's still a murderer. Celestia either can't or won't stop her from being a vampire. You have to kill her."

"Why? She hasn't done anything to me! Not recently, anyway." I said.

"She's ruining your afterlife! Unless she's in Hell before you die, you'll end up in Hell, too!"

"How come?"

"Some stupid Arcadian Laws." sighed Rainbow Dash. "Besides, you owe it to Equestria to put her in the ground. Nopony else can. she's going to kill again, and you can't let that happen."

"I can't kill Fluttershy, Rainbow." I said. "I can't kill anypony."

"I'm not asking you, Pinkie, I'm telling you. You're going to kill Fluttershy, and that's an order."

"I'm not a slave, Dashie. You can't just order me to do stuff and expect me to do it."

"You didn't have a problem with it when Fluttershy ordered you to help kill me." complained Rainbow. "You owe me this, Pinkie."

"But I can't. I don't do well with blood, Dash, and you know that." I said. "Even if I wanted to, Fluttershy wouldn't let me. If she's back, and still a vampire, I'll probably still have to obey her."

"So that means don't try? Do you want Fluttershy to kill anypony else?" asked Dash. "Do you want her to kill more of your friends? Do you want her to kill the Cakes?"

"Of course not!"

"You're acting like you do. Hey, why don't I kill them, save Fluttershy the trouble?" said Rainbow threateningly.

"You can't!" I cried panickedly.

"I can, just as easily as Fluttershy. Do you understand what'll happen if she gets to live? Every second she's here, another pony is put in danger. She will kill until somepony stops her. And that somepony has to be you."

"I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash, but I can't do this." I said quietly.

"You have to! If you don't, who knows how many she'll kill?" growled Rainbow angrily.

"I-I can't."

"Pinkie, I will haunt you until you agree."

"Then haunt away." I said. Rainbow Dash began to glow bright blue, and a strange smoke began to fall off of her. She zoomed around me at high speed before forcing herself into my chest. My body froze up, and pain flew through me. I screamed loudly, tears falling from my eyes as one of my best friends hurt me with the worst pain I've ever felt.

"Okay! Okay!" I said. "I'll do it!"

"That's what I thought." said Dash, stepping out of me.

KNOCK!
KNOCK!

"Pinkie! Are you okay, deary?" asked Mrs. Cake from the other side of my door.

"I-I'm okay." I panted. "It's fine. Gummy bit me."

"Um… Gummy doesn't have any teeth, hon."

"I know! That's why I was so surprised that he bit me!" I lied.

"Okay, I guess. If you need anything, just say it." said Mrs. Cake uneasily. I waited until I heard her hoofsteps fade away to talk to Dashie.

"Okay." I gulped. "I'm going to kill Fluttershy. H-how?"

"Well, you can't just kill her like a normal pony." said Dash. "She's a vampire, and they can't die from normal ways. We need some special equipment."

"Where do I get this stuff?"

"We have to go to church."

"Huh?" I asked. "Why church?"

"For your first vampire-slaying weapon. Holy Water. It burns them up." said Dash. "Then, you need to go into the Everfree Forest to find an Elder Dogwood tree, and use that to make a stake. Only two sure-fire ways of killing a vampire, besides sunlight and starvation."

"Can't we just wait until she starves?" I asked.

"No, because when she gets hungry, she'll eat. That's the exact opposite of what we want to happen." explained Rainbow Dash. "You go get the Holy Water, I'll look for Fluttershy, and then we can head into the Everfree Forest for that tree. Oh, you might want to head up to the library, while you're at it. See if Twilight has another copy of that vampire book. If not, we'll have to break into the cottage."

"The police told me not to go to the cottage, Rainbow Dash." I said.

"Do I look like the type who cares about what the police have to say? It's time to go, Pinks. If I'm not back before you, meet me in the Forest. The sooner we get this done, the sooner I can get back to Arcadia."

"Okay. If that's what you want, I guess I'll get out of your mane."

"Pinkie, it's not like that. If I belonged here, you know I'd stay." said Dashie. "I shouldn't be here. The only reason Celestia didn't kick me out is because she wants Fluttershy dead as much as I do. Those girls are making everything difficult for everypony. But you can fix that. Let's get to work."

I stepped into the mostly empty church, a dozen wooden benches lined up in rows where ponies would sit during the sermon. At the back of the church, beneath the mosaic of Princess Celestia, was the unicorn priest. Father Goodwill, dressed in his black suit and white necktie, reminded me of my daddy, with his grey mane and beard. Around his neck was a golden necklace, in the shape of Princess Celestia's Cutie Mark. He noticed me and shot me a bright smile. Everypony could smile, everypony but me. Still, I tried to return the appearance of joy. I probably failed, maybe looking like I had a toothache.

"Miss Pinkamena." he said. "How are you holding up? I haven't seen much of you. I know you're going through a very hard point in your life, but Celestia will come through for you."

"I'm sure she will, Father Goodwill." I said, although I doubted it. "I need a favor from you, and it might come off as strange."

"I expect nothing less from you, Miss Pinkamena." he said with a smile. I guess that was his attempt of making me feel better.

"I need some Holy Water, if possible."

"Whatever for?"

"I think that, after the murders, I need to re-baptize myself." I said.

"All you had to do was ask, Miss Pinkamena." said Father Goodwill. "I can do that right now."

"No! I have to do it myself." I insisted.

"And why is that?"

"I'm not comfortable with you seeing me naked."

"We do not typically wear clothes, Miss Pinkamena." he said, raising an eyebrow. I looked down at myself and did a fake yelp, as if I was surprised.

"Ohmygosh! I'm so embarrassed!" I squealed. "Can I please just have the Holy Water?"

He sighed, his horn glowing. A golden orb levitated from a back room, landing in front of him. He muttered a few words, a prayer that I could barely catch, and pressed the orb into my hoof. I thanked him, shoved the orb in my mane, and left, throwing my goodbye over my shoulder.

Outside of the church was bright and cheery, the exact opposite of how I was feeling. I looked up at the beaming sun, and the cloudless sky, and actually found myself upset. I couldn't believe the nerve of the weather pegasi, or of Celestia. Nothing around me had right to be happy, not even the weather. My bitterness bounced around my head as I made the trip from the church to Twilight's Library on the other side of town. At least, it used to be Twilight's Library. Now, it's just Golden Oak, and it was falling apart. Every now and then, I would see Spike stand outside and stare, almost as if waiting for Twilight to return for him.

He wasn't there when I arrived. I pushed the door open, stepping into the big tree of a house. This wasn't the tree I remember, where I would meet up with my friends and we'd talk and laugh and eat lunch. Now, it was just a cold, unfamiliar place. The unicorn who was running it now, I can't even remember her name, she gave me a stern, aggressive look, like I was wasting her time. Like she had a better place to be. There was no place better than the Library when Twilight was running it. I stood in the middle of the room, lost in thought, when the orange unicorn adjusted her thick bifocals and cleared her throat.

"Can I help you?" she asked rudely.

"No, I know my way around this place." I said sadly. I went to the shelf labeled "E" and began to pick my way through the many, many books. Finally, I fell onto a huge series of books, Encyclopedia Horrifica. I kept my eyes on the spines of the books, counting along.

"614, 615… No 616." I complained. That meant that I'd have to go to the cottage. I gulped and turned away, when something grabbed my eye. A little more down the line was a book slightly dustier than the rest of the Encyclopedia. The leather was ripped and shredded and clawed and scratched, as if somepony had tried their hardest to destroy it.

"Encyclopedia Horrifica Volume 666. Ghosts." I read under my breath. I grabbed it and stowed it in my mane, thinking that it might come in handy. I walked out of the library, hearing the new librarian complain.

"I need to see your library ca-. They don't pay me enough." she grumbled as I exited. I wandered back to Sugar Cube Corner, Rainbow Dash nowhere to be found. I sighed and threw the book underneath my bed, hidden among the cupcakes, candy wrappers, and other garbage. I left my home again, telling the Cakes that I forgot something. If they asked me when I got back what it was that I forgot, I'd just tell them that I forgot what it was that I forgot. They'd believe that.

Somehow, as if my legs were moving on their own, I ended up outside of Fluttershy's cottage. I stared at it, dread and pain filling me. Fluttershy's cottage used to be a place where I could relax with my friends, have some tea, sleep over. Everything has changed since then. Nothing is as it was. I miss the good ol' days.

"Boo." whispered Rainbow Dash, appearing out of nowhere to my left. "Got the stuff?"

"I have the Holy Water, but I couldn't find a copy of the book." I said.

"Oh, I whittled the stake for you. It's behind that tree to our left."

"How'd you do that?" I asked as I went to retrieve it.

"I had to possess a bear. Hurry up, I think I know where Fluttershy is." said Rainbow Dash. "She's in the Forest right now! Let's go!"

"Moment of truth." I muttered, the wooden stake in my mouth. Dash nodded and took off as I followed, not sure how much I wanted to do this. I didn't have much choice. Fluttershy couldn't keep killing, and nopony else could do what I had to do. I wasn't even sure if I could do it.

"It's okay, Pinks." said Dashie. "It'll all be worth it to get into Arcadia."

I wasn't too sure about that. I didn't think it was worth it at all.