Chapter 7

Local Teen Found Dead, Mutilated in DC Apartment

On Thursday, September 15, a DC teenager was found dead in his apartment.

The body of Eric Vesslar, 19, was found on Thursday by a neighbor, heavily scarred and damaged. The neighbor, a Mr. Edward Varna, had entered the apartment using a spare key, after hearing distressing cries coming from the apartment. Upon entering the apartment, he discovered the body inside the bathroom.

"It was one of the most awful sights a person can see," Varna remarked upon interview. "He was just lying there, bits of him…just missing."

Those "bits" refer to the several (as of yet unspecified) pieces of the body that were reported missing by the investigators. The cause and method of death is also unknown according to investigators, as Detective Orville Craine was quoted as telling on site reporters.

"It's awfully strange really. The wounds look like they might have been caused by an animal, but the marks aren't like anything I've ever seen. The only thing I'm certain of is that whatever, or whoever did it, it wasn't caused by a dog."

The missing pieces of the body have led some officers to believe it is the work of a serial killer, according to an interview with an officer who asked to remain anonymous. However, the Chief of the Metropolitan Police Department, who are in charge of the case, released a statement denying these rumors.

"We simply do not know yet what happened, and to jump to conclusions will only cause panic. Until the results of the autopsy are in, there's no point in trying to come up with any strange ideas."

The current investigation is ongoing.

Vesslar is survived by his parents, Arthur and Nadine, as well as his younger brother, Brandon. The family could not be reached for statement, but our condolences go out to them during this difficult time.


Seth was almost certain he'd gone in entirely the wrong direction. The first inkling of doubt had come when he had n' recognized any of the houses or buildings around him from the show. While the backgrounds Friendship is Magic had always been a bit blurry, he was sure that the buildings he was seeing weren't anywhere near the town center.

But he'd been unsure, and thus had carried on against his better judgment.

The second, and more damning sign was when he saw the edge of town, and while he was certainly unfamiliar with the exact layout of Ponyville, he was fairly certain that the bakery would not in fact be in a small cluster of buildings far from the boundaries of the town. But by now, he had a new reason not to turn back.

As he had been galloping (didn't that feel weird to think, he was galloping of all things) down the road, and approaching the cottages at the very edge of the town proper when the voice of Mayor Mare echoed into his head. He'd been surprised at first, afraid he was either going crazy (again) or they had managed to catch him, but as she continued talking he realized the message wasn't for him, but rather about him.

"Citizens of Ponyville, I am reinstating the Official State of Emergency, and will be resetting the barriers in exactly 10 minutes. All members of the Equestrian Defense need to mobilize immediately. We have a very high possibility of a threat in Ponyville, and I urge everypony to take extreme caution. This morning, a strange unicorn was brought in for questioning, and he has now escaped.

"The stranger is known to go by the name "Mintberry Crunch" and "Seth." He is a yellow unicorn with a deep red mane and tale, last seen headed for the outskirts of town. I urge all citizens to avoid this pony, as he is quite likely dangerous. If you spot him, do not try to confront him. The Defense force will take sole responsibility for apprehending him.

"Please stay safe in this time of crisis, my faithful citizens, and I assure you we will all come out of this unharmed."

That told Seth 3 things. One, they were now completely convinced he was the killer, and he couldn't exactly blame them. He was completely new, he had started spouting dribble about being from a different world and being a different species that they'd never heard of, and now he'd effectively broken out of prison. He wasn't helping his PR with his actions, but right now he needed to find a place to hide until he could lead them to Sugar Cube Corner.

Okay, so I have 3 options. I can stop right here, and try to hide in a house until those barriers go up…but if what they told me was true, I'll be stuck in there until they can't find me, and who knows what Pinkie Pie might do then?

Number two is to turn back and risk running into the Defense force, which will result in me most likely getting beaten into submission by a group of colorful ponies and their metal clubs of varying size and decoration. I'd prefer to not break my legs while in Ponyville, so I'll call this a "maybe" for now.

And finally we have what is hopefully the least painful choice; keep going straight and find a place outside of town to lay low until I can think up a new plan. I like this one, as it doesn't result in me being trapped or suffering severe bodily injury. Let's go with that one.

It wasn't long after settling on this course of action that Seth was again outside of town. He wasn't sure precisely where on the outskirts he was, but he knew that pretty soon he would have to find a place to hide.

And that was when he heard the screaming.


Twilight hadn't known where to go, or what to do. She'd done nothing but run. The forest swirled past her in a haze of greens and browns and grays and blacks. She felt tears fall from her eyes as she flashed back to the vision of Zecora…

No. She couldn't think of something like that. She had to focus on escaping. That strange grey pony had told her to get away, and that was all she could do. She didn't know what those creatures were, and she honestly didn't want to know. There had been something around them, some presence or atmosphere that was completely alien…just wrong. Like something like them shouldn't exist.

She'd had that sensation before, just the other day.

The Necklace.

Were they the ones who owned that necklace? Were they the killers? It seemed logical. After all, they'd shown more than just a propensity for…for mutilation.

Again Twilight Sparkle forced herself to banish those thoughts. If she broke down now, they might catch her. So she ran, and she kept going until she crossed the threshold and had cleared Everfree Forest. But even then she didn't stop. She needed shelter, needed a place that she knew to be safe.

And there was her answer, right in front of her just a moment later.

Fluttershy's home.

To call the cozy home, surrounded by its numerous bird cages and animals a welcome sight would be the greatest understatement in history. So relieved was the unicorn to finally have something familiar to grasp onto in this turmoil that she allowed her legs to slow to a confident jog.

She was so happy to have found a haven, she didn't bother to knock. Instead, she simply pushed to door open with her hoof.

And was greeted with another gruesome sight.

The bodies of small animals were scattered across the floor. Bunnies, mice, birds of varying breed, all were peppered across the floor in mangled, bloody heaps, and at the center of this massacre stood an enormous bear, the tops of his ears just missing the ceiling of the house.

The bear was a bizarre image, with a long scar crossing his left eye, covered by a black eye patch. He wore a carpenter's apron, the pockets of which were filled with a large yellow pot with the word "glue" painted on it, and a large wooden hammer. In his left paw he held a large burlap sack and in his right he held…he held…

Fluttershy.

In that moment, everything crystalized. Twilight saw everything happening, so slowly she wondered if she'd cast a time spell.

There was no question if she was alive, the enormous indention in the back of her skull told Twilight that much. The blood that dripped from the yellow pony's mouth and eye sockets only reinforced it. Her body hung limply, held aloft by her pink tail, gripped in the monstrous forepaw of the bear.

After what felt like an eternity, the body finally fell from view into the burlap sack, but the image stayed in Twilight's mind. She saw all of what was going on, but she couldn't comprehend it.

Fluttershy couldn't be dead. No. It was something that shouldn't, couldn't happen.

And then Twilight did what anypony would have done. She shut down. Her mind wouldn't…wouldn't process what she'd seen. The animals, the monstrous creature that was stumbling slowly towards her, the ear splitting scream that erupted from her throat, it all happened, and she knew it was happening, but her brain refused to register it.

The bear didn't seemed bothered or rushed by her cries, as he advanced towards her with a slow, patient stride. He did not change his pace even as the purple unicorn's body instinctively stepped back from the door. He moved forward, and stooped his massive from over, somehow fitting himself through the pony-sized doorway, his deep, emotionless black eye pinned directly on her.


Krastos was not concerned with the pony trying to run, as he knew it was only a matter of time before he found her, or another of her kind, and made them fall beneath his hammer. He had known immediately that he'd found what he was looking for when he had opened the door of the small house, and spotted the small yellow pony pressing her hoof onto the mouth of a small rabbit.

When he'd entered, the many animals inside the house had attacked him, perhaps trying to defend their owner, perhaps simply protecting their territory. It didn't matter. They had all been killed in short measure with a few swipes of his claws and teeth.

The yellow pony had tried to flee, but had been just as feeble at it as the purple one before him now. She'd pleaded to leave her alone, to stop harming the creatures as they continued to assault him, and in her last moments had even tried to assert her will against his.

But Krastos had felt nothing as her stared bored into his single eye. He was a creature of strength, of pure force of will, and nothing could prevent him from serving his purpose. He was Krastos, the Glue Maker, and the pony's hooves and bones and ligaments would provide him with the material to make it.

A single swing of his hammer was all it took to end her pleas, and her life. The creature had fallen limp and lifeless to the floor, and had stowed his hammer into the pocket of his apron. Then, just as he was working to place the body inside his sack, the purple one had barged in. But he had not stopped, for another source of glue was not something that should make him pause before the work for the first had been completed.

She screamed and backed away as he approached her, the yellow one now stowed safely away. He did not strain his pace, as he knew what it was he would do. Not try to do, would do. For even if she ran now, and kept running until her body collapsed, he would find her eventually, as he was untiring, unstoppable.

But she did not run. Perhaps she thought she could fight Krastos, perhaps she was too scared to understand what was about to happen. The bear reached down, felt the familiar handle of his hammer gripped in his paw, and lifted the tool up.

Krastos took careful aim with his single eye, and swung.


Seth didn't know how, but he got there just in time. He'd never run that fast, be it in human or pony form, but he'd managed to reach Twilight in time.

He'd first thought the screams were to do with Pinkie Pie. He had though she might have ventured outside of Ponyville to catch somepony unsuspecting, but then he'd crested a hill in the road and spotted the scene in front of Fluttershy's home.

He hadn't been able to make any sense of it. There was a bear with an eye patch, a hammer, and a sack, that was slowly walking towards a terrified Twilight Sparkle. If Seth had a "Strangest God Damn Picture You Can Think of" checklist, all he'd be missing was something on fire.

But Seth hadn't really had time to think about it. All that went through his mind was that Twilight was in trouble, and he needed to help her. His legs carried him faster than he thought was possible, and the yellow unicorn launched himself forward, rammed into Twilight's side, sending them both skidding to the ground, just clear of the Hammer's swing.

It took but a second for the two unicorns to get back up, but Seth knew they didn't have time to stick around.

"Twilight, c'mon! We've gotta get out of here."

The purple Unicorn was still in a daze. When the bear had started to attack, she had been sure that she was facing her end. But then this pony…the strange one from before. He'd come out of nowhere and saved her. But they were still in danger now, as the bear was regrouping from his missed swing, and stepping slowly towards them.

Seth could tell that something was wrong with Twilight. Even at her most confused in the show she'd never moved in such a confused fashion. The little he'd just said to her seemed to be taking forever to register with the unicorn.

Taking matters into his own hooves, Seth quickly grabbed her purple man and yanked forward. That, at least, seemed to bring her back to reality some. She took one look at the advancing bear, turned and bolted, Seth following right alongside her.

The pair of unicorns ran towards the bear's left. Seth wasn't sure if it was just dumb luck or good planning on Twilight's part, but they had chosen the area in their attacker's blind spot, and the creature seemed slow to move. But Seth didn't have time to contemplate tactics for long. Right now he had to concentrate on keeping up with the panicked unicorn next to him, who looked to have been training as a race horse by her pace.

But, miraculously Seth was able to keep up. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw as Fluttershy's house passed out of view behind the hill, and realize they were leaving their attacker in the dust. In fact, the creature was still moving as slowly as he'd been when they were right in front of him.

That bear…I know I've seen him somewhere before. But where? I know something like that would never make it onto the show, so it must be something from the fanfics or fan art. But just what in the heck is that supposed to be?

These thoughts consumed Seth for several minutes. He was certain he'd seen that bear in relation to My Little Pony beforehand, but for the life of him he couldn't remember where. For some reason, he could have sworn it had something to do with Bill Clinton. He was lost in thought for so long, it took until they were coming into view of the Library for Seth to realize they'd made it back into Ponyville.

Twilight Sparkle was still right by his side, though he couldn't tell for certain if she was even aware of his presence. She still seemed pretty out of it after the attack, and he couldn't say he blamed her. While she and her friends had faced a lot of strange and bizarre creatures, so have to face something that was made up by the fans of the show had to be a shock. Heck, it was a shock to him and he didn't even live in this universe.

At least they were about to get somewhere safe.

Or not.

As they reached the door of the library, Twilight frantically lifted her hoof to slam the door open, and was rewarded for her efforts by getting a magical shock straight up her hoof. She recoiled with a frightened yelp, barely managing to keep her hooves from tripping over themselves.

"What in the name of Celestia?" she asked, looking from the door to her hoof.

"Darn it! They must have already set the barriers up!" Seth exclaimed. "What are we supposed to do now?"

For what appeared to be the first time, Twilight noticed that Seth was still with her.

"Wha? You…they let you out? And what do you mean they set up the barriers? Why would they do that?"

"Well," Seth said, unsure how to answer. After a moment of deliberation, he decided going for the truth would be the best idea. Put your best hoof forward and all that, right? "they didn't actually let me out. I…I tried teleporting out to escape, and instead ended up causing an explosion that knocked out the wall."

"What!"

"Yeah. You see, I was trying to find the necklace myself, and that way I'd be able to prove me innocence! But I got turned around, and ended up near Fluttershy's house, where I, um, 'ran into' you."

"Fluttershy…" Twilight suddenly got a far off look in her eyes. She broke eye contact with Seth, staring at the ground as it slowly darkened with tears.

"What? What happened to her?"

"That…that bear…got her."

Seth didn't know what to say to that. To think that…that Fluttershy of all ponies was dead. And dead at the hands…er, paws, of that monster. What was that thing? He knew he'd seen a drawing of it somewhere before, just where?

Then it hit him.

Krastos the Glue Maker.

"Wait…" Twilight said, looking back at Seth. "How do you know who Fluttershy is? And how did you know that was her house? You said you'd never been to Ponyville!"

The purple pony stepped forward, her hoof pointing accusingly at Seth.

"Just who are you? How do you know all of this stuff? What was that nonsense you were spouting all that crazy talk back at Town Hall?"

"Um…well…" Seth wasn't sure the whole "tell the truth" was working for him. But he couldn't' come up with anything better so…

"Look, you're not going to believe this. Hell, I don't even believe this is real, but you've got to at least listen to me," Seth began. "I'm not from Equestria, or even this world. Until this morning, I wasn't even a pony. My name is Seth, and I'm from universe entirely different from yours. I'm a human, a different kind of life form that you don't have here.

"In my world, your entire world, entire universe, everypony you know and love, is all fictional. You're a television show."

"Television show?"

"Oh, right…you don't have television here. Well, I'll explain it like this. You know how you have made-up stories in books that are about tons of different adventures? Well that's kind of what television is…except it's not. The point is, people in my world know about the adventures and stuff that happen with you, and Rarity and Pinkie and Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash and Applejack and the Cuties Mark Crusaders and all the other ponies in Ponyville."

"Well, you got the part about me not believing you true. If you're going to lie, at least try to tell something convincing."

"No! I'm telling you the truth, I promise. I'll even swear! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

That made Twilight pause. That was Pinkie Pie's "Pinkie Swear", and as far as she knew, only a handful of ponies had ever seen it. How in the world did this stranger who spoke about nonsensical inventions know about it?

"I can prove it! I know all about the different stuff you've done with the others. You and Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie had a conversation about Fluttershy being a tree while on the way to Appleoosa! And when had a sleepover with Rarity and Applejack, and a tree ended up inside the library!"

"Wait, you've been watching me sleep?" Twilight exclaimed, shocked. She backed away from him quickly.

"What? No, I-" Seth was floundering. How in the heck could he convince her he was serious? "Listen, I know it's crazy, and it doesn't make sense, but please, please just try to believe me. Don't you have, like, an honesty spell that you could use to ensure I'm genuine?"

Twilight scoffed at the idea.

"Why should I? I know you're lying! Even if I did have a spell like that, I wouldn't be able to get to it, seeing as you causing trouble has gotten me locked out of my own library!"

"My my, Twilight Sparkle, you're telling me there's a spell you don't know? And I thought you were the most great and powerful unicorn in Ponyville."

There's no damn way.

Seth and Twilight turned in unison. The pair had been so enveloped in their own discussion that they hadn't even noticed the blue unicorn that had approached them. She was clothed not in her trademark star-patterned cape and wizards had, but in a heavy, black cloak, the hood pulled back from her head.

The Great and Powerful Trixie stood before them, and nonchalantly blue a bit of tuff of her white mane out of her face.

Okay, it's official. This universe is just straight up fucking with me now.


Scootaloo had been unresponsive for nearly 10 minutes, but still Rainbow Dash wouldn't leave the tiny filly's mangled body alone. Even when the Mayor had made the announcement about setting the barriers up again, she hadn't paused in her attacks. She couldn't. She wouldn't let her be dead. The orange Pegasus was meant to be Rainbow's successor. She was meant to be even better than Dash herself. She couldn't get away with staying down like this!

Get up! Get up you worthless little squirt! I won't let you give us just because things get tough! Get. The. Hell. Up!

Kick after kick after kick failed to garner any response from the orange Pegasus, and it was only now that Rainbow Dash realized there wasn't any more blood or bruising coming up. Every time she struck Scootaloo, all that changed was the body's position.

No, no, no, no, NO! Get up you quitter! That's the coward's way out. You take the pain that I've had to! You're supposed to take it! Stop it! GET UP! GET UP DAMMIT!

…Get up. If you can't stand it…how can I?

After nearly an hour, Rainbow Dash finally relented. All four of her hooves ached from it, but she couldn't even begin to imagine what Scootaloo had been through before…before…

The tiny, broken filly was motionless in the grass. Her eyes were closed, underneath the swelling and bruising. Strangely, even in her abused state, the little pony looked peaceful, like perhaps she'd found some bit of comfort in her final moments.

But that was just wishful thinking. Rainbow Dash didn't know what had made her do it, or why she'd kept going, but she'd killed the little filly, and she'd done it in a horrible, painful, awful way.

She should feel awful. She should feel like an awful, terrible being. But she didn't. She didn't feel…anything. Every time she looked at that pitiful little kid, sitting still as a statue in the grass before her, she just felt like there was nothing inside her.

She was hollow.

She didn't even feel fear when she saw a bouncing pink pony came hopping into view wearing a necklace of unicorn horns and a vest made of flayed, uncured pony skin. Before, she'd have been terrified. She'd have gotten up from the ground, flown as high and fast into the sky as possible. But now it just didn't feel worth it. There was no fear left, there was…nothing.

Pinkie Pie stood before the blue Pegasus, grinning from ear to ear and a demented look in her eye. She was surprised at how docile her friend was acting. After their shared dream, Pinkie had been expecting the blue Pegasus to put up a fight, to run, to not come quietly. But maybe Rainbow Dash finally understood.

Pinkie Pie didn't make the rules, but she had to follow them. Her friend's number had come up, and that meant her time was up. It was both sad and happy really. Their friendship was coming to an end, but hopefully Rainbow Dash would last longer than Mr. and Mrs. Cake. The pink earth pony's former employers had both passed out so quickly, and even the adrenaline injections had only managed to keep them barely awake.

But Rainbow Dash was a strong pony! She was the one who, just as a filly, and accomplished the Sonic Rainboom that helped Pinkie gain her Cutie Mark to begin with. If she could survive breaking the sound and light barriers simultaneously, then surely she'd be capable of lasting a few hours on the slab.

Though, it seemed they wouldn't be able to use Pinkie's room for right now that the mayor had set up the magical defenses again. Oh well, Pinkie Pie was a smart pony, despite what some thought. She could find a good way to improvise on the outside, and once everypony had calmed down about the necklace, they'd be able to have tons of fun at Sugar Cube Corner.

"Hey ya there Rainbow Dash!" Pinkie Pie greeted her. The rainbow maned mare didn't respond, instead simply turning her gaze back to the tiny bundle that lay on the ground a few feet from the pair.

"Oh my goodness!" Pinkie said, taking a closer look at the little Pegasus' body. "This is horrible! Did you do this, Rainbow?"

"…Yeah…"

"Well I just can't believe you'd do something like this! I thought you took pride in your work, but this is just so shoddy. I mean look, you probably would have destroyed her cutie mark if she had one, how were you going to cut it off if it wasn't even there anyway? You've got to put more care into it, or else you end up with a big mess. I mean, just look at all the blood that's been lost, you can see it all over the grass! I mean, did you even try to keep the wings intact? One of them is completely shattered, and the other is missing half its feathers!"

Even if she'd been in a proper state of mind, Rainbow Dash wouldn't have known how to react to what Pinkie was saying. She was actually criticizing how she'd killed Scootaloo? And what was this about taking a cutie mark that wasn't there, and the wings? Then again, did it really matter if she was good or bad about it? She'd just killed a little kid who'd done nothing but practically worship the ground and clouds she stepped upon.

Why was Pinkie Pie here, anyway?

"Hmm…" the pink pony grumbled under her breath. "Well, this'll make it harder to get you back home, but I suppose I can't let some perfectly good material go to waste. Still, the wings look pretty salvageable as long as I'm careful. She's small, so she should have pretty fragile bones, thankfully enough. Hey Rainbow, would you mind terribly staying awake long enough to help find a knife? After all, I don't want to have to drag her around too. She's not very heavy but it'll be awkward to carry."

"Pinkie…what's wrong with you? Why are you doing this?"

Even with this insanity staring her straight in the face, Rainbow Dash couldn't get scared, or angry, or anything else. The strongest emotion she felt just then was mild curiosity concerning her friend's sudden menace.

"Well, to tell you the truth, it's kind of sad. You see, your number came up…and now it's time for me to take you back to my workshop."

As Pinkie Pie shifted around, Dash took notice of the vest pinkie had adorned herself with. The left side was yellow, with an image of three square cakes with white icing. The right was blue with an image of three cupcakes emblazoned on it. Those seemed familiar to Rainbow Dash for some reason.

"Are those…the Cakes' Cutie Marks?"

"Oh!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed, looking down at her gruesome garb. "Oh yeah, well, you remember last night when you said you didn't think a dress made out of pony skin would look good? Well, I figured I could make it and prove you wrong. I was going to show it to Rarity too, but I couldn't even get close to her house. The smoke was so strong."

"Smoke?"

"Yeah, the whole boutique was on fire. I don't know what Rarity was thinking, but I'm pretty sure nopony will want to wear dresses that are on fire. Still, I'm sure she'll be able to do it. After all, she did make all our dresses in just one day; she can do anything if she gets enough musical numbers."

"Pinkie Pie, you are so…" Rainbow sighed. Even Pinkie Pie's insanity wasn't interesting anymore. She laid her head into the grass and closed her eyes.

She didn't even flinch as she felt a cupcake shoved into mouth and down her throat.


Pinkie Pie wasn't the only pony to see Carousel Boutique awash with flames. Applejack had been out looking for Apple Bloom when she'd spotted the inferno, and she knew she had to put the search for her sister on hold.

Running at full speed, Applejack reached the boutique in no time flat, but by that time she could already tell things were worse than she'd thought.

A towering pillar of pitch black smoke rose from the top of the building. Red and orange flames danced and rolled inside the windows, and the smell of burning wood overpowered everything else.

What in the hay happened here? Why isn't anypony helping put this out?

But the answer was obvious. It had been nearly ten minutes now since the Mayor had sent out her psychic message to everypony in town, and if there was anypony around who was willing to help, they were likely trapped in their houses, unable to get inside.

If they can't get out…neither can Rarity or Sweetie Belle. And I can't get in the help 'em!

She knew it was stupid. She knew it was reckless. She knew that there wasn't even the slightest possibility that it would work. She didn't care. Her friend was likely in mortal danger, and she wasn't about to sit around on her flank at not do anything.

Applejack ran straight towards the door of the boutique, turned and jumped as she reached it, and smashed her back hooves against the door. Or rather, she smashed her hooves against an invisible wall. An electric shock wracked through her hindquarters, and the orange earth pony was blasted back from the door.

But Applejack was stubborn even in the most mundane of tasks, and she sure as sugar wasn't going to let something this dire go. She reared back again, positioned herself in front of the door, and bucked back with all her might. Again she felt a shock run up her spine, and again she was shoved away from the door. But she wasn't going to give up.

Another buck, another blast, and another and another. She wouldn't give up. She couldn't. Her friend needed her, and even if it killed her, Applejack was going to save her.

She'd been applebucking for years, ever since she had been big enough to manage it, and the orange pony put every last drop of experience, strength, and heart into her kicks. Countless times her hooves banged against the invisible walls, and countless times she set up for another blow.

She hit, and hit, and hit.

And finally, she made contact…in a sense.

For the billionth time, her hooves smacked into the barrier, and she was prepared for another teeth-shaking buzz of painful energy. Instead, her efforts were rewarded with an explosion. A powerful blast of magic propelled the pony away from the door, face first into the dirt and grass of the yard, but the power wasn't focused just towards her. As she was thrown forward, Applejack heard a loud cracking behind her, and when she stood up, she saw that the door to Carousel Boutique had been blown clear away, the hinges having been ripped from the door frame.

Applejack didn't celebrate her accomplishment, but instead threw herself forward through the door way…and straight into the barriers again. With a now familiar jolt of power rocketing through her body, Applejack backed up, her confidence shaken. It appeared that while she'd managed to disrupt the barrier enough that it malfunctioned just a bit, she hadn't broken through.

Consarnit!

Applejack was about to buck at the barrier again, when she saw, through the heavy smoke that was quickly filling the rooms inside, a very familiar yellow filly in the midst of the chaos.

"Apple Bloom!"

The earth pony's sister was crouched in the center of the main room of the boutique, barely visible through the smoke, but her bright red mane and tail stood out enough for her to pick out. Applejack couldn't see what she way doing, but the Filly at least seemed unharmed. A flash of white through the smoke next to her told Applejack that either Rarity of Sweetie Belle was with the filly.

"Apple Bloom! Can ya hear me?" Applejack shouted into the building, trying to be heard over the roar of the flames.

"Applejack!" she heard the filly respond from the depths of the inferno. "What are you doing here?"

"That don't matter right now! I've got to get you out of there and quick. I can't see too well in there. Are Rarity and Sweetie Belle in there?"

The filly called out, but her answer was drowned out by the crashing sound of a wooden beam collapsing from the ceiling. The fiery hunk of lumber smashed to the ground only a few feet from where Apple Bloom was, and Applejack could barely see through the smoke that her sister was quickly moving close to the door.

The yellow filly emerged from the smoke, walking backwards. She seemed to be dragging something with her, keeping hold of a small white bundle with her teeth. Applejack wouldn't have recognized Sweetie Belle without the filly's purple and pink tail still intact. One of Sweetie's legs was mangled beyond recognition, with a large swath of muscle cut away, revealing pale white bone.

Her stomach was in a similar state, with a sizable chunk of flesh missing from Sweetie Belle's abdomen, to the point where even with the haze of smoke blocking her vision, Applejack had a very, very clear look at her ribcage.

"Apple Bloom, what happened to Sweetie Belle? Is she…is she still alive?"

"I don't think so," Apple Bloom answered as she left go of the tiny white corpse and turned to face Applejack. It was only then that Applejack noticed the splash of red unevenly spread across her younger sister's face. "She stopped screaming a good long while ago, and she hasn't moved much since."

"Screaming? Apple Bloom just what in the world's been going on here? How'd you get inside there? Where's Rarity?"

"Well, Rarity's upstairs last I saw her, but I haven't heard any screaming out of her either. But that's not what's important sis. Look! I finally got my Cutie Mark!"

The yellow pony stuck her flank out towards Applejack, and there, clear as day, was the most morbid Cutie Mark she'd ever laid eyes on. It was a large white pony skull, with a knife and fork crossed behind it.

A knife and fork…

"Apple Bloom…how did you get that blood on your face."

The yellow filly smiled up at her sister, a look of unending pride for herself in her eyes.

"Well sis, I guess you could call me a can-apple now. Sweetie Belle actually tasted a lot like marshmallows if you'd believe it. Pretty weird huh?"

No…it couldn't really be. This was some awful prank by the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They were just trying to make a joke, and going about it in an awful way. What Apple Bloom was claiming to have done was…sick wasn't a strong enough word for it. It was absolutely unthinkable.

"No, no, there's just no way!" Applejack exclaimed nervously backing up a pace from the door. "You're joking. You wouldn't ever do something like that!"

"Aw c'mon sis, stop acting like I'm just a baby pony! I did it and I'm proud of it! I finally found what it is that makes me special, and you can't even be happy about it?"

This was…this wasn't real. It couldn't be. She and Apple Bloom were hallucinating from shock, or from all the smoke. This was all just going to be a messed up story to tell everypony when they got out of this.

If they got out of this.

"That's not what we gotta worry about right now! You stand back some, and I'm gonna try to get this barrier down. You be ready to run out as soon as I say so, alright?"

"Okey doke!"

The deranged little pony moved back from the door, looking behind her from time to time, keeping an eye out for any more falling timber. With renewed vigor and desperation, Applejack resumed her battering of the barriers. She kicked and kicked at the barrier, staying her ground each time the magical force shot its way through her legs.

Soon she felt blood beginning to drip from her hind hooves. She hadn't been injured like that since she'd first started applebucking, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. Applejack was never going to let a little thing like pain keeps her from protecting her loved ones.

But it seemed she might not have much more time to rupture the invisible wall between them. As Applejack was hammering furiously away, more and more of Carousel Boutique was falling in upon itself. Several more support beams had come crashing to the ground, piling on top of one another in a deadly pyre. The smoke was getting thicker and harder to avoid, even for the low set Apple Bloom. She had her nose shoved to the ground, as low as she could get it, trying to avoid breathing in the toxic gas.

After what could very well have been her thousandth kick in the past few minutes, Applejack thought she felt the barrier give, if only the slightest bit. At first she thought she was imagining it, but her next kick confirmed it. It wasn't much, and the barrier was still standing strong, but she was making progress.

After several more kicks, a piercing pain shot through the earth pony's flank. It seemed her body couldn't keep this up more.

Well too bad, you're just gonna have to deal with it, because I'm not about to let you stop here. I don't know what's going on with Apple Bloom's head, but I do know that things'll be a whole heck of a lot worse if I don't get her out of there. So to heck with these darn shields!

She pushed on. Every new kick now came with a splitting ache as well as the usual magical shock, but Applejack could feel the wall weakening against her onslaught, and she wasn't going to let it stop.

With another kick, she felt something crack; her leg. But her hind hoof wasn't the only thing to break. Behind her, a spark of energy fired out of the space occupied by the invisible wall. And suddenly Applejack was flying forward, an electric current surging through her entire bad, before slamming headfirst into a tree nearly 30 feet away from doorway.

Dazed, and in horrible pain, Applejack raised her head. She knew the feeling well enough to recognize that she'd just experienced the barrier glitching out again, but stronger than the last time.

What was worse, this time it had caused more damage than blowing the door off.

The front of the inferno that had once been Ponyville's popular fashion boutique was not bowing low under its own weight. The explosion had torn apart the wall surrounding the doorway, and through the huge gap, Applejack spotted Apple Bloom's motionless form lying on the ground amongst the debris and rubble.

Uneasy on her feet, Applejack limped her way to the destroyed, broiling house, and tested the barrier. It was as strong as ever again, and she knew that there was no way she could break it in this condition.

It didn't matter anyway. As she stared at her sister, so close yet so far away, the death knell rang out in the sound of collapsing, crumbling wood. Even though she knew it wouldn't work, even though she knew the only thing she'd be accomplishing by doing it was to risk getting herself killed alongside Apple Bloom, Applejack reared back and smashed her hooves into the barrier. Apple Bloom shouted something, but whatever the filly said was cut off as the entirety of Carousel Boutique fell down upon her.

It seemed the barrier was keeping everything but the smoke and dust trapped within its confines, as even though Applejack was mere inches from the disaster, she remained untouched by it. The blackened, broken wood still burned in the heap, though the flames, bereft of any new fuel, were quickly shrinking back.

Then Applejack saw her.

Apple Bloom lay near the top of the pile, likely having been trying to escape. Her back legs were trapped beneath a large smoldering pillar. Now it wasn't just Sweetie Belle's blood coating the yellow muzzles, but her own as well. The little filly's fragile neck was twisted at a grotesque, unnatural angle from her body.

Applejack knew she couldn't saver her sister. She knew she'd failed.

And she knew she couldn't even reach filly's body, and close her blank, lifeless eyes.


Derrick Burliton carefully position his notes in front of him, straightening them on the table, cleared his throat, and sat up straight as the camera man signaled that they were coming back on air.

"We have a reporter on the scene of the recent tragedy in Washington D.C. joining us now via satellite," the news reporter spoke into the camera, doing his best to keep a sober face. "Live from the scene of the disaster is reporter Shelly Banks. Shelly, are you with us?"

A short pause, and then the news feed cut to the field reporter. She was young, only 24 or so, with dark brown hair. She was in a suit, business cut. She wore no jewelry and only a light bit of makeup, to make her seem more relatable and believable for the report.

"Yes, I'm here Derrick," Shelly announced. She was standing directly in front of a large building. Or rather, she was standing in front of the ruins of a building that just earlier that day had been a tall hotel.

"I'm standing here in front of the Hilton Washington Hotel in Washington D.C." she continued, keeping the microphone held just a few inches from her face. "Just this morning, this building was known as a fine hotel and convention hall, this week housing a Sci-fi convention known as 'Intervention-Con,' but now the home of an awful, as of yet unexplained tragedy.

"There are a lot of different stories going around amongst people who witnessed it, but authorities haven't released any statement. We're currently waiting for an official press release, but in the meant time, we've collected interviews with numerous people who claim to have seen it."

After a pause, the feed then cut to a recording of a young man, brown hair down past his shoulders, wearing a shirt emblazoned with the words "Han Shot First."

"Well, I dunno what to call it. It was so freaky. I had gone out to get something for lunch, and as I'm walking back I see it way up in the sky. There was this, this big cloud of bugs or birds or something, and it just flew down straight at the hotel. I couldn't really see anything through it, but I heard a lot of screaming and crashing. It went on for like, 20 minutes, and then the cloud just got up and left. Flew right back into the sky."

Next up was an older woman, black hair with hints of gray at the roots.

"Well, I didn't see all of it, but as I was turning the corner, there seemed to be this large…black something where the building was meant to be. I don't know exactly what to call it…have you ever seen the movie The Birds? It kind of reminded me of that."

Next up, a business man, his hair a bit disheveled, who looked happy for the chance to talk into a camera.

"See it? Oh I saw it alright. There was this huge explosion across the way, and the building doesn't even start to crumble. It starts to dissolve. It looked like something out of a science fiction movie…kind of ironic don't you think? Still, it was so bizarre."

The feed cut away from him, with just the faintest sound of him asking when the spot will air, and next focused on another young guy, in a torn T-shirt with a rainbows silhouette on the front. His hair was messy, and looked as if it hadn't been washed in nearly three days.

"I'm gonna sound crazy but…I know what attacked the place. I'd just left the building, and the things started buzzing down onto the building, they were these big, multicolored sphere-shaped things, with huge eyes and insect wings, and they all just moved in this huge horde. The all started opening their mouths and biting – biting – straight into the stone and brick. It was… it was completely freaky. I got out of there real quick, but I saw something when I came back

"Look at – at the part of the building that they touched. It's only the side the convention area was on. Everything else wasn't even touched. And I know what it was that attacked too. It's these things I saw from this show…they're called 'parasprites' and they're like, like locusts on steroids. I don't know how they actually exist but…but man it's just…"

The new feed then cut back to the reporter, who was struggling to suppress a smirk.

"As you can see, Derrick, there's a lot of panic and hysteria going on right now. Some have even claimed they believe this to be a terrorist attack, possibly an attempt to intimidate the government, or even make a threat on the president's life."

The screen split in two, so that now the both the reporter and the man at the news desk were on screen.

"Yes, we had heard rumors about something like that," he responded after a short pause. "So far neither the White House, nor any members of congress have released any responses to this. Though, thankfully if this was some type of attack, the president is currently out of town."

"That is true, though due to the nature of the attack there are Secret Service agents on the scene along with police, firefighters, and medical personnel," Shelly answered, preparing to sign off. "Currently all available rescue workers are sifting through the area, searching for any survivors or bodies. We'll keep you there at the station up to date on anything that happens here Derrick."

"Thank you Shelly, we'll be sure to follow up later."

The left side of the screen expanded until only Derrick Burliton remained on screen.

"Well, we will certainly be keeping an eye on everything happening there today, and we'll be checking up periodically with Shelley for any new developments. If you want to follow the story as it is happening, you can follow our channel on twitter or facebook, where we'll be posting updates every half-hour."


Darkness.

An ache in her wings was what woke Rainbow Dash from her stupor.

She was in impenetrable darkness, unable to see her nose in front of her eyes.

She knew where she was without having to see. She had already been here twice in the last two days, and this time felt just as real as the other. The Pegasus knew without having to test it that she was restrained by all four legs, spread-eagle across a metal table, wings pinned with nails to her side.

Rainbow wasn't the least bit surprised when Pinkie Pie's instantly recognizable giggle echoed across the darkness. That was exactly how it had happened in her dream the last two nights. Right on cue, the orange flames of a hanging oil lamp came on above her, and Rainbow Dash was temporarily blinded. She'd know it was coming, but she felt no urge to stop it.

This was how it was all supposed to go. It would all have to play out, just like her dream.

"Oh Rainbow Daaaash? You know, that wasn't very polite going to sleep on me like that. I had to drag you all the way here, along with Scootaloo. It took forever to find this cave though."

"Cave?"

"Uh huh. I really wish you'd have stayed up, I had to find Harry's cave all on my own. And he didn't seem too happy to see me. But I managed to get him to calm down too."

Harry…that wasn't part of the dream!

"Harry?"

"You know, that bear you and Fluttershy were house sitting for when I invited you to Gummie's after birthday party? Well, this is his cave. Don't you recognize it? Though maybe he just redecorated since then. After all, this doesn't exactly feel like much of a home. Maybe he just keeps it cozy when he knows somepony's going to come over."

That…didn't make even a bit of sense. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had made that lie up on the spot, and hadn't even done it very well. How in the world had Pinkie Pie managed to find a bear cave? How had she found a bear cave that was furnished with a metal table with restraints? How had she gotten into a bear cave unscathed, all while carrying Rainbow Dash?

"But I don't think there's a lot more time for small talk, Rainbow. It's time to get baking!"

That one line echoed around the cave as Pinkie Pie stepped closer to the table, and into the light. The necklace hung from her neck, just as sparklingly pristine as always, with each horn gleaming in the flickering light of the enormous lamp above them. It seemed she'd added to her vest, which was now beginning to look like a cape with the addition of Scootaloo's tiny orange wings. It seemed Pinkie Pie had been right about them being salvageable. Looking at them now, one wouldn't have thought they'd been crushed beneath Rainbow Dash's hooves just a few hours prior.

Pinkie Pie seemed to be just as jovial as always, her eternal grin plastered on her face. If Rainbow Dash didn't know better, she might have thought Pinkie was just playing a prank, but she'd seen enough, both awake and asleep, to tell her that the pink earth pony was deadly serious about this.

"You ready Rainbow Dash? You and I are about to make some delicious cupcakes!"


Applejack limped through the doorway of the barn, every movement, no matter how slight, causing her to wince and ache. She'd slowly walked back to the farm, after over an hour of waiting. The barriers still hadn't gone away, and Apple Bloom hadn't so much as twitched.

She knew it was over. Her sister was dead, and she'd let it happen. She hadn't kept an eye on her, and she'd ended up trapped inside death trap. Applejack had been…useless. She couldn't protect her, she couldn't save her, she couldn't even comfort her in her final moments.

She was worthless.

She hurt.

But she knew where she could find something that would make her stop hurting, if only for a little bit. The three little fillies had certainly been playing with the machine in the barn that night. Nearly half the glass tank was filled with golden cider, bubbling and warm inside the sun-heated barn.

The orange earth pony tumbled to the ground, just barely managing to move her head and avoid hitting the tap. She slowly and painfully positioned her heat beneath the metal spigot, and reached up with her hoof to let the tap open. The golden nectar poured down into her waiting mouth, splashing and sloshing down her chin.

Applejack drank and gulped and slurped, waiting for the haze of the cider to rear its head. She wanted to be numb, separated from this whole mess. To have a respite from the fear, the pain, and most of all the loss.

She'd gotten a clear look at Apple Bloom's flank while she'd sat sentry outside the ruins of Carousel Boutique, and it had indeed been the same as when the filly had shown it off. A skull and cross bones, but with utensils in the place of bones. So that meant she really had been…been eating Sweetie Belle.

It was too much to take, something so foreign and awful that her mind couldn't process the concept. How could her sister be a cannibal? How could any of this stuff being happening in Ponyville. They'd had their emergencies before, but now there were killers, fires, cannibals…just where in Equestria was all this awfulness coming from?

Thinking about this just made Applejack hurt more. SO she closed her eyes as the now welcome warmth spread its way through her body, and her mind faded into a haze of numbing comfort.