Pinkie's downfall

Chapter 21

"It's mine!" Rarity screamed as she dived for the knife, clutching it to her chest as she screamed at her friends, "I won't let you have it!!!"
  "Get off!" Fluttershy yelled, flinging herself forwards and trying to wrestle the knife away from the fashionista. When she couldn't reach it, she elbowed Rarity in the stomach, then shoved her to the ground, running away, the deadly sharp weapon in her hand.
  "No!!!" She screamed, her hand grabbing at the air, her purple hair covered in dust, "Give it back!"
  "I am not staying in here!" Cried Fluttershy, "I -" she was cut off by Rainbowdash jumping at her from behind and slamming her against the wall of her cottage, the knifepoint suddenly at her pale throat.
  "First one to kill is let out." Rainbowdash said, her eyes flashing dangerously, "So..."
  "Please..." Fluttershy begged, a single tear sliding down her face, catching the light like a fragile diamond, "If you're my friend you won't do this..."
  "I'm sorry." She said, and plunged the knife into Fluttershy's chest, the pink haired girl collapsing onto the grass, a look of burning rage plastered on her face forever.

Slamming the door behind her and glancing out of the window worriedly, Lyra dragged Applejack into her kitchen,
  "What are you doing here?" She demanded,
  "Ah need ta find Princess Twilight." The orange pony said,
  "Princess Twilight?!?" Lyra exclaimed, "What is wrong with you? Do you know how much trouble you could get into for even saying that?"
  "Why would ah get into trouble for that?"
  "Where have you been?" She said exasperated,
  "Ah came through the magic mirror..." Applejack said, confused,
  "YOU WHAT?!?!" Lyra screeched, glancing out the window again before pulling the curtains closed with her golden magic, "That was meant to be destroyed! Why is it still here? This isn't even legal!"
  "But..." Applejack looked even more confused than ever, "Look, ah don't want ta cause ya any trouble. Ah'm going ta Canterlot. Ah'm going ta...ta try and save Princess Twilight." Suddenly Lyra let out an ear splitting shriek, "Get out of my house!" She screamed, shoving the blonde pony violently out of the door, "TRAITOR!!!" The last word she addressed not to Applejack but to anyone left in Ponyville, who soon charged out of their homes and towards her. Panicked, she tried to run but found ponies surrounding her, advancing ever closer. Applejack winced slightly as a grey pegasus with mismatched eyes flew clumsily at her, aiming a large stick at her head, and the element of loyalty around her neck gave a sudden flash, teleporting her away from the angry horde of ponies. Gasping, Applejack found herself laying on the pristine sidewalk of Canterlot - it was as if the element had known where to go, which, she thought, seeing as Pinkamena was controlling it, it probably had. As she stood up, she saw the castle towering over her, and knew that it had drastically changed, even though she had never seen it before; the gold had been removed and replaced with plates of silver, the originally white walls painted over with a deep purple that blended into the constant night, black drapes with the moon emblazoned on them hanging from every possible window. She noticed several of these drapes hanging from houses as well, and one or two depicting Princess Luna, wearing the same glittering armour as she had when she was Nightmare Moon.
"What the hay...?" She murmured, having expected the beautiful, white and gold castle that Twilight had described with such detail. Glancing around in mild worry that someone might be following her, Applejack headed towards the nearest house, deciding that in order to find out where the prison was, she was going to have to lie. Lie, very, very well.

With a snap of her fingers, Pinkamena, brought Rainbowdash out of the magical bubble, not even looking at Fluttershy's body.
"Well done!" She said, clapping her hands excitedly, "I knew you could do it!" The sound of her hands striking each other sounded hollow and empty in the silence.
"Now," she continued, happily, "You can stay out here with me until Applejack comes back. And look! I'll share my popcorn!"
"So..." Rainbowdash whispered, "Fluttershy died for...nothing?"
"I know. Such a shame isn't it?" Pinkamena wiped a fake tear from her eye, expecting Rainbow to lash out at her, but her old friend only states morosely at the ground, "So then. Sit down. Have some popcorn. When the others get back. I have something to show you all." Her smile was ominous, and her eyes flashed with a dangerous happiness.

Twilight Sparkle say bolt upright, her chest heaving, her back still covered in blood.
"Fluttershy!" She gasped, "She's gone..."
"What?" Pinkie asked, clearly distracted - staring out the bars, waiting for the guards that were due to take them away any minute.
"I felt it..." Twilight said, struggling both to explain and breathe, "She's...she's dead..."
  "No," gasped Pinkie, "She can't be, she -" she was cut off by the sound of hooves coming down the stone steps, echoing ominously. The two imprisoned ponies looked at each other, their eyes wide and innocent. Without saying a word, a unicorn guard walked over and opened the creaking metal door with his professional grey magic. He then barked orders at his workmates who seized Pinkie and Twilight, dragging them out of their cells and up the steep steps, the purple mare squealing in pain as her sides brushed against the walls.
"Get off me!" Pinkie yelled, hitting the guards with her hoofs, but achieving nothing as she was so weak, "It wasn't me! You know it wasn't!"
  "Pinkie, stop." Twilight said dejectedly, "It won't help."
  "But..."
  "Luna won't change her mind."
  "That's Princess Luna to you." The guard snapped, kicked at Twilight, whose face was now covered with tears of both pain and fear. Fear. That was all you could see in her huge purple eyes, all sense of happiness and friendship gone; dead.