Cupcakes: Our Late Goodbye

A Sequel of "Cupcakes" as told by Sergeant Cupcakes

    "Have you seen this bunny? Responds to Angel.  Reward if found. Please contact Fluttershy"

    Baby pink hair whipping violently about her, the creme-colored filly shot across the square as fast as her legs would take her. The wicker bag that held the rest of the fliers bumped and chaffed her flank, but she paid no heed. It had been three days since she'd seen her bossy, pushy, picky, yet loyal and absolutely lovable pet. Fluttershy screeched in front of another post, panting in her high-pitched voice. She couldn't imagine where he could've gone; he was always punctual when it came to lunchtime, and every other meal....Fumbling in the bag, she pulled out a hammer, nails, and another poster. He was her best friend among her woodland critters; she just had to find him....The sun beat down on her, and she sweat all over, making it hard to hammer the nails properly....She must, she must, she must, just as Rarity had said...come to think of it, where could she be...and Rainbow Dash too...everyone was leaving her, again...

    A soft whine escaped from her mouth. Then another. The next moment, she collapsed onto the ground, hooves over her head, and wept loudly as her strength would allow. Which, right now, still wasn't that loud. Time passed so slowly...

    Suddenly, she jerked her head up and began running once again, ignoring the looks of the ponies who had been staring in bewilderment. She had to make sure she was all right...after all, she had made a promise...
--

    Pinkie Pie carefully removed the cupcakes from the oven, setting them down thoughtfully. This was the last batch of her Le Petit Four recipe. She jittered even more than usual as she squeezed on the purple icing and finished with a flourish of blue diamond sprinkles. The lunch rush was over, and as the last customer trotted out with her treat, she beamed a tremendous smile and gallivanted rapidly around the room, tumbling to the floor and laughing so hard that tears sprang up. "It's time!" she cheered ecstatically, flailing her hooves and squeeing. "It's finally, finally time!" Scrambling up, she looked this way and that before scuttling to a table and grabbing a pen and paper. In quick, scribbly strokes she wrote:

"You're late for a very important date! I have something that'll make you super duper happy, Fluttershy! Come on down to Sugar Cube Corners A.S.A.P! I can't wait to see you! I'm so excited I could pop my top! Hurry!!
Love,
Pinkie Pie"

    Now, how to deliver it discreetly? She was too pumped up to think clearly, so she took the paper in her mouth, deciding she'd just wing it. "Wing it..." she repeated aloud, snorking and giggling even more. Kicking open the door, she barely had time to look up before something crashed into her, sending her sprawling back onto the floor. The thing stumbled to its feet, then instantly fell back against her, holding her tight as possible. "O-oh, P-Pinkie Pie! You're-you're all right!! Thank goodness, I was worried sick..."

    Pinkie sat there for a moment, eyes wide. Her hooves wrapped around the other mare just as tight, and she breathed, "I was just on my way to see you, Fluttershy, I couldn't be giddier!" This was perfect! Things usually didn't fall into place this easily.

    Color rose to the elder's cheeks. "R-really? Is something wrong? Why are you so shaky?" she asked, her eyes creased with worry.

    "Oh, it's just my tummy wumbly being grumpy," giggled her friend. Shooting up like a rocket, she added, "Speaking of tummy, you've gotta try one of my newest cupcakes! I made some just for you!"

    "I-I'm sorry, I hate to be rude, I really do...but I'm not hungry...Angel is still missing, and so are Rainbow Dash and Rarity...oh, but you already knew that...I'm...sorry..."

    The last words came out as a whine, and fresh tears built up, dripping down her cheek slowly.  Pinkie Pie put a comforting hoof around her friend's neck, holding up a cupcake that shimmered, almost as if it were made from gems. "There, there," she cooed. "It'll all be over soon. Take a bite of this; it might calm you down."

    Fluttershy accepted this time, eyes still half-squinted, trying to hold back more tears. She chewed quickly at first, but slowed down, pretty blue eyes opening wide and freeing the remnants of her water works. "This is--" she gulped and delicately took another bite.

    "Nice?" giggled Pinkie Pie, her hooves quickly retreated to her mouth to prevent from bursting out in giggles. Instead, it came out more like soda spurting from a much-shaken bottle.

    "No, no, it's delightful!" Fluttershy spoke with her mouth full, a rare action that kicked her bashfulness back into swing. She finished the rest of the sweet in silence, head slightly dipped, pastel hair veiling her eyes. Her wiggly friend handed her a napkin, with which she dabbed away the frosting and sprinkles from her face.

    She opened her mouth to offer another compliment, when Pinkie Pie smiled and walked closer, deliberately licking a stray morsel from the corner of the shocked mare's mouth. "Missed a spot," she said softly. Nuzzling her nose, the hot-pink pony added, "That fix you up?"

    Fluttershy's mouth still hung open, the tiniest, high-pitched squeak escaping. When their noses touched, she drew it closed quickly.

    "Y-yes. Thank you." Bashfully stiff at first, she found her muscles becoming more relaxed by the second.

    "I'm so glad," Pinkie said with sincerity, lifting her head so that their blue eyes met. "I really am. When you make something special for someone, something that goes in their belly, something they love, it's like a part of you inside them. Loving them. And they're loving you, even if it's just an itty bitty part of you." Her hoof went around the elder's neck again. "Can you imagine how that feels, Fluttershy?"

    Her younger friend was still jittering, pressed so near her....Fluttershy was turning rather pink herself. Pinkie's sweet--though she sensed something not so innocent--eyes blinked at her, and she pulled Fluttershy closer with both hooves. In a hushed whisper, she asked, "Fluttershy, would you like to be loved inside someone?"

    The shy pony went absolutely still.

    "...Yes."

    Pinkie Pie stroked Fluttershy's mane as her friend smiled softly up at her, slowly sinking towards the floor, and as she lay there passed out. "I'll make sure of it." She softly kissed her forehead.
--

    When she came to, Fluttershy grunted weakly, trying to get her bearings. How long had she been out, and how...? Oh, yes...Pinkie Pie. She had fainted, from...shock...excitement? As her head cleared further, she was jolted out of her thoughts by a sudden feeling of immobility. Her front hooves were tied above her head, her hind legs also bound and spread out wide. There was a slight discomfort somewhere in-between the latter...it was too dark to figure out why.

    Dark like the Everfree forest.

    She began to whimper, images of her missing friends flickering through her mind. There was a stirring nearby, a soft sound of hoofbeats, almost deliberately slow as if to ensue further panic. Her eyes squinted closed, lower lip quivering...

    A whiff of sugar hit her nostrils. At the same time, a familiar touch caressed her chin, pulling her tightened lips into a smile. "No time for that," came the surprisingly calm confirmation. The grin became natural as Fluttershy opened her eyes and gazed upon Pinkie Pie leaning over her.

    The younger pony giggled softly, running her hooves gently down Fluttershy's body. "I'm so relieved," she said. "This really took longer than it should have; that's why I was so anxious earlier. But those--" She leaned in to suck Fluttershy's neck, licking her lips. "--intimate, details. They're what make it special."

    The restrained pony meeped in surprise...

    And satisfaction.

    Before she had a chance to say anything further, her squeak turned into a full-fledged cry as Pinkie Pie suddenly swooped to zealously rub Fluttershy in a place most stimulating. Back legs wiggling as much as her bonds would allow, Fluttershy's chest heaved in and out, sighing breathlessly.

    Pinkie stopped as suddenly as she had begun. "Ya like that?" Her tongue hung partially out of her mouth, eyebrows lowered.

    The creme-colored pony stared back at her with those huge, innocent eyes, and nodded slowly. "W-well, the restraints aren't necessary...but whatever you wanna do is fine."

    Pinkie Pie began again in earnest, straddling her and licking under and along her neck and behind her ears, beginning to moan herself. Fluttershy was becoming quite the loud-mouth, indeed. The pressure in her abdomen was rising quickly, and it didn't take long for a burst of fluid to erupt out of her. Strange, she couldn't feel it around her legs...

    After some time, and several more large eruptions from Fluttershy, Pinkie sat up abruptly again. "All righty, Fluttershy! Do you remember the elements of a good cheer?" Her hyper nature was suddenly back.

    Fluttershy blinked, still panting. "Screaming and hollering...lots of control..."

    "Right! And most importantly?"

    She swallowed. "Passion."

    "Rrrighty-o! Now, let's hear one!"

    In one spry movement, Pinkie lept onto a lever which rotated the table to stand straight, while flicking on the light with her tail. Fluttershy took a deep breath, her eyes closed in anticipation, and began a soft, "Yaaay--"

    Her breath caught in her throat.

     Before her lay the most gruesome scene of macabre, gore, horror, and sheer inhumanity she had ever seen, slowly unfolding as she was lifted higher and higher into the worst nightmare she could have never imagined. Until now.

    Pinkie bounced around giddily, cartwheeling in front of the hellish decorations and furniture. "Isn't it super duper??" she tee-heed. "I knew, of all the ponies, you'd be the one to appreciate this the most!" She gestured up to the streamers of intestines littering the ceiling. "You know how bad plastics and stuff are for the environment, right?" To the "Life is a Party" banner made entirely of pony skin. "Well, my decorations are bio-degradable!" To the skulls lining the walls. "Whenever they tear up or break, I just get new ones!" Snorking laughter took over for a moment, then she continued directing Fluttershy's eyes toward a sight that her mind tried desperately to shut out. "The balloons were mega-hard to get right; they kept bursting when I tried to fill 'em up and color 'em!" She then did a sickening impression of blood and guts splattering.

    "H...how...y-you...I thought..." Fluttershy managed to choke.

    Gasping dramatically, Pinkie zoomed across the room to something she had hidden under a small cloth. A larger cloth-covered object sat a few inches from Fluttershy. The pink pony bounded up to her petrified friend, placing something soft and fluffy on her head.

    It felt like...

    "Angel?"

    "Pretty much!" Pinkie wheeled a mirror in front of Fluttershy so she could see the halo made of white fur that crowned her head. "See, I told you, this is why I was so jittery earlier! Your number came up a few days ago, but I just had to do something special for you! So I made you this! I woulda told you if I coulda, seeing you went through all the trouble to make those 'Missing' posters."

    Fluttershy could barely hear her; where everything had been so perfect, and time had stood still, now everything went by in a blur. The only sound she could make were the tears dripping down her face. Finally, one word registered. "...cupcakes!" Pinkie was at a dish across the room, dipping her hoof into a pasty white substance, licking her lips happily. "This'll be perfecto! I wish I could've gotten more, but hey, it was hard to get this much!"

    The restrained pony finally saw in the mirror the reason for her earlier discomfort. A tube was inserted into her crotch, and it led to the container that Pinkie Pie was merrily skipping away from. Now Fluttershy's eyes slowly squinted in disgust. Her body trembled. "So...all of that...was just...JUST SO YOU COULD MAKE YOUR DIRTY, STUPID, FILTHY CUPCAKES?!"

    Pinkie looked at her friend in surprise, then fell over laughing. "Fluttershy, you're so funny when you act tough! Silly, I'm trying a new recipe! I knew I'd have to use a pure source if I wanted it to taste right, and you were the perfect choice! Now I can get started with the rest of the ingredients!" She yanked the cloth off of the table, revealing a baker's dozen of assorted knives and various other cutting tools. "Show and tell time, children!" she giggled in her best impression of Cheerlie.

    Fluttershy broke down and began to sob uncontrollably. "You...said...you were going to make me... happy," she choked.

    Pinkie ran a scalpel over her tongue, the blade making a precision cut. "Ouchie, that one IS sharp!" She then looked back up at the creme-colored pony. "Well, DUH! Why do ya think I went through the trouble to make you that Angel halo? You were supposed to be in here days ago!" she finished bluntly before approaching. She paused, tilting her head and looking far off, as if she'd forgotten something, but quickly dismissed it.

    The shy filly's legs wiggled and thrashed helplessly as Pinkie closed in on her right flank. "Lemme get these bugs offa you," Pinkie mumbled with a chuckle, the scalpel in her mouth. She made a circular incision around Fluttershy's cutie mark, then cut it away from her flesh with a quick cut down. Her victim yelped and screamed and wailed in pain, feeling warm blood trickle down her leg. Pinkie licked a bit of it up and nodded in satisfaction, then repeated the process with the other flank.

    Fluttershy's mind raced. She had never been in so much pain. Her entire body was shaking violently. If she didn't get out of here alive, who was going to feed her animals? "P-please," she managed to say, "if you're going to do this to me, will you at least promise me my friends won't die?"

    Pinkie nearly choked as another laugh spurted out. "I can't exactly do that," she snickered, indicating her head towards a sectioned off part of the room.

    Now Fluttershy could see the corpses of Rainbow Dash and Rarity. Her eyes hardened for just a moment, and she was more composed as she said, "I was talking about my critters."

    "Ohhhhh! Well they don't have a number, so of course they're safe! I'll even drop by and feed 'em for you. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my...eye..." Pinkie paused her routine, once again in deep thought. "I keep feeling like I'm forgetting something! Shoot...oh well," she shrugged. "Guess it wasn't important." As she moved to retrieve her hacksaw, she looked over her shoulder at Fluttershy. "Aren't cha gonna, like, beg for your own life or something?"

    Her baby pink hair drooped with her head, bouncing delicately. "As long as they're safe, I'm happy." She closed her eyes, images of her furry companions filling her mind. The halo atop her head became Angel once again, vibrant and healthy, spunky as always...

    And she smiled.

    Pinkie smiled herself. "Aww, that's so sweet! I guess that means ya won't mind if I do THIS!" Her smile turned to a manic grin, and she lurched up with the hacksaw, bringing it down on Fluttershy's right wing. It didn't take much sawing after the initial hack to break through the bone and sever the limb from its body. Fluttershy writhed in pain, screaming to the top of her lungs. Tears flowed down her cheeks, but it was moreso a physical than emotional response. She tried desperately to go back into that part of her mind where there was peace, and sunshine, and beauty, not this hole of despair and death...

    But her tormentor was already at her left wing. It gave a bit more resistance, but was soon dispatched similarly. The air smelled of fresh blood. Fluttershy let out another wail, her head beginning to spin.

    Pinkie stepped back to admire her work. This was going along surprisingly smoothly...perhaps a little boring due to Fluttershy's apparent nonchalant attitude for her own death. Ah, well. Suddenly, she perked up and announced, completing her inward thoughts, "Where there's a drill, there's a way!" She grabbed the scalpel again and began cutting along her toy's crotch, splitting it in half horizontally. She then moved around her hind legs and cut up her sides, past the ribs, around her front legs, and up to the base of her neck. The final incision fell just above her shoulder.

    The body was now split neatly in half. Grabbing for a hand drill, Pinkie aimed carefully, then stuck it into the middle of the cut on Fluttershy's left side. The shy pony keened as she felt the metal go through her body, snapping veins and arteries and muscles apart, feeling blood gushing internally. Incidentally, this was the slowest part of the process.

    When finally the drill reached the other side, Pinkie got a firm grip on it and began lifting the drill up and back. Fluttershy's chest heaved convulsively as it began to split apart. Some of the tissue wasn't so agreeable, and it ripped unevenly.

    What's more, Pinkie Pie hadn't given Fluttershy anything to numb the pain.

    The dying filly desperately reached deep into her mind once again, looking for something, anything....And suddenly, she didn't seem to hear herself as she screamed so hard that she began to lose her voice. Instead, she was at the Best Young Flier competition, cheering with all her might for her hero, Rainbow Dash. She was at the ballet opening, where her best friend Rarity had cheered her on, despite her jealousy. She was on the hooves of a dozen ponies shouting her name in unison after she had contributed the wing power that so many counted on. She was lying on the grass, laughing heartily with Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack...and Pinkie Pie.

    She began to smile again, a single tear dripping down.

    That didn't change when Pinkie finished rolling her open like a can of sardines and began disemboweling her, piece by piece. "Look, Fluttershy! I'm making a play set for your animals!" Plucking the intestines out and blowing through them like they were a great party horn, she crudely arranged them around her stomach, liver, and gallbladder, creating a grotesque sort of hamster maze.

    All Fluttershy could see were the sweet little babies themselves, scurrying to cuddle by her after a day of play. Her organs were simply the trails she had taken them along to memorize so they would never get lost. The blood gushing freely from her open chest was their warm, soft bodies, so sure that as long as she was nearby, they would be safe and loved.

    As she neared the end, she remembered farther back, to when she had first discovered her love of them. So free, among the beautiful creatures who came to her at will and never strayed. And then...she remembered something. "Pinkie," she said softly.

    "It's about time you spoke up!" her executioner said with a huff. "I'm just about done!"

    The bloodied pony's gaze was soft, and far-off. "Do...you...re-remember...what you...promised...shortly after...we met...?"

    Pinkie Pie put a hoof to her chin, thinking hard, then stomped it on the floor. "That's it! That's what I've been trying to remember all--"

    Fluttershy's body lurched. Her voice was barely a whisper. "W-whatever...you've done...I know...somewhere...we're still...your friends..."

    Pinkie stared wide-eyed at her as the memory came back.

    "...and I...still...lo..." Her head lolled over, and she was silent. A smile remained on her lips.
--

    "Pinkie Pie...well, I haven't known you for long, but do you think you could, um...promise me something?"

    "Friends don't hafta be ripened, Fluttershy!" Pinkie giggled. They were just outside Sugar Cube Corners. "What can I do ya for?"

    The shy filly looked away, rubbing a hoof against another awkwardly. "If we ever have to go away...or not be friends anymore...will you say goodbye?"

    "Isn't that usually flipped, 'promise we'll never say goodbye'?" Her younger friend tilted her head curiously.

    "N-no, I never want that to happen in the first place...but..." She looked off onto the horizon. "Whenever I made friends in Cloudsdale, they wouldn't stay around for long...and they never said why. I know something was wrong with me, I just wish they would've been so kind as to tell me what, so I could be better..."

    Pinkie Pie swept the startled pony into a hug. "No. Nothing's wrong with you. You're tip-top-tastic just the way you are. But a Pinkie Swear is a Pinkie Swear. I promise, I'll say goodbye. Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
--

    "Seems like that was ages ago, but times flies when you're having fun!" Pinkie nudged the silent pony's head. "Fluttershy, I came to tell you goodbye. And, just to make sure you know..." There was no response. She nudged her again. "C'mon, wake up! I promised you, remember? You hafta hear me or it's no good! And a Pinkie Swear.."

    The body had gone completely...peacefully, still.

    A look of disbelief spread over the pink pony's face. "Fluttershy..."
--

    Everypony saw that something was different about Pinkie Pie after that day. Her smiles, few and far between, were forced, and not a bounce crept into her step. At night, after her shift, she sat by herself staring out the window, ignoring Gummy's attempts at play.

    A Pinkie Swear...she had broken a Pinkie Swear. How was this possible? It wasn't...it just wasn't. And to, of all ponies, Fluttershy, whose eyes always had that extra sparkle whenever they were together....Memories of her friends, her acquaintances; the good times, the bad times; when they were vibrant and healthy or lying bloody and dismantled on her operating table; they all blurred together in a torrent. Which of those times had been good? Was it was when  shewas preparing to turn them into cupcakes, or when they lay sprawled out on the grass, laughing uncontrollably?

    Whatever the case, there was no turning back. No way to unbreak a promise, especially to a dead pony. No way to change the rules. Just like she had told Dash, it wasn't like she made them...

    But wait! The Pinkie Swear WAS hers! It was her creation which she had rigorously upheld without fail, until now. And if the rules of another had tarnished that...

    Well darn it, she was going to do something about it. She was going to do something about it big time!

    The day that she walked into the basement after leaving instructions for the care of Fluttershy's animals, nopony had seen a happier, more at peace, Pinkamena Diane Pie. After all, this was going to be her last operation.
--

    "Geez, what's with the commotion?" The pony adjusted her halo irritably, looking to the gates in the near distance.

    "Looks like a naughty pony who's too afraid to get her just desserts," another snorted contemptuously. "She won't go below til she's made a big ol' fuss about it."

    Fluttershy looked up from her view on the edge of a cloud. There was only a faint sound from the scene beyond, but then again there generally wasn't that much noise here. Curiosity tugged her closer. A pony was on her knees in front of the gatekeeper, speaking excitedly and desperately and determinedly all at the same time. From this distance, she was a blur of pink...

    Finally, the gatekeeper began walking in Fluttershy's direction. The noisy pony went with him. While the other angels skittered away as quickly as they could, the creme-colored pony found herself walking to meet them halfway. "Miss? I'm sorry to bother you," the gatekeeper said in his silken voice, "but this one just won't shut up until she's had a chat with you. I wouldn't worry if I were you, she's can't hurt anyone anymore." He nodded, then gave them some space.

    Fluttershy was face-to-face with Pinkie Pie once again.

    Pinkie smiled at her, but quickly turned solemn. "Fluttershy," she said, holding out a hoof. "I just wanted...to say goodbye."

    The angel looked down at her outstretched limb. "Pinkie, what happened..."

    "A Pinkie Swear is a Pinkie Swear. No exceptions. I didn't have the attention span for a full-time job, anyway."

    Fluttershy's mouth dropped. "You mean..." She paused, then met Pinkie's hoof with her own. "Goodbye, Pinkie Pie..."

    All at once, they were hugging. "I wanted to remind you there's nothing wrong with you. I wanted you to know you're still my friend and I was happy to have you there with me. I wouldn't have done that to you if I didn't have to...I'm so sorry." Pinkie Pie was sobbing, leaning on Fluttershy as if she would've fallen right through the cloud if she wasn't there to support her.

    "But you came back for me. Just to say that. Pinkie Pie, you're the best friend a pony could ever hope to have." Her voice was soft, warm, and sincere. Her cheeks were streaked with tears.

    Pinkie pulled back to look her in the face, not believing what she'd just heard.  The gatekeeper cleared his throat importantly. "It's time to go," he said simply.

    "Well," the doomed pony said with a deep breath. "I guess I'll see you on the other side, Fluttershy." Tenderly, she wiped away her friend's tears, managing one more smile. "Take care."

    "You too." Returning the smile best as she could, she watched as the gatekeeper led her away. Pinkie did the same, watching over her shoulder as long as she could.

    As if an electric current ran through their bodies, synchronizing the two, at the very last minute, they both raised a hoof, poking their eyes.

    Then, she was gone.