Pinkie's downfall

Chapter 22

When Applejack turned the corner, expecting to find the plaza in front of the castle empty, she instead found a huge crowd, full of the same ponies she had seen just minutes ago in Ponyville. That however barely registered in the orange ponies mind as at the front of this cheering crowd was a wooden stage with two nooses swaying in the breeze, Pinkie Pie and Twilight standing behind them, being restrained by guards. Ducking behind a low wall, Applejack sunk to the ground, desperately trying to figure out a way to save her friends. But she couldn't. There was nothing she could do; they were going to die by the hooves of none other than princess Luna. Tears streamed down her face, one splashing onto the element of loyalty that she was wearing around her neck. Before, she hadn't wanted to do as Pinkamena had told her, but if she did, and took Twilight back to the human world, it would save her, wouldn't it? Applejack made up her mind, stepped out from her hiding place and opened her mouth, the blood red gem around her neck glowing dangerously, "STOP!" Boomed a voice, but it wasn't hers. As she and every other pony turned around to find the source of the voice, a silence falling over the crowd, she saw Princess Cadence, soaring high above the castle, clad in the same rose gold armour as the army of ponies approaching behind her.
   "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Screeched Luna, rising from her place by the gallows, "You know you are banned from this place!"
  "I won't let you kill these ponies." Cadence said calmly.
  "It is no longer your place to make that decision," Luna spat, "GUARDS! May the execution commence!" The uniform grey ponies dragged their struggling prisoners forward, forcing them into their places and slipping the nooses over their heads.
  "No." Cadence said, fixing her steely glare on Luna, "I won't let you."
  "Too late." Pulling a lever with her deep purple magic, the princess removed the wood beneath Twilight and Pinkie Pie's hooves, dropping them both to their deaths as the crowd cheered.

"Where is Applejack?" Whined Pinkamena impatiently, "She's taking foreeeevveerr! There's something I want to show you and I can't unless you're all here!" Stamping her foot and pouting like a small child denied candy, the girl earned a glare from one of her old friends.
"How dare you?" Whispered Rarity, tucking a greasy purple curl behind her ear, "How dare you! You want us all to be here, do you? Well we can't all be here because Fluttershy's dead!" She was shouting now, fresh tears following the paths down her face from older ones, "We'll never ALL be here again because she's dead! You killed her! And she's not coming back! She's -"
"SHUT UP!" Screamed Rainbowdash, not moving from her slumped, shaking position against the cottage wall, "Shut up..." Her voice cracked and she buried her face in her arms.
"Now now, Dashie, you really should mind your temper," scolded Pinkamena, "People do stupid things when they're angry. Don't you think, Rarity?"
"I think you're a lying, controlling bitch who wants nothing more than to see her friends die!"
"That's not true!" Protested Pinkamena, innocently, "I don't want to see any of you killed! That wouldn't be much fun, now would it?"
"That's not what you said to Applejack." The fashionista growled,
"Ah yes, Applejack, thankyou for reminding me. Where is she? I'm almost tempted to send you after her, but something tells me you wouldn't listen."
"You're damn right I wouldn't listen." Rarity said, stepping as close to the impenetrable bubble that had been created around her and Rainbowdash, "In fact, if you let me out, the first thing I would do is ring your fucking neck!"
"Ouch." Pinkamena mock flinched, "So violent for such a pretty girl."
"Violent?" She screeched incredulously, "Violent? I'll show you violent! I'll -"
"Let it go, Rarity." Rainbow called sadly, "She's not worth it. Don't listen to a word she says to you."
"Like you didn't listen!" Snapped the purple haired girl.
"I -"
"No! You killed Fluttershy! It was Pinkies fault but you did it!"
"Stop!" Rainbowdash stood up, her eyes burning with anger,
"NO! You put a knife through your best friends chest!"
"STOP!" As Rainbow screamed this word at Rarity, she received a punch to the face, slamming her head against the wall and instantly knocking her out.
"Bitch." Rarity said, and it was almost impossible to say whether it was aimed at Rainbowdash, or Pinkamena, who was laughing softly behind her.

When Cadence has arrived and started challenging Princess Luna's rule by attempting to stop something she and those under her rule thought was right, this should have made Lyra Heartstrings as angry as the rest of the crowd. But it didn't. In truth, she heard none of what the two alicorns were screaming at each other, she was frozen to the spot by seeing her best friend. They had not seen each other since Equestria had split, the two having different opinions and when Lyra saw Bonbon standing in armour at the front of an army, a spear in her hoof, she didn't know what to think. The pale yellow pony stood in front of ranks of others, a slightly too big helmet with her pink and blue mane sticking out of it, her face unreadably blank. Behind her, to either side, were Derpy and Dr Whooves, both in similar amour. Her old friends. Looking ready to fight her in battle. Vinyl and Octavia were long gone; maybe they'd escaped, left, or maybe they never made it. But it was not them who occupied Lyra's mind as two ponies behind her had nooses slipped around their necks. It was the friends who stood in front of her as a scream from Cadence was heard:
"THEN THIS MEANS WAR!"

A/N: I'm so sorry I haven't updated for so long. I kinda drifted away from the fandom but someone asked me to finish this and I will.