//------------------------------// // Ch.23 Laughter & Generosity Pt.2 // Story: Discord's Reign // by chief maximus //------------------------------// DISCORD'S REIGN Chapter 23-Laughter & Generosity Pt.2 Rarity glared at the deity of chaos before her, casually tracing circles on the felt of the table. “At long last I get a one on one with the Element of Generosity,” Discord said, continuing to shuffle the cards. “Tell me…do you and Tom still keep in touch?” That was the final straw. “Can we please get this over with? I wish to put you back where you belong, and quickly.” Discord held his grin, taking her venomous words in stride. "Now Rarity, is that any way to thank the being that allowed you to enjoy the fantasy world you had been so enthralled with earlier?" Discord shifted as he stood ready to deal the cards, "For the element of generosity, you certainly are stingy with your appreciation. Tell you what, if you win one hand, I'll release you from the fog to fight me with your friends. Sound fair?" Rarity knew he controlled everything around her, and figured if he had wanted to hurt her, he'd have done it already. At least she had a chance. She nodded. "Which brings me to why you're here in the first place. But before we take a leisurely stroll down that road, why don't we play a hand or two?" The god of chaos placed a card in front of him face down, as well as one in front of her, her ante having magically set itself on the table next to her cards. Another card, this time face up showed a ten, but instead of the normal suits, it appeared four of the elements of harmony made up the lesser cards suits, while her friends images adorned the face cards, as well as the alicorn princesses. Rarity used her magic to check her cards. A ten and a seven, a dangerous hit to take. Discord had an ace showing, with Spike's picture on it, though he looked rather sad. Unsure whether the cards themselves carried any meaning, Rarity knew the faster this was over, the faster all of them could go back to their normal lives. "I'll stay." Discord grinned, flipping his cards over. An ace and an eight, almost a dead pony's hand. "Nineteen. One loss, Lady Rarity." the chimera mocked taking her chips and discarding the previous cards. "Funny thing about generosity, in order to be generous, one must achieve total selflessness. The ancients believed this could only be obtained through years of meditation, yet you just happen to be the embodiment of such an abstract concept," he explained as he dealt another hand, showing the queen of hearts, on which princess Luna's likeness appeared. Rarity glanced down at her cards; a six and a two. "You've never meditated a day in your life, have you?" The alabaster unicorn ignored his question with a rather blunt statement, "Hit me." Discord flipped another card over in front of her. Big Macintosh, the king of hearts. She smirked at the likeness, figuring she had Discord beat this time. “And yet here you are, the element of generosity,” he continued. “Things always came easily to you, didn’t they?” Rarity gritted her teeth and answered, for no other reason than to cut off his monologue. “One could say that. Fashion and design has always been by forte, ever since I was a filly.” "And you certainly are generous. You've made formal wear for your five friends free of charge, and supply those in Ponyville who desire clothing with designs, I've seen the advertisements." Discord added, flipping his own cards over. Celestia and Prince Blueblood, the ace of spades and jack of diamonds, respectively. Twenty one; he won again. "But lets talk about a certain someone you aren't exactly generous with, emotionally." Discord said, smiling and studying her face for a reaction. Rarity’s composure slipped for a moment. She knew exactly who he was talking about. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she insisted, feigning innocence, as Discord dealt the next hand. "Really? Come now am I going to have to draw it out of you?" he asked. The fashion conscious unicorn bit her lip. Stonewalling wasn't going to work if Discord had access to her entire subconscious. Better to come clean now... She let out a heavy sigh, "Spike..." "There it is. Your old pincushion and ever faithful helper. Never asking for any reward, or payment, and happily aiding you in all your fashion endeavors. Even on his birthday, the one day a year when he is supposed to be the center of attention, and he is supposed to be receiving tokens of affection from his friends, what did you ask of him?" It appeared as though he was going to make her admit to every time she might have taken advantage of Spike's feelings. "I asked to use the gem he had found to make a necklace-" "A necklace for whom?" Discord interrupted, a glare and a smile across his face. Rarity swallowed, disgusted with the way she felt after looking back on her actions, "For me...But he said he wanted me to have it!" "Really? Perhaps you'd like a little background on that particular gemstone. Surely you didn't think it came out of the ground shaped that way?" The dragon had assured her he had found it that way, and insisted that he wanted her to have it. On the other hoof, a possible second meaning of the stone was nagging at her. It had been heart-shaped for a reason, after all. "He spent countless nights carving it, absolutely certain this one gesture would be enough to win your heart. He built up the courage to give it to you as he counted the days until his birthday, when he would see you again. He almost ate it at the last minute, but then you arrived, and gave him the courage to go through with it, as soon as you expressed interest." Rarity blinked hard, her vision blurring. Spike had always been so helpful and kind, even more so to her than Twilight. And what had she done to repay him? A jeweled bow tie once, that had been discarded from another project anyway, after he had been a pincushion for the better part of three hours. She fought to maintain her composure, but ultimately failed, finding herself swamped in guilt. She had strung the baby dragon along for free service, and given him almost nothing in return. Evan after he had gotten ahold of himself on his first Ponyville birthday, he was even ready to confess his feelings, but she had silenced him. It wasn’t the truth she was afraid of; she’d known long before the two of them were free-falling to their doom. But to hear the words aloud would erase the hope that allowed the unicorn to sleep at night. The hope that it was simply a passing infatuation, and like all young loves, would simply pass. She had viewed Spike platonically, and had never given it a second thought. A sick feeling began to rise within her. How could she honestly call herself the element of generosity when she's breaking a little dragons heart with each passing day, yelling at her sister for simply being a filly, and sometimes simply making excuses to get out of helping others when they asked for it. She gave up maintaining her elegant façade and let a few tears darken the felt between her forelegs. I've been so cruel to Spike...I'm just as much a monster as Discord... "You took his heart and ran with it, now he longs for something he cannot have," Discord added, dealing the next hand. "And I thought I knew how to make beings miserable." he mused, dealing the next hand. Rarity took a desultory glance at her cards, eyes brightening when she saw an ace of diamonds. This could be my ticket out of here! she thought as she waited for the next card. "Oh, so sorry. I win again." Discord chirped, having twenty one showing before him once again. "And look! It appears you're out of chips!" Rarity glanced beside her; sure enough, her respectable stack had vanished within a few hands. "Not to worry, I've got you covered," he said, producing six chips from between his talons. "Pay special attention to these chips my dear, they are worth more than their denominations indicate." Rarity took a better look at them, unable to find any denominations at all. Each one, however, was a different colour, and bore the cutie mark of one of her friends. "You're a high roller now Ms. Rarity, are you ready to up the ante?" "If it gets me out of here," she hissed "Thats the spirit!" Discord shuffled the cards once more as he explained the significance of the chips. "The chips before you may seem a tad familiar. For this round, you'll be betting with something a little more valuable than plastic." A snap of his fingers caused the chips to glow. Upon second inspection, the reverse side of the chip held an image of the owner of the cutie mark on the front. "These chips represent your friends consciousness. Without this, they are nothing more than a breathing organism, comatose, if you will. No speech, no personality, no nothing. Now, are you willing to gamble such immeasurable value, for such a simple reward?" Gamble with her friends minds? That certainly didn't sit well, especially not after all the reflection of her less than stellar performance as a friend, much less the element of generosity. But she had to beat Discord somehow! A realization hit her like a ton of bits, her unsure and broken features now sharpening up. She was ready to beat the god of chaos at his own game. She wasn't exactly proud of her idea, but if it deserved to be set into motion against anyone, it was Discord. "Fine. I'll take that bet. How much per hand?" "One consciousness to play, madame." Discord answered dryly, trying to hold back a grin. He had the unicorn right where he wanted her. But Rarity had a different idea. If you can’t beat them…cheat. She threw the white chip between them, smiling. Discord noticed with some disdain that it was her own psyche on the table. "How noble of you-" "Discord darling, would you mind if I dealt this hand?" she asked, her confidence restored in her plan. Discord frowned. He’d manipulated enough ponies to know when something was up. But he saw nothing in her expression, and no harm in letting her deal. "Very well." he slid the deck across the table to her, eyeing her suspiciously. Rarity gripped it in her magic and began to shuffle them. "You don't mind if I re-shuffle these do you?" "Be my guest." Soon her shuffling became more and more outlandish, the cards arcing from one hoof to the other, behind her back then around her chest again before settling neatly in front of her. All the while, she had arranged the proper cards in the proper order to surely best the chimera before her. She honestly never believed that the card tricks she learned to entertain Sweetie Belle before she could talk would ever be useful for anything other than making a filly giggle. Rarity prayed she shifted the cards in the proper position while shuffling. "Shall we?" she grinned. Discord was certain she was up to something. But his curiosity had been piqued, and he decided to let her have her way. After all, this was just a game to kill time until the real guest of honor arrived in Canterlot. Rarity quickly levitated a pair of cards before him, and did the same to herself. Discord glanced down at his cards, a grin spreading across his face. A pair of queens. "Well?" Rarity asked, "Hit or stay?" "Stay." Rarity nodded, flipping over her card to reveal a pair of sixes. Discord held back a laugh. It looked as though he'd be playing cards with a coma patient next hand. "Hm...looks like I'll have to take a hit!" she added after pretending to ponder her next move. Rarity flipped the next card, then another, then another. Ace of spades, ace of hearts, ace of diamonds, all in a row. Discord couldn't help himself, letting out a soft chuckle before expressing his amusement, "Maybe you should have stacked the deck a little more carefully." "Ahem." Rarity had her hoof stretched out across the table, pointing to the decorative words that covered the table. The sentence she was pointing to made Discord scowl in disgust. How could he have not noticed that? "Do you know what that says, Discord? I don't have my reading glasses on me..." she grinned, knowing full well she just bested the normally all powerful god of chaos. "Five under twenty one pays." he growled, conceding victory to the alabaster unicorn. "I think I stacked the deck quite nicely." she added in response to his earlier comment, using her magic to yank him face to face with her, nearly pulling Discord across the table. "Next time you feel like galavanting around in somepony's subconscious, you better remember who's in charge of it." she hissed, releasing him from her grip as she gathered her chips/friends psyches. She had cheated, and beat him at his own game, all while he was none the wiser. Discord's usual smile returned quickly. He liked this mare. "I must apologize, I obviously didn't give you enough credit! Perhaps it was you I should have been matching wits with instead of Twilight Sparkle." Rarity took the compliment in stride, and stood from the table, moving toward the ornate doorway standing behind Discord. "I enjoyed our time Ms. Rarity! I'll have to come up with a better game next time!" he called to her. Rarity stopped at the gateway, glancing over her shoulder in disgust, "There won't be a next time for you, Discord." She's fiesty. I like that... Pinkamena and Pinkie stood back to back against the approaching horde. "Any ideas on how we can get out of this mess?" Pinkie asked, noticing Pinkamena's attention drawn above them. A single rope beginning to lower itself down to them. "Hang on tight!" Pinkamena ordered, before taking a tight grip on the rope between her teeth. Pinkie threw her forelegs over her counterparts shoulders and clung to her as the rope suddenly flung them upwards at an incredible speed, causing an involuntary shout of excitement from Pinkie to echo around the tent. The canvas ceiling split apart as they rocketed toward it, allowing them to exit. Once outside the tent, Pinkamena let go of the rope. A quick free fall onto the roof of the big top let them slide down the angular canvas roofing and land safely on the ground. “There isn’t much time,” Pinkamena snapped. “They’ll sniff us out if we don’t hide. C’mon. I know a place.” Pinkie watched in awe as Pinkamena drew a circle with a few runes inside it into the dirt, suddenly transforming into a portal in the ground. “Wowee!” Pinkie squealed, following her counterpart through the portal. “How do you know all this stuff?” Pinkamena reached back through with a foreleg and shut the portal behind them before answering. “My subconscious is your subconscious,” she said matter-of-factly. “I just know it better than you." The portal spat them out in a library like environment. A few tall shelves stretched toward the impossibly high ceiling, while a few dusty candelabras lit the room. It was rather dank and stuffy, but this was to be expected as the room appeared to be hewn out of solid rock, with no visible means of entry or exit. In the corner there was a magnificent four poster bed, with matching pink sheets, as well as a fireplace, a comfy if not old looking armchair, and in the opposite corner of the room, sat odd photographs of her friends. Pinkie stepped cautiously as she noticed what made the pictures so weird. The ponies inside seemed to be alive! They were moving around inside their frames, expressions conveying contentment despite being trapped in an eight-by-ten inch prison. "Those are you friends." Pinkamena's voice echoed from behind her. "How you envision them, anyway." Each frame was representative of the pony inside it. Pinkie turned her attention back toward her counterpart. "How did you get them in there?" "They aren't in there." Pinkamena scoffed, "This whole place is just a metaphor representing the abstractness of thought!" Pinkies curiosity undeterred by her remark, she continued her questions. It seemed Pinkamena to be more of an opposite personality to her own. An apparent appreciation of books, stillness and reflection. "The book shelves are your memories. Lessons learned, skills, abilities, everything you've ever known, forgotten, or thought about knowing is in here," The straight maned pony explained as she walked toward the large shelves with Pinkie, anticipating her question. "So...you live here?" Pinkie asked, finding a touch more empathy for Pinkamena within herself than she would have thought after seeing her living conditions for almost two decades. "For nineteen years. Compiling your memories, reading and categorizing each one, all the while making none of my own." For the first time since arriving, Pinkie noticed a frown instead of a scowl form across Pinkamena's lips. "All that I have is because of you. Without you, I wouldn't exist...and yet, I despise you for keeping me here." she spat. Though her words were meant to be harsh, Pinkie's eyes began to well with tears. She hated to see anypony hurt, and yet she had unknowingly kept this pony in constant torment. "I'm sorry Pinkamena...I didn't know you had your own thoughts and feelings!" Pinkie pled, repeating her case as she did while they were under the big top, "I just thought you were a voice in my head!" "Well you thought wrong." the straight maned earth pony countered. "Now you get to live out the rest of your days trapped in here with me. Let's see how you like it." Pinkie's jaw dropped in disbelief. "I thought you were going to help me escape!" Pinkamena smiled cruelly, "Just because I stopped helping Discord, doesn't mean I'm going to start helping you." Pinkie frowned in confusion, "Then why did you help me escape the tent?" The figment giggled, "So you could spend the rest of your life with me." The element of laughter pouted in defeat, trying to figure out how to avoid the rest of her days stuck in her own head. "So pick a corner, and get ready for a lot of quality time with your old friend Pinkamena!" the straight maned pony laughed cruelly, taking a seat in her armchair, simply watching Pinkie. "This is my subconscious right?" she asked Pinkamena raised a curious eyebrow, "Yeah, for the second time." "Then how come I can't just make a portal to leave right now?" Pinkamena rested her head on her hoof in boredom, "Nothing's stopping you," she said shifting to cross her forelegs, "go ahead." Her look of amusement should have warned Pinkie that this was easier said than done. She scrunched up her face in concentration as she thought hard about opening a portal back to reality, but producing nothing other than a mild headache. "You act like my abilities are something I was born able to do. When you spend the years in here I have, you can do anything, you want." Pinkamena still held her apathetic expression. "Given a few years, you'll probably be able to get out of here yet!" she laughed, seeming to delight in her counterparts misery. "Will you please let me out?" Pinkie asked as politely as possible. "No." "Puhhleeeeaaase?" "Nope." "Pretty please?" "No!" Pinkamena growled, tensing in her chair. Pinkie pouted. “Fine.” Untold hours went by as the two earth ponies sat with each other in the dank, stone-walled room. Pinkie's eyes wandered near the tall shelves that stretched endlessly toward the ceiling. "What are the books in the shelves?" Pinkamena groaned, "Your memories," "Have you read them all?" "You don't read them," the figment said, shifting uneasily in her chair, "you experience them. And no, there are millions." "Do you have a favorite?" Pinkamena frowned, she hadn't expected her counterpart to be this chatty when faced with eternal imprisonment. After a long pause, the figment relented. "Well, there is one..." A book floated down from the middle of the shelf, as if held by unicorn magic neither could produce. The old tome opened in front of her, a light shining from within its pages as thought the book held the sun itself. Its light filled the room and soon Pinkie was no longer in the walled, dingy cave; but back on her parents rock farm with her two sisters. "Remember this day, Pinkie?" "I do! It was the day we got our cutie mark!" The first and up until then only sonic rainboom arced across the clear sky as the pink filly's eyes lit up like diamonds. "This was the last time you and I were whole. After this day, we split apart." The memory faded from around them and soon the dark walls of the cave welcomed back the pair. "That was the last memory I experienced before being sent here." she added in disgust, "The others...aren't the same. I wasn't there to experience them. They're your memories, not mine." Thinking quickly, Pinkie devised a ploy to try and get her grumpy counterpart to let her out of her eternal sentence. "So you've never seen any of these? Or any of the happy memories past when we were young?" she asked, pointing a hoof toward one of the higher shelves. "I told you, I only relive the memories I made." she explained, though Pinkie's sharp ears picked up on the subtle sadness behind her words. "Why?" Pinkamena's face twisted into a scowl, "Because I can't look at the other ones okay?!" Now we're getting somewhere! Pinkie thought. "What do you mean you can't?" Pinkamena stood from her chair, striding over with a look of intensity she had never seen on her face before. The figment skidded to a halt in front of her, inches from her nose, "I can't...because you won't let me." A puzzled expression crossed Pinkie's face as she scooted back a few steps from Pinkamena. "I won't let you?" Pinkamena's expression dropped, the look on her face suggesting she had said more than she had meant to. "Well...not exactly you." The figments expression softened while she spoke. Having been alone for so long had taken such a toll, she couldn't help but feel a weight begin to lift from her shoulders as she aired her grievance. "I...I'm afraid to look at any of the others." This struck her as odd. Pinkamena seemed to be the one in control of this place, yet she was afraid of something as harmless as a memory; a happy memory at that. "You're afraid?" Pinkie asked shifting uneasily, "Of what?" This wasn't going according to plan. Pinkamena was supposed to imprison Pinkie as she had been, but something about having her physically with her began to chip away at the moment she had waited years for. "I'm...I'm afraid to look at them, because I'm afraid...that you're happy without me." Pinkie cocked her head to one side, curiously "I didn't...I..." She couldn't argue the fact that her life had improved once she had to stop fighting another entity for control over it. Pinkamena closed her eyes tightly, knowing her real counterpart couldn't admit that she was right. "I'm sorry Pinkamena...I didn't think you'd end up like this, I just thought you disappeared once I got rid of you." The figment glared at her through slits in her eyelids, "You thought wrong." Pinkie couldn't take the guilt any longer. The bubbly pink pony wrapped her forelegs around Pinkamena, feeling the figment tense up beneath her hooves at the unexpected show of affection. Pinkamena had never known the touch of another real being, only those that she created in this realm. A strange feeling began to snake down her spine, starting in her chest. Warmth? Was this what being hugged felt like? Pinkamena looked down at the poofy mane beneath her chin. Even after agreeing to help an enemy, and imprisoning her in her own mind forever, she still wanted her to feel better? The figment quickly regained her senses and shrugged the earth pony's hug away, taking a few cautious steps back. "Keep your hooves to yourself!" she snapped, though Pinkie saw right through her ploy. The hug had meant something, and and Pinkie knew it. Since she was short on decor, and was without the trusty party cannon, she decided to drive her point home with a some water works. "Pinkamena...why are you afraid of being happy?" she asked wiping the tears from her eyes. Though the tears were part of the plan, they weren't any less real. The thought of somepony, especially what was essentially herself spending so many years without so much as a smile brought great sorrow to the normally fun earth pony's heart. Pinkamena opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again, unable to find the right words to answer such a seemingly innocuous question. "Because...I'm afraid if I do, I'll just...lose the feeling. I've held onto my anger and hate for so long, now that you're actually here, at my mercy, I can't do a thing to you, because I don't feel that way anymore." Pinkie sighed in relief, yet probed further, "Well that's good! Who wants to feel all angry all the time anyway?" Pinkamena groaned, "It's not a good thing! I can't feel them anymore, no matter how hard I try!" the figment shifted in her chair as Pinkie took a few steps toward her. "I'm afraid if I feel happy...I'll enjoy it, only to be stuck with it for so long that I'd get used to it, and feel nothing again...just like right now." she spoke somberly, Pinkie swearing she noticed her counterparts lip trembling as she spoke. "Well, have you ever felt happy before?" "Were you even listening?" Pinkamena snapped in annoyance. "Yeah!" she responded, going over to the shelf and scanning the shelves within reach. "And I am happy, but that doesn't mean I'm happy because I got rid of you! You're part of me, and wether we like it or not, we're stuck with each other." Pinkie grabbed the spine of one of the books in her mouth and trotted happily over to her figment, the tears of moments ago now long forgotten in true Pinkie Pie fashion. She tossed the book in Pinkamena's lap, eliciting a quizzical stare. "What's this?" "It's one of my favorites. It's the day I threw a surprise party for Twilight when she first came to Ponyville!" she added happily, opening it and allowing the bright light to flood the cave once again, and transport them to another time and place. Pinkamena stared in awe at the interior of Twilight's library. It was filled with books of all kinds, but at the moment it was filled with ponies of all kinds, waiting to surprise Twilight Sparkle upon her arrival back home. "See? This isn't so bad is it?" Pinkamena shrugged, "I guess not..." "She's coming! Everypony hide!" The ponies in the memory all hid while Pinkie and Pinkamena stood in the center of the room, watching the door. Ponies jumped from their hiding spots as the surprise went off without a hitch. Pinkie stole a glance toward Pinkamena, noting with a sly grin the beginnings of a smile tug at the corner of her lips. Almost there... "Pinkamena!" she shouted. "What?" the figment replied, quickly burying her smile. "How do you feel right now?" She thought about it, and noticed for the first time in years, she did feel something. Is this happiness? This is amazing! "I...feel good. Do you feel this way all the time?" she asked curiously. "Most of the time. And this was just one happy memory! I've probably got millions more I haven't even made yet!" The memory ended and they found themselves right where they had left. "You can relive any of my memories, any time you want!" Pinkie wasn't done quite yet. "Pinkamena, you know I'm the element of Laughter right?" "Yeah. So?" "Laughter is something you share with your friends, and when you do, you allow them to feel the same joy you're feeling." Pinkie explained, resting her forelegs on the armrest of the solitary chair. "I want you to laugh with me, Pinkamena." Such a suggestion warranted a raised eyebrow from Pinkamena. "No way." "But you just-" "No!" Pinkie shelved that particular idea in favor of something equally as unlikely. "Fine, you don't have to laugh...but...can you forgive me for what I've done to you?" Pinkamena wasn't expecting that. She supposed they would just spend time in here torturing each other until their physical body died, but things had gone off the rails long before this point. Something unexpected began to play across her lips, though it was exactly as Pinkie had planned. What started as a small grin, snowballed into a giggle, which then lead to a full blown laughter. Pinkie joined in, and both ponies’ hoots of mirth echoed off the walls "Pinkamena!" Pinkie said between gasps. "What?" she answered in staccato laughter. "How do you feel now?" Pinkamena couldn't stop laughing if she tried. The feeling in her heart was simply devine. After years of emotionless existence, she finally let go of herself and allowed a moment of levity she wished could last forever. As Pinkamena regained control of herself, she seemed to have changed personalities completely. "What was it you asked me again?" she asked, still giggling slightly and wiping a tear from her eye. "For you to forgive me, and let me out of here to fight Discord with my friends." she answered somewhat sheepishly. "Hm...I can look at your happy memories...and you're still going to throw that party for me after all this is over with?" Pinkie nodded sincerely, hoping she finally talked her way out of her own subconscious. "Well...I guess I-" "Oh there you girls are!" A thunderous voice echoed from the ceiling. Pinkamena jerked her head up. What? How did he find us? Only I can get to this place! A portal opened above them, and Discord’s head poked through. “You certainly are a hard mare to find, Pinkamena! I’ve got some friends of yours who’ve been looking all over for you!” With that, the pony monsters began climbing out of the portal, walking on the ceiling effortlessly as though they were also part fly. "Pinkamena, I have to stop him! Will you please forgive me and let me out of here?" Pinkie was practically begging. The time for subtlety long since gone with their position compromised. Pinkamena took one last look into the face that was essentially her own and nodded. "I forgive you. Now go." she commanded, opening the portal against the farthest wall behind her. "Thankyouthaknyouthankyou!" Pinkie babbled, hugging her straight maned counterpart one last time. Reaching towards her ear, Pinkie gave her long forgotten sister something to hold on to while she was holed up in her mind. "I love you Pinkamena. Please don't forget what laughter feels like." Pinkie settled on all fours before realizing something rather obvious. "Wait, why don't you come out with me! We can escape together!" "No, we can't. Whoever goes through that portal, controls the body," Pinkamena explained, shifting to face the approaching horde of monsters, "two of us can't control the body at the same time." "But...escape is your dream! You don't want to know what the outside world is like?" she asked, gambling with her own chance at freedom by continuing to ask questions. "I do, but not like this. Not the way this freak has made it." she growled, glaring at Discord as he gleefully watched the monsters creep in. "Just go Pinkie, you're running out of time!" Pinkamena demanded, using her control of the subconscious to bring parts of the cave crashing down on the approaching creatures, though not at nearly a fast enough pace to defeat them all. "But I can't just leave you with these things!" Pinkamena laughed for the second time in her life. "Don't worry about me. This is my domain." With that, Pinkamena pushed Pinkie through the portal, the pink earth pony's last vision was one of a rare sight indeed. A smile on Pinkamena's face as she watched her go.