//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Memory of a Dream // by SulliedInk //------------------------------// "Doctor," asked Twilight, "Is she going to be okay?" The stallion didn't reply. He just simply walked away mumbling. Twilight spun around in circles, worried for her unconscious friend. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash burst in, and demanded she be filled in on what happened to Pinkie Pie. Twilight told her to wait for the others, who came shortly after. "Apparently," said Twilight, "Pinkie's older sister came to visit a few days ago, and found her unconscious on the floor. She was openly bleeding from her legs, chest, and neck. At first, she thought it was someone on the outside who did this. However, she then noticed a knife tucked in under her left hoof, and a note on the table, which was next to a shattered frame containing an old family photo. Right after the paramedics took Pinkie away to the hospital, she came over to the library, and alerted me about the current situation. She gave me the note before dashing off to warn the youngest sister." "What about Pinkie's parents?" asked Rarity, "Aren't they worried sick?" "I asked the same thing," continued Twilight, "She told me she knew what the note was about before even opening it. She also said the answers to all our questions would be revealed in here." Twilight broke off the small, red seal. She unfloded the paper, and began reading the contents out loud: "To my friends and family, I am sorry for doing something like this. No, I am sorry for not having done this any sooner. I can't live under this lie anymore! I just need someone to talk to, someone who could understand. I thought the best way to say this was through a note. After all, nobody can punish after I'm dead, right? ... I am just stalling. I always knew someday, I would have to face the truth. The time has come to take off this mask of sheer happiness. Now, I must reveal the truth! I must tell the story behind the lie. I must tell myself, and you the real story. I must... I must erase these false memories I've created that night. I must erase this fictional past. I must erase my lie... Yes, it is I who killed our parents that night. Yes, it is I who kidnapped my sisters. Father never came at mother with a knife. Mother never tried to drown me. My sisters never threw a rope down the well. We never ran for our lives into the forest. I never did any of those things. But if there is a truth in these lies, then it has to be her. It has to be that other me. I grew up with 'serious issues'. That's what the kids at school always said. However, my parents withdrew me from school after two years. It just so happens that one day before the withdrawal, a group of bodies were found in my classroom, in the early hours of morning. My parents were shocked to learn that all of the victims were bullies of mine, and withdrew me in fear of all this falling on my shoulders. Truth is, it was us. She wasn't built from the dirt and filth of my parents' feuding. She was built from a long line of abuse, which started the day I went to school. I never behaved like the others. The others found me odd, and couldn't comprehend my difference. I was born with a different mind. My spirit was prone to violent outburst, but my physical weakness prevented anyone from being harmed. I felt so powerless. I felt useless. I started dreaming of strength. I dreamt of power. That's when she came in. She took me by surprise, and turned my life upside down. I felt great. I felt power. I felt happiness. However, she didn't have enough. My parents finally set aside their regular, minimal feuding, and developed unworldly concerns for us. She told me of a plan to drive them away one night. I was too tired and angry, so I agreed without real thought. The rest is something I don't want to remember." At a loss of words, Twilight flipped to the next page, shaking while doing so. "To hide the truth to them, I knocked out my sisters, and hitched a ride off the farm. The next day, we woke up in the alleys of Manehattan. I told them someone had taken us away, and I tried to fight them. I said those things to explain why I was covered in dried blood. Finally, an old mare was kind enough to take us in. She told us that she didn't have too much money though. That wasn't a problem for us, wasn't it? Each night, I would come through the window, with satchels, and sometimes entire bags of money. I would hide the stashes, and go out and buy things the next day. You never suspected anything. Then, I heard of the murder of our parents. My sisters read the article. Their grief was greater than anything I expected. Now that I think of it, so was mine. I didn't expect to feel so much remorse. Over the years, that remorse overwhelmed me, and I began fabricating an entire story, where I was the victim. What a cowardly method to cover the truth. When my sisters finally learned the truth behind the events, many years later, they burst through the front door, and they were ready to rip my spine out. Little did they know, I was much too dangerous for the two of them to handle. I had years of experience fighting off, and even killing fully grown ponies. I had to get that money in Manehattan from somewhere, right? Next thing I knew, my sisters were on the floor, drowning in their own blood. Luckily, I managed to snap out, and call the paramedics in time. That's when I checked into a psychiatric hospital for a while. Two years later, I was released. One year later, Twilight came to town." Everyone in the room was completely stunned. Twilight herself had a very hard time unfolding the last page. Their heartbeats where heard in the patient room, where they bounced off the walls and ceiling. "Finally, I decided to bare a fake mask. I decided to cheer myself up, and start my life anew. When I was released, I moved to Ponyville. I remembered that party I had thrown for my family, once a long time ago, back when we where together. I decided to do more of those. Well what do you know; it actually felt somewhat fun! For the first time in my life, I had experienced true happiness. I didn't always need to bear that fake expression anymore. Sometimes, genuine smiles came though. I was happy. Yes... Happy... However, I couldn't deny the truth any longer. Each night, I cried myself to sleep for the past seven years. Each night, I would carve just one more opening in one of my limbs, with the sole intention of reminding me of the painful truth. I was so scared the time she really appeared before my friends. I was convinced Pinkamina would ruin my new existence at that point. Thankfully, my mask of happiness came back at just the right moment. I was truly relieved. Sadly, a permanent worry was ingrained into me; what if it were to happen again? What if I were to murder my new friends? I couldn't take this looming sense of death above me anymore. I couldn't bear to carry the weight of two. I couldn't possibly go on, knowing that they could all die in a matter of seconds. How could I... How could I have created you?! Why?! How?! I... I guess I really am a coward, having to admit the truth through a letter I might never read. I had to resort to this? I had to kill just to prove a point? ... We really are just cowards... Pinkamina Diane Pie." There wasn't a sound in the room. Everyone was still in shock from what they had just read. Finally, the machine next to Pinkie's hospital bed emitted short beeping sounds. The doctors rushed in and checked her pulse. They tinkered around with the device, until they hear Pinkie Pie groan in pain. reassured, they left the room. Twilight turned to her friend. The purple mare had tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry Pinkie... If only we knew..." she whispered. Tears fell onto the bed-sheet. "I guess it's true what they say..." muttered Pinkie Pie, "Those who smile the most have suffered the greatest pain..."