//------------------------------// // There is always the unknown. // Story: Pony-Me™ // by TheMajorTechie //------------------------------// Lisa frowned. What was her friend talking about, calling herself a glitch like that? She watched silently as the strange girl continued her mad rant for minutes on end, the sound of her voice echoing through the nearly-vacant storeroom with an increasing volume. "Pinkie. Er, Samantha." the girl hushed in annoyance, placing a finger over her friend's mouth, "Stop shouting right now, and explain what's going on." Samantha's eyes wavered as her glare pierced Lisa's own. Finally, with a heavy sigh, she responded. "Fine then." she pouted dismissively, "If you want to know, I'll tell you..." Lisa's eyes lit up. "Yes, plea--" "...tomorrow." the strange girl finished with a sly smirk, "Good things come to those who wait, don't they?" Lisa watched as her friend rose with a grunt, and promptly left the storeroom. The usual muted silence settled over room once more, lulling the girl to sleep as she rested her head on the side of the barren shelves. "No..." Twilight Sparkle whispered, opening her eyes to yet again find herself in the dreamscape of her mind, "No, no, no, no, no." she whispered frantically to herself, "Please no, not again... not another one, please!" The mare could only help but watch as her friends, one by one, entered the room. Pinkie entered last, her coloration much duller than Twilight could previously remember. They didn't appear to show any signs of fading this time however, allowing her to breathe a great sigh of relief. Maybe this won't be a nightmare after all. Twilight mused, looking away as she found herself beginning to smile, Maybe I'll finally have a good dream again. She turned back to her friends. They appeared to be talking. Laughing, even. Her smile only grew bigger as she rose, cantering towards the book-covered tables to join her friends. And then her eyes caught Pinkie Pie. The mare sat at the far corner of the table now, disconnected from her friends with a deep scowl covering her face. Just as with her counterpart in real-life, Twilight felt something... off about her friend. Then she saw it: A flicker of light flashed on the edges of Pinkie's form, a faint buzz of blurriness that encompassed the mare that only seemed to intensify as Twilight drew closer. "Pinkie?" Twilight asked carefully, her other friends seemingly unable to notice. How could they anyways, being nothing but a figment of her imagination. "What?" Pinkie snapped in return, surprising the mare. What is it with Pinkie? Twilight thought, taking a step back in fear, I've never thought of her like this! The dull-pink mare in question rose from her seat with an almost regal demeanor, stepping towards Twilight without ever making a sound. "That's because I'm not your thoughts, Twilight..." Pinkamena replied as she halted, seemingly reading Twilight's mind. The entirety of the dreamscape dissipated into nothing more than diminutive flecks of light as she continued to speak. "But rather, I'm in your thoughts." the mare completed, stepping even closer to Twilight. "What are you even talking about?!" Twilight shouted in reply, attempting to near her friend in vain, "Why are you like this?!" "Why am I like this?" Pinkamena snarled, the blurriness surrounding her subsiding gradually, "I don't know," she replied sarcastically, "Why are you like that?" "Pinkie, please!" Twilight pleaded desperately to the mare, "I-I just want to know what's going on..." Pinkamena's expression softened as she nodded approvingly, her mane and body beginning to retake their pastel-pink hues. A single window materialized out of the endless void, a single beam of light shining through onto Twilight. "You'll learn soon, Twilight." Pinkie answered with a sad smile, "Wake up now, sleepy head. It's morning." The soft morning sunlight poured through the grimy window as another day began. Lisa's eyes jolted open, fully alert with her strange unconscious encounter still fresh on her mind. She slowly teetered to her feet with a slight wince of pain as she gazed out the windows. The citizens on the morning rotation had already long-since awoken, toiling away as they helped each other prepare in case if they were unable to reconnect in time. Lisa stood at the window for a few minutes, silently admiring how she'd been able to bring a city on the brink of chaos to a state of complete order and self-sufficiency. It appeared almost as if it were clockwork to her; One would drive the rusty tractor across the span of fields, plowing and tilling as more followed behind, periodically planting packets of seeds as they went. Behind the second group came another wave of volunteers with bulging buckets of water, taken from a nearby stream that also conveniently provided for electrical needs. The girl turned away abruptly with a frown, recalling what both representations of Pinkie Pie had told her. Today was the day she'd learn the truth about her friend.