The Blessed

by RarityEQM


8

Pools of foul smelling vomit were all over the room. Brownish, greenish sludge that forced Twilight to gag the moment she set hoof inside. Pinkie didn't seem to mind though. She was sitting in the corner, surrounded by empty candy bar wrappers and cupcake trays. She was rocking back and forth, holding her hindlegs with her forelegs and muttering something over and over again in a string of unintelligible words. The bags under her eyes were industrial sized and prominent evidence of her lack of sleep.

"Pinkie?" Twilight asked nervously. Pinkie continued to rock.

"Pinkie. Hey, Pinkie, it's me, Twilight," Twilight cooed, daring to take a step closer. Pinkie continued to rock, but she craned her neck to look up at Twilight, teary-eyed and trembling. Twilight bit at her lower lip, daring to take another step closer.

"Hey, Pinkie...how...how are you holding up? We didn't get to finish talking the other night and I...I..." Twilight trailed off, her mouth suddenly going dry as her eyes gazed across Pinkie's frame. Disheveled mane and the heavy fragrance of coffee clinging to her fur aside, it was the dirty hooves that caught her attention the most. Hooves smeared with ash and soot.

Twilight swallowed and squeezed her eyes shut, doing her best to dismiss the freezing shiver that crept through her soul. "Oh, Pinkie ... no..." she sputtered under her breath. Her voice a whisper and only barely audible at that. Pinkie didn't seem to notice though, and if she did, she didn't say a word. She reached down into the mountain of wrappers next to her and produced a candy bar. Chocolate. She tore it off and thrust it into her mouth, chewing mightily, before she swallowed.

She immediately vomited and started to cry. "It's not working anymore," she sobbed, peering over at Twilight through her tears.

Twilight nodded her head, as if she could understand. She took another step. Pinkie jerked towards her. Twilight stopped, tense and wary, watching Pinkie's every jittery movement. She had to press this. She didn't want to, but she had to know.

"Pinkie...last night there was fire," Twilight said slowly. Pinkie's ears twitched.

"Oh. No. N-no no, it was a dream. That was just a dream. A dreamy dream. I-I call them sleep movies sometimes..." she sputtered, staring off into space, before nodding her head, as if she needed to confirm what she said to herself. Twilight frowned.

"No. Pinkie. That wasn't a dream. A lot of ponies almost got hurt and some of them lost their homes. You were out last night, Pinkie, and that's the direction you ran off...and...and...Mrs. Cake says you haven't been to sleep in a long time. Is that right?"

"Can't sleep. Oh, no. No, no, no. Can't sleep. Can't sleep. Can't sleep. I can't, I can't, I-I can't stay awake, Twilight, but I gotta stay awake. I can't go to sleep again," Pinkie sobbed quietly. Twilight nodded and drew in a quiet breath, held it and steeled herself.

"Pinkie. Listen to me. I need you to tell me you didn't have anything to do with that fire last night. Please. This is important, Pinkie. This is very serious. I can see ash on your...I just...I need you to tell me the truth, okay?" Twilight said. She begged. She took another step forward. Pinkie jumped to her hooves in a jittery quake, glaring at Twilight. No. Not glaring, daring Twilight to make another move. She did not.

"Is that what you think? You think I ...HAAHAHAHAAHAHAA Come on, Twilight! COME ON TWILIGHT!" Pinkie cackled. A rip-roaring shriek of a laugh that echoed through the room. " You know that I didn't start that fire. I didn't...You know I didn't...it's...it's like that song...YOU KNOW WE DIDN'T START THE FIRE! IT'S BEEN BURNING SINCE THE WORLDS BEEN TURNING!" Pinkie laughed. She laughed as if she were trying to get Twilight to laugh along with her. Laughter that involved tears streaming down her streaks until it devolved into sobbing again. She sat back down trembling quietly, shaking her head and mumbling to herself.

"Ok. Pinkie. Ok. It's okay," Twilight whispered, taking a slow step back. "I'm your friend. You know me, right? You trust me, right?" Twilight whispered. Pinkie peered up at her and reached down into the mountain of wrappers again, producing another chocolate bar. She held it out to Twilight with a trembling hoof, like she weren't strong enough to hold its weight. Carefully, Twilight clutched the bar in her telekinesis and forced a smile.

"Thank you. Pinkie, I need you to listen to me, okay?" Twilight purred, placing the candy bar to the side. Pinkie nodded her head quietly.

"Ok...Ok Twilight," she mumbled.

"I think you're very sick,"

"I don't feel good. I don't. It's so hard, Twilight. I can't keep this up. I can't do it anymore. I c-cant. I can't, but I hafta, and I can't, and I don't wanna and I can't and...and... I don't...I don't feel good at all," Pinkie sputtered sadly. Twilight nodded her head, her heart breaking with each of Pinkie's sobbed cries for help.

"It doesn't look like it. I imagine it's all that caffeine you've been consuming. Can you tell me the last time you had any sleep?"

"I-I don't know...I don't know anymore. I don't know Twilight! I can't tell anymore!!" Pinkie sobbed, breaking into tears once again. She was trying to say something, to explain something, but her words came out in sobbing gibberish. Twilight winced.

"Hey, no, no. Shhhhh, shhhhh it's okay. It's okay, Pinkie. Hey, look at me, okay? Hey, hey, over here. Look over here. It's me. Twilight. You know me. It's gonna be okay, Pinkie. We're gonna make it okay, but I need your help, alright?" Twilight whispered softly. Pinkie sniffled and buried her face in her hooves. Twilight lapped at her lips. They were chapped and dry. She rarely cast spells on other ponies. She rarely wanted to hurt anypony. Pinkie wasn't doing well. She wasn't a threat, but she wasn't safe either. Twilight could tell that much. No, she didn't need to hurt Pinkie, but a simple slumber spell would put her down long enough for Twilight to figure out what to do next. Take her to Canterlot General, perhaps. Maybe find Zecora? Twilight took a step forward, keeping her eyes on Pinkie Pie, waiting for the other pony to drop her guard. One shot. That's all she needed. Pinkie was point blank in range, so missing was out of the question. Twilight simply needed to bide her time and find the perfect moment to strike. She smiled sweetly.

"May I have another chocolate bar, Pinkie?" she asked gently. The pudgy pink pony sniffled and reached down into the pile, searching for another bar underneath the mountain of empty wrappers. There! NOW!

"We're gonna get you some help, Pinkie, I promise," she whispered, pointing her horn towards Pinkie. A horn that surged with magic. She fired the shot. A slumber spell. The perfect spell for the situation and yet it was Twilight who was caught off guard. Pinkie's reaction speed was phenomenal and the pink pony was impossibly accurate as if she'd somehow prepared for this in advance. She had found the chocolate bar Twilight had asked for, her hoof concealed by the numerous wrappers. She gripped it and she threw it. Point blank range. Missing was out of the question. It caught the purple mage by surprise, the chocolate bar thrown perfectly through the air, deflecting Twilight's spell dead on. It was a shocking twist Twilight wasn't expecting and it gave her pause for a second and a second was all Pinkie needed. She shot forward, tackling Twilight onto the floor with a loud resounding thunk, the unicorn's head slamming into the ground solidly. Twilight groaned. Oh. Right. Pinkie's 'Pinkie-sense' alerted her to any incoming danger. Right, right. A forced slumber spell would certainly qualify, especially if she were actively trying to avoid sleep.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! YOU WON'T UNDERSTAND!! YOU REFUSE!! YOU NEVER BELIEVED ME! YOU NEVER BELIEVED IN IT! SCIENCE SCIENCE SCIENCE! THAT'S ALL YOU KNOW, TWILIGHT! THAT'S ALL YOU CARE ABOUT AND IT CAN'T HELP!" she shrieked, tears in her eyes. She pinned Twilight easily, the frailty of a unicorn no match for earth pony strength and Pinkie's girth.

"I won't go to sleep! I CAN'T! I don't want another one! I CAN'T take another! I don't wanna see it! I can't! I-I can't! I can't! I can't! I can't! I CAN'T!" Pinkie screamed. Twilight squirmed, and wriggled, trying her best to turn the tables or at least pull herself out from under Pinkie's weight.

"P-Pinkie! Stop! Get off! Please, just listen to me!" Twilight shrieked. She could teleport. Yes. But that would take her out of Pinkie's range. As far as she was concerned, she had Pinkie right where she wanted her. Pinkie thought she was in charge. She thought Twilight was powerless. They could talk as long as Pinkie held that belief. Twilight didn't have to try and chase her down as long as she was atop her. A very effective means of keeping Pinkie in place for the time being. Painful, but effective.

"Ok. OK, Pinkie. Can you help me understand?" Twilight sputtered. Pinkie shook her head sadly. It looked like she wanted to move away, but at the same time, she didn't want to let Twilight go.

"I don't wanna fight. Please, don't do this. I don't wanna. I'm sorry, I- I have to go now, Twilight. M-My time is up, I have to go...Please..." Pinkie sobbed quietly. Twilight nodded her head best she could and nibbled at her lower lip. Pinkie's Pinkie-Sense wasn't pulling any punches. Twilight hoped Pinkie realized that if she'd wanted to, she could have blasted Pinkie off of her. She hadn't done so yet, and Pinkie hadn't tried to actively hurt her, just stop her from casting another spell. There was still some amount of trust between them. Pinkie, admittedly, showing more towards Twilight than Twilight towards Pinkie. In retrospect, Twilight wasn't sure a slumber spell would have even had an effect. All the caffeine Pinkie had been ingesting would have nullified the spell anyway. The mage sighed. Ok. No spells. She wouldn't cast anything. She didn't want to hurt Pinkie. They were friends. She wanted to help. She only wanted to help.

As if sensing Twilight's new resolve, Pinkie shifted her hips, climbing off of her and slowly started to back out of the room, keeping her eyes peeled on Twilight at all times, until she was gone. Down the stairs and out the door.

Twilight climbed to her hooves and immediately shot over to the window, doing her best to tell which way Pinkie had gone, if she'd left the bakery at all. She did. Twilight could hear the door bell chime below her moments after Pinkie ran off. There! Down the street! To the east! Towards residential again. Back towards the scene of the crime. Twilight felt the pit of her stomach drop back out, but she quickly shook the sensation off. No. She would not jump to conclusions. There was a logical, reasonable explanation behind all of this. There was, and she was going to find it. She had come to Sugar Cube Corner seeking answers, and answers were what she had found. Not the answers she was seeking but answers none the less. More leads at least. More riddles to solve. She let her mind rifle through the new information while peering out the window wondering where Pinkie had gone.

Pinkie is sick. Hasn't been sleeping. Refuses to sleep. Why? Obvious answer: Nightmares. Dreams perhaps? Consult with Princess Luna. No. No time to get to Canterlot. Pinkie needs help now. Correspondence with Celestia? Possibility. Pinkie claims not to have started the fire, but she knew about it. Perhaps from newspaper. Perhaps from witnessing it. She ran in that direction the other night. Too many coincidences. May not be culprit. Definitely knows something. Claimed fire was a dream. Perhaps neurological psychosis? Chocolate induced hallucinations? Pools of chocolate vomit indicate overdoses. Also, yuck. Potential caffeine addiction. Potential caffeine poisoning. List of things to do 1: Find books in library about sleep deprivation and caffeine addiction. 2: Round up girls. 3: Track down Pinkie Pie. 4: Get shower. Wash vomit smell out of fur. Ick. Move shower to front of list.