//------------------------------// // Chapter 14: I'm just fine, Pinkie. Just fine. // Story: Lavender Ponyville // by Quadraginta //------------------------------// Twilight's eye snapped back open, much to the relief of Pinkie Pie. Twilight stoof back up slowly, almost deliberately with how slow she was moving, as if testing out her body and seeing how it felt. "Oh, Twilight!" Pinkie exclaimed as she embraced Twilight. "I was so worried about you! Are you ok?!" "Oh, I'm just fine, Pinkie," said Twilight, her voice monotone, and somehow threatening at the same time. "I'm just fine and dandy." "Are you sure about that?" asked Pinkie as she released Twilight from her embrace. "You sound different." Twilight shook her head a few times, then looked at Pinkie and gave her a tight smile, which looked weird to Pinkie. Since when did Twilight's lips curl up in such a way when she smiled? And why did her eyes look a little more...wild? "Do I really?" asked Twilight. "I feel just fine, though. Juuuuust fine." "Twilight..." Pinkie mumbled. Twilight was scaring her. She honestly was. "Yes, Pinkie?" asked Twilight with malicious sweetness. "N-nothing. Um. Let's go." said Pinkie as she gestured for her to walk down the hall. "After you," said Twilight. "Oh, no, Twilight, I'm really scared of dark hallways. Besides, you dropped your torch on the ground." The torch, which was still burning. "Oh, we won't need that anymore," said Twilight. She stomped one hoof on the flame, putting it out and leaving them in the dark. "Now, after you." "But-" Pinkie stammered. "Pinkamena Diane Pie!" Twilight growled through gritted teeth. Pinkie jumped from this sudden outburst. Twilight never raised her voice at her without a valid reason. Just what had happened to her? Twilight took a deep breath, then released it. "After you, please?" Twilight opened her eyes a ltitle more widely. They sparkled a little bit, almost exactly the same as the way a begging dog. "O-ok...." Pinkie reluctantly went in front of Twilight and walked slowly down the hallway. "T-twilight," said Pinkie. "What exactly happened to you earlier?" "What? What happened?" asked Twilight, perplexed. "Wait? You don't know? But it just happened not too long ago. You were having trouble breathing, and, and..." Pinkie trailed off mid-sentence. "Oh, that?" Twilight said playfully. "Oh, that was. That was. Heheh. That was nothing. Really. It was nothing. Nothing at all. Heheh. Just fine. Nothing at all. Fine. All. Heheh." "Um..." Pinkie muttered. Twilight was really scaring her at this point. They finally reached the end of the hallway, which resembled a brick-floored balcony with a ladder that descended into an endless void. If they looked upwards, they could see a moon. A moon that looked as if it was being sucked into a black hole. "I hate voids. Don't you?" asked Twilight. "Yeah. I guess." Pinkie replied, still confused from Twilight's newfound coldness. "I hate them so much, I could just die. Couldn't you, Pinkie?" Twilight grinned. "W-what?" asked Pinkie. "I said..." Twilight's grin disappeared and was replaced with cold fury. "Couldn't you??" "I...I...I don't want to die. I want to live." Pinkie stammered. Twilight's demeanor was terrifying her, now. "Yeah? Well, guess what? You don't always get what you want. In fact. You'll get exactly the opposite of what you want!" Twilight turned her head towards the sky let out an unequestrian-ly howl. Her soundwaves seemed to reached the very moon itself. Her horn glowed and crackled with electricity, and a circular momentum-less magic burst erupted from her. It didn't affect anything physically, but it was effective in causing Pinkie to flinch. "Twilight?!" Pinkie yelled as she backed up closer to the edge, nearly falling backwards in her attempt to get farther away from her. Had Twilight lost it? Twilight abruptly stopped screaming and then looked Pinkie in the eye. "Piiiinkie Piiieeee." Twilight said in a singsong voice. "Piiiiiinkie Piiiiie." She slowly stepped closer to Pinkie, each hoofstep slow and deliberate. "Prepare for die."