//------------------------------// // Daughter of Laughter // Story: What Have You Done? // by cloudedguardian //------------------------------// What the buck do you think you’re doing. Pinkie tried to shrug off the chill that had shot down her spine, but it wasn’t working. She stared determinedly straight ahead, face still set in an indifferent frown, continuing her otherwise cheery bounce down the hall towards the room her and her friends had been assigned for the duration of the wedding. Shining Armour had insisted on speaking to his bride alone, so Pinkie had decided that she would go back to her room and make a super awesome gift to cheer the Princess up when Shining was done cheering her up. There was nothing wrong with double cheer after all. …I know you can hear me you little bubble-headed twit. Pinkie ignored her, bouncing on, even as a block of ice started to form in her stomach. Yes, she was being unusually…Cold… But that didn’t mean she was going to just sit there and let her take all the fun out of the wedding. Twilight had already done a pretty good job of that. Okay that’s it. Pinkie’s back legs very suddenly locked up as Pinkamena wrestled control over just enough to cause them both to do a spectacular face-plant. WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?! Pinkie snarled, suddenly very vexed at her other self’s actions. The rug burn on her chin probably wasn’t helping. That’s what I want to know! Pinkamena snapped back, wishing she could smack her other self right then and there. You’re the one that made me go flying! You should know better than to ignore me in the first place. It was right then that Pinkie actually realized how furious her other self was. She hadn’t noticed it at first, thinking that the anger was her own at Twilight for making Princess Mi Amore Cadenza cry, but- No, now that she’d thought about it, she’d only felt an odd sense of horror at seeing Twilight lash out like that. Every bit of this rage- every drop of it was simply rolling off Pinkamena. Pinkie gulped. She didn’t like this feeling. It was rather terrifying, really, to feel that much hate and anger, and knowing not only is it directed at you, but it was coming from within you as well. Okay, okay, I’m listening! What? Give me control for a minute. As it sounded like Pinkamena had started to calm down, now that she was actually listening, Pinkie complied… And immediately regretted it as Pinkamena used the promised minute to slam the back of their head into the nearest wall. OW! WHAT THE HAY’S GOTTEN INTO YOU?! Pinkie yelped, slowly reaching a fore-hoof to tenderly rub the now very sore spot of her skull. That’s what I should be asking you! What were you thinking back there?! Pinkamena snapped, sounding oddly heated. She was usually so calm. Snarky, sure, but not hot-headed, or for that matter even all that aggressive. Pinkie wasn’t liking this Pinkamena, and would rather like to have the old one back, preferably soon. You know what they say about being careful what you wish for… Oh, no, wait, I just like, totally figured it out. Pinkamena drawled, her voice cold and nearly eerily calm. You weren’t thinking AT ALL. You’re breaking your promise. Pinkie muttered, and actually cringed as she felt her other self shift, her heated emotions dropping into silence as a cold fury spread through their veins. Don’t. You. Even. Dare. Pinkie winced with every word. But you’re being so mean- I DON’T BUCKIN’ CARE! Her roar made their already growing headache even worse. Since you’ve apparently edited your idiotic little mind into only seeing your petty, sugar-dusted version of the world, let me remind you how come you can usually get away with that crap, as you’ve obviously forgotten. No, I didn- Shut up. Here’s that promise you’re insinuating I’ve broken; I protect you and your friends from all of your nightmares so you can forge dreams. I take all your pain, all your anger, and all your fear, so you can be other’s laughter. I become despair, so you can be hope. That is our deal. I know tha- No, you apparently don’t. Because if you did, you wouldn’t have the gall to even suggest that I’M the one breaking our promise. It took a full minute for what Pinkamena had just said to register. You… You think I’m breaking it? You look back at what you just did, and you tell me. Pinkie blinked. It felt disturbingly quiet now that her other self had fallen silent. After sitting for a minute in the unsettling stillness, Pinkie closed her eyes and reached back into her memories to figure out where she had gone wrong. The memory of what had just happened barely twenty minutes ago came immediately to mind, and for a second Pinkie just stared at it. Then, she realized with a growing sense of horror what Pinkamena had meant as her mind locked on the broken Twilight that had looked back at her in that moment. I become despair, so you can be hope. That’s our deal, Pinks. So now tell me why you just denied one of your precious friends the hope she so desperately needed in that moment. But… But… Pinkie’s mind was spluttering. She couldn’t deny that Pinkamena was right, but she had to, somehow. But Twilight screwed up, so- So what? What do you really expect her to be able to do? Have you even listened to her once this entire time? You get so riled up when no-one listens to Miss Totally-Random-I’ll-Explain-When-I-Feel-Like-It, but I bet you’ve never actually once listened to the mare that’ll explain everything with barely a prompt. I’ve listened to her! She’s my friend, o-o-of course I listen to her! Then tell me what you expect her to do. You should know, right? Pinkie wasn’t sure if Pinkamena was actively mocking her, or if she was simply trying to teach her in the only, cold, hard, method she knew. She… She should go make it right, make-up with her brother and Cadence and- How. What? How? How do you expect her to do that? What are you talking about? Siblings make up all the time, it’s easy! Do they? Wha-? That was when she finally clued in. It had been somewhat out of character for Twilight back then, as it was really more her job to break randomly into song, not their bookish friend… …They never had a single fight. Pinkie muttered softly, her throat tightening as the implications started to finally settle in. That’s right. Pinkamena’s voice had finally returned to the soft and gentle one Pinkie knew. Maybe it was because of the crazy age difference, but they never fought. How do you expect her to know how to deal with something she’s never dealt with before? Things like this aren’t in books. It’s hard for you to understand, we’ve got two sisters. When we weren’t best friends we were each other’s worst enemies. But we always ate supper together with a smile. Whatever it was had always been resolved and forgotten by then. Pinkie added softly, trying to understand how her friend must be feeling right then… Then suddenly she froze with a bitter cold epiphany that shoved her to her hooves and running back towards the throne room. Oh Faust. Pinkamena swore as she seen what Pinkie had realized. We’re her first friends. I’m so stupid! We’ve never fought either, none of us! She’s seen us squabble, but we’ve never actually fought or anything. The only thing even close to an argument that’s ever happened between us is back when she was freaking out about being tardy and we all blew her off! And we all know how well THAT worked out. You’re not helping. But what if Twilight’s, like, freaking out now too? What if she doesn’t even understand what’s going on is just a stupid misunderstanding and thinks we’ve all abandoned her? You kinda did. STILL NOT HELPING. Even if I kinda did I didn’t mean it like that! I just, I thought the Princess needed me more ‘cause she was all crying and stuff, and I figured she was probably all stressed out because of the big day, while Twilight’s really strong, if a bit paranoid, and she just needed some time to figure stuff out and- And just “get over it?” You’re making me sound like such an ass. You’re not making it very hard right now, Pinks. Pinkie Pie skidded to an uneasy stop as she took in the crooked stone doors that swung loosely open on damaged hinges, and the dazed guards on either side. The room beyond was empty. It was obvious that Twilight had already long left. Yeah. I guess I’m not.