THE EPIPHANY OF PINKAMENA CHAPTER 3: DEMONIZATION PART 1
Twilight was standing in pure darkness, all alone, trotting and calling out for somepony when she sees Pinkamena standing there...waiting for her. ".....what's wrong with me...? I never had a belief that I would end up murdering out of cold blood...and it occurred while the Royal Guards were letting their keen eyes rest...I can't believe it's almost been a week since I murdered somepony. Nopony suspected a thing, and it concerns me to no end, like a never-ending horror story...what will Princess Celestia think of me? What will my friends think of me? ...my family..." Pinkamena chimes in, "What do you mean what's wrong with you? You did what nopony else would have done...well, other than me...you overcame your fears and conquered them..." Pinkamena looks past Twilight, the lavender mare turning to see...herself? "No! This is not what I wanted, Pinkamena! When my friends and family all find out what I've done...when Princess Celestia finds out, my life is over and everything I worked for will be gone! All because of YOU." The moment Twilight turns around, Pinkamena stabs her...over and over again while hanging from a meat hook, laughing uncontrollably...covered in blood...the building in the forest turning black and white when suddenly, Pinkamena stops stabbing. "He had what was coming to him, you know. Thieves deserve pain, liars deserve suffering, and swindlers deserve death." Somehow, despite the multiple stab wounds, Twilight is still alive and well, "But Pinkamena...what if I can't protect you? There are forces out there that are MUCH greater than me, and they won't stop until you're dealt with in some way..." Tears begin rolling down Twilight cheeks, "I failed you. As a friend. I am so sorry, Pinkamena."
"No. You didn't. You could have told it a different way so that I would be punished, but you didn't. I may be painted in an insane light by you, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and...Pinkie Pie...but none of you let that effect your opinion of me, and I couldn't have asked for better friends. I'll protect all of you, if you protect me in return, and if you won't protect me, then protect Pinkie Pie, at least." The meathook holding Twilight's body up as well as her stab wounds all vanish, and she floats back onto her hooves. "I don't understand...we all thought of you as some sort of demonic entity...and yet..." Twilight is met with a gentle smile, "It doesn't sometimes, but when this is all over, it'll all make sense. I promise."
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Twilight is awakened by Pinkie Pie shaking her, all of her friends sitting around her bed, gasping with relief. "Twilight!" She shakes her head, looking at each and every one of them with Pinkie's face being the last one, "H-Huh? Why are you all here? What happened?" She says, rubbing her aching head as Fluttershy speaks, "You've been asleep for 3 days, we were all so worried about you..." Twilight lifts an eyebrow, "What do you mean I've been asleep?!" She asks, and Pinkie Pie mounts her on the bed and gets in her face. "You were asleep for 3 days. WE THOUGHT YOU DIIIIED."
"3 days...?" A flower vase next to her catches her eye with a 'Get Well Soon' note clinging around the neck, with Princess Celestia's signature highlighting it. Princess Celestia...it would break her heart if she found out her best student committed a murder...but 3 days with nopony having suspicions of me...that's another story. "Are you alright, sugarcube?" Applejack grabs on to Twilight's hoof. "I am now, I just had a terrible dream, I don't remember what it was about, but I'm fine now. Thank you all for coming." She holds her hooves out, signaling for her friends to give her a hug, when a familiar voice chimes in. "I see you're awake now, Ms. Sparkle."
Carlyle West surfaces from behind the door. "Oh, Carlyle! It's good to see you! You didn't have to come visit me." Twilight gets abruptly interrupted by Carlyle's chuckle, "Oh, but I did, Ms. Sparkle. After all, you are my newest investigative subject. I wouldn't pass this opportunity up for the world! Ms. Twilight Sparkle - Faithful student, or Bloodthirsty Murderer?" Twilight felt like she hit a brick wall when she heard the words leave his mouth. Rainbow Dash's usual competitive glare slightly appears, "What the hell is THAT supposed to mean?! Twilight would never murder anypony! Is this about the Strong Stomp case?" Carlyle shakes his head, his grin being preserved on his face, "Ohhh, but she did. I bore witness to it. And the Strong Stomp case? Oh no no, it's much more than that...Ms. Sparkle isn't the only one, all of you are my investigative subjects."
Panic begins to fill Twilight's heart, her friends facing her, then back at Carlyle. "Murder? There ain't no way, Ah think yer barkin' up the wrong tree, bucko." Applejack protests, as well as the other 4 while Twilight sits silently. "Perhaps you should check up on your facts, Appleja--" Carlyle's selfish speech is interrupted by Rainbow Dash colliding her forehead with his, causing him to stumble back against the wall. "Who the hell do you think you are talking to my friends like that?! You have no proof, so if I were you, I would shut my pie hole!"
Twilight looks down at her bed sheet, "Funny how you think you know me, Carlyle. When you see me, you probably think I'm just an average bookworm who happens to be Princess Celestia's student. But in reality, I'm more than that, I know you more than you know me. You're awful about drawing your conclusions before fleshing them out. Yes, I did murder somepony, but it was in self defense, the stallion tried to rape me..." Twilight hops off the bed and approaches Carlyle, slightly intimidating the so-called expert professional, "...for once in your pathetic life, think about others instead of yourself and the job in which the only requirements are to be as much of a liar as you would be if you had that lawyering job that you failed at horribly. You may be successful, but you're also a terrible liar. I was willing to call you a friend, but now that I see who you really are, I want nothing to do with you. Now that I've gotten that off my chest..." Twilight points at the door disgruntled, "...I suggest you leave."
Carlyle West, looks at the others before standing up, straightening his khaki coat, wiping the blood from his nose, and takes his leave without another word. Upon exhaling, Twilight felt that in that one breath of air, all of her worries vanished. Rainbow Dash was right, Carlyle has accusations with no evidence to provide, if he files a lawsuit against her or her friends. He might try to get Rainbow Dash with an assault charge, but when Princess Celestia hears the details, the charge will be denied. Her triumphant thoughts are halted by Fluttershy's soft voice behind her. "So...you murdered somepony...? I'm sorry to ask, if you don't want to answer...that's fine." Her voice getting quieter, she squeaks when Twilight sighs. "Yes, I did, and I won't lie about it. It's good that I protected myself, but bad that it was at the cost of a life...I'm sorry."
"Fer what? You did what you had to, to protect yerself, Twi. We ain't gonna judge ya fer that, we're just glad nothin' worse happened to ya!" Applejack says in a pleasant tone, with Rarity adding onto it, "As a matter of fact, you probably did every mare a favor by erasing that bilge rat filth from the streets...ehm, whatever you did with him, darling. But you'll spare me the details, right?" Rarity smiles, "So cheer up darling, we're all glad that you're awake." Pinkie Pie hops on top of Twilight, "Let's have a par-tay! A Welcome-Back-Twilight-because-we're-glad-to-have-you-back party!" Rainbow Dash giggles with excitement, "And the way you told that deadbeat investigator off was SO....AWESOME! I mean...I'm the one that hurt him pretty good. I hope it was enough to get him to realize who he just made an enemy out of." Twilight responds with a smile and a nod. "Thank you. All of you, but we can't rest easy yet. Knowing Carlyle, he will stop at nothing to try and get evidence. We'll just have to watch our backs from now on."
Pinkie pouts, "Awwwwwww, you mean there isn't gonna be a party? Bummer!" Rarity pats her on the back, "But why should we let that dirtbag's intentions ruin our usual everyday life? It's just as you say, Twilight, he has no evidence." Applejack steps forward, "But Ah wonder...if he had no evidence, why the hay did he still show his face to accuse you? It don't make sense...even a few shots o' apple pie moonshine ain't gonna help me figure that one out." She asks, and Twilight shakes her head. "I don't know. He's either overconfident, or he's plotting something." Rarity shrugs, "So he's smart? Big deal, YOU'RE smart too, Twilight...and honestly, if you think he's going to try and take us all down, I would like to hear some of that smart-talk right about now..." Rarity says, pacing a bit.
"Right. It IS scary that Carlyle is a college graduate, but his biggest weakness is that ego of his. Revisiting the question of why he was here, if I were in his coat...I probably would have shown up, not to intimidate us, but to see how we would react, and then plan his next moves based on those emotional reactions. No offense Fluttershy, I'm just wanting all of you to be on the same page...but since you were the only one that kept yourself distanced, he probably learned that you're a bit shy, and want nothing to do with conflict." Twilight then points to Rainbow Dash, "And you. While I don't exactly approve of what you did, if I were Carlyle trying to plan my next few moves based on his psychological standpoint, he'll most likely try to take you down first." Dashie crosses her arms proudly, "Good. I'd like to see him try."
"No, Rainbow Dash, that's NOT good. He not only saw that there's no way he can turn us against each other, you reacted the strongest, and as a result, you'll be the easiest for somepony like him to pick off before he goes after the rest of us. His second target will be Fluttershy." Twilight gets interrupted by Applejack, "Wait, hold on a second, Twi. Pinkamena is the one that committed that crime a few days ago, so why wouldn't he go after her first?" She asks, and Twilight clears her throat, "That's one of the things Carlyle wants us to think so all of our focus goes toward Pinkie Pie while he takes care of us behind our backs, one at a time. That's his plan. So my suggestion, is that we play off of his game plan...make him think we're not checking behind our backs by doing something that he'll THINK is suspicious, and therefore, make him play into OUR hooves. Don't keep an eye out for each other, just proceed with your daily lives as usual, I'll let you know of any red flags that start popping up."
Carlyle, who was just in the next room listening through the wall, smirks with a bloody handkerchief being held to his nose. "You underestimate me, Ms. Sparkle...you may have figured out most of my plans, and you may know how most of my thinking works, but you and that Pinkie Pie are both my targets now. You'll all be imprisoned by the end of the week, one way or another." He mumbles to himself, trotting down the hallway to the elevators and pressing the button. The Mane 6 exit the room after receiving permission for Twilight to be checked out, and the last thing they see of Carlyle is him giving them a wink and a smile as the elevator door shuts.
A letter arrives at Twilight's doormat the next day, it's from Canterlot, presuming it to be from Princess Celestia, and as much as she wants to scan the area, she simply turns and heads back inside her home instead. "Dear Twilight Sparkle, some urgent matters have arisen that I cannot disclose in this letter, and I would like to discuss them with you alone at 8pm sharp tonight. Yours truly, Princess...Luna'? Princess Luna never writes anything to me..." One last line at the bottom catches her eye, "...P.S. Please destroy this letter after reading. I trust you'll know a good way of doing so.' Princess Luna...did you do something...what do you want to talk to me about that's so...secretive?" A knock on the door breaks Twilight's concentration before Rarity's muffled voice hits Twilight's ears. "Oh, Twiiiilight! Are you home?" The door opens and Rarity trots inside, "Ah! Okay, so I had this RADIANT idea for a dress, and I would like your input on it! Are you alright? You look a bit sullen, dear. Cheer up, those frown lines are not a good look for you."
"I'm...not frowning. I was thinking, very hard. Princess Luna wrote me a letter, and she wants to speak with me about something." Twilight says, and Rarity places her sketch of the dress down, "About what?" Twilight takes the letter and shows it to Rarity, "I don't know, but if it's serious enough in nature for her to write a letter to me, then I guess it's worth listening to." Rarity gives the letter back, and Twilight turns the letter into charcoal before blowing the dust into the fireplace, watching it burn and become one with the embers, "Do you think it has something to do with that Strong Stomp fellow?" Rarity asks, and Twilight nods, "Possibly. Only one way to find out--" Another knock at the door, and upon answering, it's Carlyle. Twilight frowns and immediately shuts the door on him, "Ms. Sparkle, open the door, please! I want to speak with you about the other day. I was way out of line, and you're right, I have no evidence and I was wrong to accuse you and your friends. I'm sorry."
"And why should I believe you after you showed up like that with no proof to showcase? I know you're up to something, Carlyle, so I'm not buying it. Leave me alone, Carlyle." Twilight orders him, and he silently does as he's told. Twilight then turns to Rarity and whispers, "Always question his motives, no matter what he says to you. That stallion is a snake, and he'll make it seem like he's interested in you when really, he wants to destroy you." She speaks normally again. "Now, show me that dress you're excited about, Rarity!"