"So, who wants to play first?"
Pinkie's friends stood paralysed with horror. They had just witnessed their friend being forced out of her own body. The pink pony who stood before them in the centre of the damaged library wasn't the happy and joyful pony who threw parties every other hour, who made everyone laugh with her random outbursts. Something more sinister stood in her place.
It was Pinkemena.
"Come on, surely somepony must want to have some fun," Mused Pinkemena, who wore a grin so sinister it churned the stomachs of Pinkie's closest friends. Pinkie was no longer there.
"Twilight!" Applejack was shaking on the spot, "Twilight, what's happened to Pinkie?"
Twilight couldn't turn to face her friends, "Pinkie i-isn't there any more. Pinkemena, h-her bad half whose been sitting inside of Pinkie, has taken over her body... " Twilight collapsed onto her flanks. She had failed her closest friend, the first pony she had met in Ponyville, and there was nothing she could do. Tears began pattering on the hard wooden floor.
"Hey, Twilight, wanna play?"
Twilight looked up teary-eyed to see Pinkemena standing over her. Her eye were cruel, heartless, empty, but also sad. Pinkemena leaned in so close to the petrified pony Twilight could feel her warm breath rolling down her face. Pinkemena smiled.
"Let's play."
Before any of her friends could react Pinkemena struck Twilight's face with her forehoof, drawing blood and knocking Twilight onto her back cowering. No one knew what to do. They couldn't attack their friend. Nopony knew what to do. But Rainbow Dash wasn't about to let Pinkemena do what she liked though.
"Hey! What's the big idea, huh?" Rainbow Dash had picked up the courage to spring up and land between Pinkemena and her wounded friend, "Nopony attacks my friend and gets away with-"
"Heya, Dashie, wanna go prank someone?"
Pinkie's joyful voice rose out of Pinkemena's throat, causing Rainbow Dash to freeze on the spot. What was going on? She realised only too late that she had been tricked, as Pinkemena's hoof dug into her chest hard. Rainbow Dash recoiled away in pain. She lay on the dusty floor, clutching her chest, holding back tears of pain and sadness. She knew it wasn't Pinkie, but she couldn't possibly do anything to hurt her. Maybe Pinkie's still in there. I heard her voice just then. It was an idea, but Rainbow Dash couldn't think clearly, the bruise on her chest burned worse than she had imagined. She had fractured a rib. Pinkemena began stepping towards her other friends who stood helpless by the wall. Fluttershy began cowering at the approaching fuchsia demon, fearing her own friend. Applejack slid in front of Fluttershy, eyes defiant. She had to protect Fluttershy, no matter what. But she was scared. More scraed than she had ever been before. All she could do was stand between her most fragile friend and the possessed body of Pinkie. She just hoped she could stand up to Pinkemena, who had just attacked two of her friends without remorse.
"Pink...ie, s-stop."
Pinkemena stopped in her tracks and turned slowly around to see Twilight Sparkle lying wounded on the floor. Head titled, she paced closer until she stood next to Twilight's head. A chuckle escaped her lips and grew into manic laughter that horrified every pony in the room. Pinkemena threw her head back, her straight deep fuchsia hair tossed around like a rag doll. Her head jerked down into Twilight's face. Twilight noticed tears beginning to form in the deranged pink pony's eyes. She didn't know what to do.
"Twilight, you're no fun, you don't want to play with me," Pinkemena leaned even closer, "What a shame, but at least you now know how I felt!" A surprisingly sharp hoof connected with Twilgiht's stomach and left a small cut, making Twilight double over in discomfort. Pinkemena's voice become violent and angered. "How do you think I felt when Pinkie had so much fun with all her friends whilst I sat locked in her head, having to endure the torment of not having anypony to talk to? Well! How do you like it? Being hurt by your friend? All I wanted was somepony to talk to, to play with like Pinkie has done for so many years! Is that so much to ask?!" Another blow to the stomach sent Twilight reeling. She wasn't able to do anything any more. She was paralysed to do anything against her friend. Or at least what was left of her. Pinkemena's tears pattered on Twilight's forehead. Her eyes only held sadness now. Nopony could save Twilight now.
"Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle," She raised a hoof into the air, almostl directly above where Twilight's head was, "I guess play time's over." The hoof was thrown down at Twilight's head. She closed her eyes tight, waiting for the inevitable pain. A sickening splattering noise could be heard. The other ponies could only gasp.
Twilight opened her eyes. Am I dead? She looked up very slowly to see a figure standing in front of her face, arms outstretched, covered in blood. The body was quivering. Teardrops hit the ground in front of the purple statue. Pinkemena's hoof never reached its intended target.
It had hit Spike.
Twilight could only stare wide-eyed at the purple and green baby dragon, who had a hoof embedded in his chest. He turned his head as far as he could to face Twilight. Tears rolled down his cheeks.
"I-I-I'm sorry, Twili-"
Pinkemena withdrew her hoof from Spike, who collapsed to the side of Twilight's body, tears and blood splattered over his normally clean scales. His chest was unmoving. Twilight didn't know how to react. Tears began welling in her eyes, and could only stare at the limp body of her personal assistant, who had helped her through her entire life under Princess Celestia. The first of many tears rolled down Twilight's face.
"SPIIIIIIIKE!" Cried out the devastated Twilight. Applejack was the first pony to reach Twilight. She wrapped her legs around the purple mare's chest and held tight. Fluttershy rushed over to Spike, who now lay in a pool of his own blood which was seeping out of his chest.. She held him close to her chest and began weeping. She knew what had happened. She rested her head on Spike's lifeless body, openly crying, her forehead getting stained by his vibrant blue dragon blood. Rarity began trying a healing spell from a distance as she galloped towards her friends. She had reached Spike when the realisation hit her hard.
"He's.... he's gone." Rarity's own tears began creeping down her white coat. An incredible sadness began filling her body, coursing through her vein s like poison. Pinkemena had just killed Twilight's assistant, and a good friend, right in front of her eyes. She began approaching Pinkemena, who stood giggling and crying simultaneously in a fit of hysterical joy.
"Pinkie! Why? Why did you have to kill him? Tell me!" Rarity had become so enraged her horn began sparking. Her eyes were hellbent. "Tell me now! How could you?!" Pinkemena simply chuckled.
"Because it was fun."
Rarity's horn glowed bright blue and unleashed a glowing block of magical energy which plowed into Pinkemena, sending her skidding along the wooden floor. Rarity began bearing down on Pinkemena who sat giggling on the floor.
"Oh, Rarity, you really should calm down, you'll mess up your ma-"
Another block hit her even harder this time, throwing her into the wall. Rarity had lost her composure. At this time, though, it wasn't possible to maintain it. Rarity approached Pinkemena, who lay on floor at the bottom of the wall, and slapped her across the face. Magical energy began swirling in the air above Pinkemena, forming a much larger weapon at Rarity's disposal.
"Let Pinkie out! How dare you take two of my friends from me?! First Pinke and then Spike! How dare you?!" A third and final block fell on Pinkemena, creating a cloud of dust in the process. Rarity stood panting in the middle of the room, next to a settling dust cloud which surrounded the body of her once lively friend, now a shell possessed by Pinkie's demon. Sinister chuckling emanated from the centre of the dust cloud.
"Oh, Rarity, Rarity, Rarity. You should know better than to hit your friends."
Before Rarity could react, a bloodied hoof lashed out and struck her jaw, causing a painful crack to sound from Rarity. She screamed in pain, clutching her broken jaw with both hooves as Pinkemena swayed to a standing position. Deranged laughter filled the room whilst tears streamed down Pinkemena's blood splattered face.
"Pin...kie... if you can... hear me I'm so... so sorry," Pinkemena twirled around to see Twilight hanging her head low, weeping in Applejack's hooves. Applejack could barely contain her sadness, but she had to do so to support Twilight. "Please, Pinkie, stand up tall for us. For you. I'm so sorry."
Pinkemena froze. Inside of her was a growing sadness. Not because of her lonely past. Not because she endured years of sitting inside Pinkie's head suffering.
Because she was hurting her friends.
That couldn't be, she didn't have friends. But then why was she sad after hurting Twilight? She cried out and clutched her head in agony.
"Get out of my head, Pinkie! I don't want you!" She threw her head around and cried out in pain. She hit her head repeatedly against the floor, but the sadness wouldn't go away. Pinkie's voice echoed in her head with so much happiness that Pinkemena couldn't ever have. Pinkemena couldn't stand the pain of the joy she was never allowed to have. She envied Pinkie and it hurt so much. Happy laughter filled her head as she jolted around on the spot in agony.
Twilight, in her sadness and mourning, noticed the self conflict raging within Pinkemena. Maybe we can stop Pinkemena after all. Between sobs, she released herself from Applejack's grasp and stood forward. The tears began slowing to a near standstill. Rainbow Dash had seen the whole incident and managed to stagger to her hooves. She stumbled over to Twilight and nudged her. She knew what Twilight was thinking. Fluttershy couldn't leave Spike's side due to his grievous wounds, but she looked on weeping. Rarity had cast a spell on her jaw to repair some of the damage. It wasn't a total fix, nor did it kill the incessant pain, but it would certainly do. Twilight saw her friends, and how much they cared for Pinkie, despite what Pinkemena had done. She stepped forward with courage in her heart.
"Pinkie, we're coming for you!"
Somewhere in Pinkemena's mind, Pinkie sat in a dark brick cell, bound by metal chains attached to the floor. Through a gap in the wall, she could see Twilight and all her friends through Pinkemena's eyes. She heard Twilight's strong words resound through Pinkemena's unstable psyche. Tears began to patter against the hard floor. Not sad tears.
Tears of happiness.
You haven't abandoned me after all.
End of Part 4