Illusions
By Derpyx2
"Wake up. Pinkie, wake up!" an unknown voice whispered. Pinkie groaned. Why was Mrs. Cake waking her up this early? It was only two in the morning. Pinkie rolled over, and her eyes fluttered open, like butterflies flapping their wings for the first time. Like an unfocused camera, Pinkie's vision was not clear. When she finally wiped the sleep out of her eyes, Pinkie saw a horrifyingly familiar face in front of her. Pinkie quickly shut her eyes, then opened them once more. The face was still there.
"Hi," her reflection said. Pinkie was about to scream, but her reflection covered her mouth with a hoof.
"Mmf mmf mff mmm!" Pinkie mumbled. She struggled to get out words, as her reflection's hoof was clamping her mouth shut. Her reflection finally let go, and Pinkie breathed heavily. After she calmed herself, she faced her reflection angrily. "Why would you do that, Pinkamina? What's your problem?" The reflection just shook her head and sighed deeply, as if Pinkie weren't understanding the obvious.
"Pinkie, you don't know? Really?"
Pinkie shook her head, her expression slowly morphing into one of confusion.
"Pinkie, I, well, I'll just explain it from the beginning, since you obviously don't understand. Alright, here it goes. Oh, and no interrupting! I'm trying to help you here!" Pinkamina exclaimed.
Pinkie Pie hesitantly nodded. She didn't know what to think now. She was still confused, and a tad bit angry at her reflection. She also was mistrusting of Pinkamina. This was the same reflection that stole away her happiness, after all. On top of all these emotions, Pinkie was scared of her reflection. Her fear took over her brain, so she complied to Pinkamina's demands.
"Okay, so, as you know, when you were a filly, you got very depressed. As a pony, you have some magic inside you. All ponies have magic, and it can be channeled through their wings, their horns, or even the earth. But you have a very special way of creating magic. Through your emotions. You were so depressed, your emotions created a... form for your depression. Kind of like how a glow is cast when a unicorn uses magic. Your glow was in the form of a pony. I, this pony, am all of your depression. I am very much real, even if I am made of magic, and I didn't like the feeling of depression. At the time you could have done whatever you wanted with me. You could have cast away your depression forever! But, since you were so upset and naive, you didn't try to do anything about me. Realizing that I had power in your mind, I persuaded you to take all this depression at night, so that I could have some time to be happy."
Forgetting their agreement, Pinkie angrily growled, "So, you tricked me! You manipulated me! That's not nice, you know!" Pinkamina just sighed and shook her head again.
"Pinkie, you aren't understanding. You manipulated yourself. I am all in your head."
"But I thought you said you were real?"
"I am mentally real, not physically real. Nopony but you can see me. That fact, however, does not make me any less real. I am only real to you. Therefor, I am real, yet you still control me. Now, may I continue?"
"Sure."
"Great. So, as I was saying. I am mentally real. I am in your head, but magic is created in your head! You created me out of your emotions and your brain. Now, at the time, you were so broken, you couldn't control me if you knew how. Therefor, I made you a deal. Since I was still a part of you, you still had all your depression, and something in the back of your mind told you that was dangerous. You then created this deal with yourself, so you wouldn't be as dangerous. But as time went on, you regretted this decision. You were also gaining more power to think over yourself. Using your thoughts, and some persuasion from your friend, you battled this part of your conscious, until it completely shut itself down. It did, however, break through at points, and that's when you would have your episodes.
"But you see, this part of your mind has been gaining power, and it now has muddled into your thinking. I am here as a medium. I help guide these thoughts to you. I am the magic that created these thoughts and me. This is not your magic anymore. For when you shut us down, you shut away the magic as well. We have used that magic to gain power, control, and you now have a choice. We don't want to be locked away anymore. You can either give us you, or, you can give us your happiness. We are tired of your prancing around while we suffer. You now have to pay for all those years of pain. Pinkie, we will give you time to decide. Give us your body, or your happiness. Just remember, it is all about power."
Pinkamina stared Pinkie in the eye. Pinkie trembled under her glare of ice, slashing through her soul. She had a tough decision to make. And try as she might, she couldn't control herself to think away this magic. It was too powerful. It was dark magic. And Pinkie hated it. She tried to struggle away, but she was trapped. Chained. She had to make a decision. "I shall give you until next Sunday. At sundown, you must give me your final decision, or we will make it for you." Pinkie could tell her reflection was about to leave.
"Wait!" she shouted. "Wait. I have a question."
"Well, spit it out! It is almost sunrise! I must go."
"Alright. A- are you really real?" Pinkie asked, her voice shaking.
The reflection stared at her. Her eyes were no longer ice. They were dull and unblinking. Suddenly, they changed. Fire was in Pinkamina's eyes. A devilish grin spread across her face. She turned towards Pinkie, spitting every word. But underneath the fire in her voice, was the sweet, refreshing sound of sympathy. "Pinkie, I explained this to you. I am as real as you think I am." With that, Pinkamina was gone.