//------------------------------//
// Facade 
// Story: The Strange Case Of Doctor Pinkie And Miss Diane 
// by Arreis Of Avalon 
//------------------------------//

	“Hello, Mrs. Cake,” Twilight said softly as she entered the sweets shop. The sun shone through the windows of Sugarcube Corner, but the warm rays did little to comfort Twilight as she glanced around the abandoned bakery. This was no day for sweets.
“O-Oh, hello dearie,” Mrs. Cake said, albeit a bit timidly. Everypony had been on edge today, and they all knew why. They tried to refuse it had happened. But it had.
“I… came to see Pinkie. I want to see how she’s… coping.”
“She… hasn’t come out of the um… basement, dearie.”
“Basement?” Twilight glanced at the basement door. “What on earth is she doing down there?”
“She goes down there every night… We’ve never bothered her about it, you know, we just thought… She’s always so silly, we thought it was just her being herself.” Mrs. Cake turned to the door as well, her face worried. “But, this morning, she hadn’t gone back up to her room… I thought I heard something shatter, and I checked the door… She screamed to leave her be…”
“Screamed? To leave her be?” Twilight trotted up to the door. “That’s not like her…”
“I’m a bit worried about her, Twilight… I thought I heard… sobbing, earlier. And when she told me to leave her be… She didn’t sound at all herself… She sounded cold…”
Twilight knocked on the door lightly. Instantly, a voice replied. “Stay away! I don’t want anypony coming down here!”
“Pinkie, it’s me, Twilight!”
“I…” A small sigh was heard on the other side of the door. There was a small unlocking sound. “C-come on in, Twilight… Only you, though.”
Twilight glanced once at Mrs. Cake. Both of them looked worried. Twilight nodded to her, a silent promise to get to the bottom of this. Turning back, she opened the door.
It was dark inside. Somehow, that made Twilight more worried. Why would Pinkie have spent the entire night down here, in the dark? Lighting up her horn, she began to trot downstairs, shutting the door behind her. “Pinkie,” she asked hesitantly, unnerved.
“I’m down here,” a sad little voice said downstairs. Twilight frowned. Pinkie was acting strange…
Twilight lit up her horn more as she got to the bottom step. It was pitch black, but for a single candle next to an open notebook. Papers were scattered around, torn in two, ink smudged over the words. Various liquids dried on the floor, staining it bizarre colors. As Twilight walked across some parts of the floor, it felt uncomfortably sticky. “Pinkie?”
“Let me get the light for you…” In a flash, the lights came on.
Disoriented at first, Twilight shook her head. Brushing her bangs to the side, she gasped. “P-Pinkie, you…”
“I know. I look horrible.” Indeed she did. Her curly mane was in tatters, half down, half up. Her skin was bruised and it looked as though she had been in a struggle. Her eyes were tired, and Twilight saw they were bloodshot. “It’s… been a long night.”
“Do you… know what happened?”
Pinkie looked up at her, her eyes… concerned? That was the only term to describe it, but it looked so strange on her friend’s face that Twilight almost discounted the look. “What’s happened? What’s going on?”
“Somepony was… um…” Twilight gulped, trying to find the words. She had certainly read about it, but it had been so terribly long in Equestria since it had happened. “Somepony was…”
“Murdered?”
Twilight nodded, her eyes confused. “That’s right… how did you know?”
“Uh… Mr. Cake slipped a newspaper down here.”
Twilight’s eyes narrowed. She felt as though Mrs. Cake would’ve mentioned that, with how concerned she was. But why would Pinkie be lying to her? Did she know something about the murder? Was that why she was being so secretive?
“Why did you come down here, Twilight?” The question came harsher than Twilight would’ve thought.
“I came to check up on my friend… Pinkie, Mrs. Cake said you’ve been down here all day… I’m worried about you.”
“I’m fine, Twilight. For now, it’s best if I’m left alone.”
“T-that’s not the way friendship works, Pinki-“
“I SAID LEAVE ME ALONE!” Twilight gasped as Pinkie’s eyes flashed a dark red, her voice dark and cold, as though all the happiness and laughter in her had been lost. Twilight stumbled back, surprised, her eyes wide. Pinkie stood a bit straighter as she watched Twilight stumble, her eyes returning to normal. She seemed almost as surprised as Twilight was. “T-twilight, I…”
“P-Pinkie… What’s. Wrong.”
“… Here.” Pinkie walked to her desk. Twilight glanced at the broken glass and beakers there, unable to stop herself from wondering what Pinkie had been doing down here. “I… wrote a few letters…”
“Letters?”
“5 of them… 5 for you and the girls…" Pinkie opened a drawer, revealing all 5. “I want you all to read those letters tomorrow.”
“Why won’t you just tell me what’s wrong, Pinkie? I’m worried.”
“You would never understand, Twilight… I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you what’s happened. What I’ve been doing down here.”
“Pinkie, somepony’s been murdered, and you’re sitting down here, in the dark, being, I have to admit, very much unlike your usual self! I’m scared, Pinkie! I don’t want to see you hurt!”
“… It’s not me you should worry about, Twilight…” Pinkie smiled ruefully. “Please. Deliver those letters for me. Read them tomorrow. For now… I… have some things to do.”
“Pinkie…” Twilight sighed, hanging her head. She could always try a truth spell, make her tell the truth… But what if this is something her friend needed? Time alone? What if…
There were too many what if’s. Twilight nodded, looking at her friend sadly. “Alright, Pinkie. You’re not going to let me do anything but that, and I don’t want to use magic against you. So I’ll play along for now. May I have the letters?”
Pinkie smiled, a bit more happily this time. Grateful. “Thank you.” Her smile rubbed off on Twilight, who couldn’t help but smile softly herself. Pinkie handed over all 5 letters. Twilight poofed them to her home. “I must ask you leave now, Twilight. I just… I need to be by myself for awhile.”
“Alright, Pinkie. Just please… don’t spend all day down here. Go out, enjoy the sunlight… Keep smiling.” Pinkie nodded and turned her back on her friend. Unable to do anything else, Twilight turned and trotted up the stairs.
Twilight said her goodbyes to Mrs. Cake, unable to truly explain anything to her. She walked outside, feeling completely useless. What could she do for her friend? What could she do to brighten her day, make her happy?
Around town, everypony was buzzing with rumors about what had happened with the body. How ponies might not be as they seem. Twilight could hear them as she walked around town.
There's ponies who walk among us every day, Carrot Top sang in a hushed voice to her customer as she gave him his groceries.
Wearing masks of emotion, he responded, just as quietly as he gave her his bits. It's societies way.
What do they wear, everypony seemed to say. What do they eat?
They're all hiding something away....
Twilight trotted up to a flower stand, getting some flowers from Rose. It's that being we all deny that we know, Rose murmured softly to another customer as she snipped the flowers.
It festers inside, he responded, in the darkness, it'll grow. 
It's our true self, beneath the facade
Hidden by the cold light of day, Rose said as she gave Twilight her flowers. 
Twilight turned as ponies around her all seemed to sing the same tune, all seemed to say the same thing.
That's the way!
How we all hide who we are!
Get fresh paint
And brush on a smile!
In this Masquerade!
Acting out the days charade
Living in the dark shadows
While playing the saint!
Murder, murder, they all murmured, whispered in Twilight's ear. 
There's one thing, she said
One thing I know for sure
Till who did this dies
This fear has no cure…
Twilight glanced around at those around her. Look around!
You can't tell what you've found!
Lurking beneath the mask
You wear for show!
Twilight looked behind her as she reached her door, watching the ponies mutter suspiciously about their friends.
	Somepony's got a sinister secret
Who lies and who is true?
If you look past the mask,
You'll find not one mare, but two!
She galloped inside, locking the door. Slowly, she slumped down the side, sighing. Resting on her desk were 5 letters. She hardly wanted to acknowledge them. What was wrong with Pinkie?...
At the end of the day, she sang softly
She didn't know what to say
Beyond the smile, it's odd..
She's hiding something
Why won't she come clean?
And finally break
The Facade!