//------------------------------// // Suspicions. // Story: Diane // by PerfectRed //------------------------------// Pinkie’s eyes began to slowly open, as she heard, voices muttering over her. Though she could barely hear them, she recognized Twilight’s voice, or was it Tessa’s, she couldn’t tell. “ait....she’s waking up.” Pinkie opened her eyes. Her throat was drier, and sorer than before. Upon smacking her lips together, she almost gagged at the sick taste in her mouth. Probably an after taste from the vomit she thought. Pinkie tilted her head upwards seeing the room she was in was now fully lit. This room however was noticeably different. The walls were now a very light tan color. Upon turning her head to the side she saw Tessa kneeling down next to her, giving a very concerned look. Next to Tessa was another human, who was much larger than Tessa, dressed in white clothing. Pinkie looked at him uneasily, as he turned and exited the room. She let out a sigh of relief, leaning backwards to find a comfortable surface supporting her, to which she realized, she was lying in a bed. She slowly brought her self to sit upwards, on the bed, when she noticed it. Pinkie glanced down to see her upper body was free. The straight jacket was gone. She saw herself wearing a light blue gown of some sort. Her limbs were still stiff aching, moving them felt like lifting an immense amount of weight. Still, she was at least glad to move her upper body. Pinkie raised her hands, and glanced at her new appendages, flexing them. The feeling was alien to her, but at the same time felt natural, she couldn’t explain why. “Diane? How are you feeling?” Tessa asked, her voice still identical to Twilight’s. “W-what happened?” Pinkie croaked, the lining of her throat burning when she spoke. “Well I did warn you that it wouldn’t be easy. You must not have been able to cope with what I told you, and it caused your body to react. I shouldn’t have been so up front with you. I’m sorry.” Tessa said looking down. Pinkie, slowly glanced down, to see her upper body was free. She saw herself wearing a light blue gown of some sort. Her arms were still aching, but she was at least glad to be able to move her upper body. Pinkie glanced at her new appendages, flexing them. The feeling was alien to her, but at the same time felt natural, she couldn’t explain why. “I thought you might want that off, so I got the orderly to remove it.” Tessa said giving Pinkie a small smile. “Thanks Twi...I mean Tessa.” Pinkie said remembering this wasn’t Twilight. She then got a good look at the room she was in. The walls of the room, as she suspected, were the same tan coloring. The only difference was the fact that this room came with a small room, but it was too small, and too high for Pinkie to even think about escaping through. ‘Wait, maybe I could, If I could make the hole larger. Wait no, that’ll never work.’ “Diane? You’re being very quiet, is something wrong with the room?” Tessa asked breaking Pinkie’s train of thought. “Huh? Oh nothing, just...looking at the room.” Pinkie replied her clearly showing disdain for having to talk to Tessa. “Well, I thought you might want to be back in your old room after what happened earlier. While you were unconscious I asked the orderlies to bring you here.” Tessa said giving a nervous smile. Pinkie raised an eyebrow. “Where was I before? And why was I in that straightjacket?” Pinkie asked, causing Tessa’s nervous smile to fade. “Well, you were in solitary confinement. It’s where we place patients who act out or...”, Tessa paused biting her lip, before continuing, “Or pose any danger towards the staff, or to themselves.” Tessa finished. Pinkie’s eyes began to widen, did she hurt somepony? Or did she hurt somebody? Is that why she was in there? Wait. No. This isn’t real. Of course you didn’t hurt anypony. You didn’t do anything. Pinkie’s let out a sigh turning to Tessa. She didn’t want to humor her on this belief that she was some mental patient, but the curiosity began to burn inside her, as to why she would be put in solitary confinement. “So what exactly did I do? It wasn’t anything too bad was it?” she asked getting Tessa’s attention. Tessa shook her head. “No no, you just acted a bit irrationally in your room, when one of the orderlies came in to restrain you. Well you ended up giving him a broken nose.” Tessa said uneasily. Pinkie flinched, she’d never hit anyone before, she’d never hit any pony. She must have been lying. You’re not a bad pony Pinkie, she must be trying to make you think it. Pinkie’s eyes narrowed “Y-your lying, I would never hurt anyone. I’m not a bad perso-I mean pony.” Tessa’s facial expression changed to that of mild amazement at what Pinkie had just said. Pinkie then began to panic, as she saw Tessa had noticed her slip in vocabulary. “Stop staring at me, all this talking to you is beginning to make me sound like you. I’m a pony. A PONY!” Pinkie screamed in anger. She then coughed due to the strain on her throat. This prompted Tessa to pat her on the back, to help pinkie with her coughing fit. Pinkie seeing this nudged her away. “N-no don’t touch me! I-I want to be alone. Please.” She finally said, her voice now a whisper from her dry throat. Tessa nodded, getting up from her kneeling position. Pinkie made occasional glances in her direction out of suspicion. Tessa’s hands began to dig in the pockets of her white coat. “I can see that you need some time to calm yourself, maybe this can help.” Pinkie looked at her in confusion, as she pulled out something green, holding it out to her. Closer inspection showed it to be a stuffed animal. Specifically an alligator. Pinkie carefully took the toy out of Tessa’s hands. She eyeballed it, noticing the alligator had a small smile sticked on where it’s mouth would be. Pinkie turned to Tessa confused. “W-what is this?” She asked, her voice shaking. “It’s yours, you call it Gummy, if I remember correctly.” Pinkie’s eyes shot open at the mention of the name. “Yup, you take it everywhere with you, the two of you are inseparable. Unfortunately I had to confiscate it for when you went to solitary confinement, but I figured because you don’t see many other patients, you probably needed an outlet.” Tessa said, giving Pinkie for the first time a genuine smile. This is another trick. She’s just trying to trick me again. This isn’t gummy, gummy’s real he’s a living breathing creature. However, despite Pinkie’s protests, she couldn’t help but crack a faint smile at the plush animal. She actually thought it was kinda cute. Pinkie slowly began to curl her new arms around the toy to give it a small hug. No! what are you thinking, this is not Gummy! Pinkie immediately shot up, releasing her grip of the plushie. “N-no, you. You’re just using this to try and earn my trust, well it’s not going to happen. I’m not going to believe I’m crazy.” Pinkie stated, causing Tessa to frown. “Diane, please. I don’t like the use of that term, and if you don’t want the toy, I can always take it back-” “No! I, uh.” Pinkie hugged the plushie keeping it out of Tessa’s reach. “I-I want to keep it.” Pinkie said keeping her head down. She couldn’t bare to look Tessa in the face, the embarrassment was too much. Tessa gave Pinkie a sympathetic smile as she walked over to door. Upon pulling the handle, she glanced back at Pinkie who was still sitting on the bed, the plush alligator held tightly in her arms. “I’ll have one of the nurses come by to give you some food and water, maybe after your done eating, we can talk.” Tessa paused waiting for a response that never came. She frowned, and walked out the door without another word. Pinkie was finally alone, the only thing to keep her company was her stuffed alligator that merely shared the same name of her pet back in Equestria. Still, it was better than having nothing at all. Pinkie leaned back laying down into the bed. She then raised up her arms, getting a good look at the plush alligator now clutched between her hands. Pinkie stared back at the smiling face of the doll. The real Gummy didn’t smile. Still, when she saw this toy she couldn’t help but imagine Gummy staring back at her. A tear began to roll down pinkie’s cheek. “Oh Gummy.” Pinkie sniffled. “You must be so worried, you and all of my friends. I left without even saying goodbye, what if they think I left on purpose.” Pinkie held the toy against her chest, as she began to cry into her pillow. Crying was all Pinkie could do, here she was locked up in a hospital, where everybody around her considered her crazy. Pinkie then paused, knocking herself in the head for saying “everybody.” Why was she becoming so accustomed to this new lingo, she had been speaking equestrian her whole life, why did it suddenly seem so distant. Then she said it out loud. “What if they’re right about me, what if I really am-” Don’t even think about saying it, I’m a pony, I’ve always been a pony, theres no way I could make up my entire life, thats just silly. “Y-yeah, you’re just being silly Pinkie, you’re not crazy, those humans are just trying to mess with my head, I’m not going to fall for it.” Pinkie said in a huff. It was then that there was a click from the door to the room. Pinkie let out a yelp, quickly sitting upwards to see who was entering the room. It was another young woman like Tessa, and she was carrying a tray of what pinkie assumed was food. However, there was something very odd about her, something very familiar. Her hair was blonde and much longer than Tessa’s, but the hair style reminded her of... Fluttershy “Oh Diane, I’m sorry if I woke you up, Doctor Sparks just asked me to bring you some breakfast.” She suddenly paused upon seeing Pinkie’s shocked expression. “F-Fluttershy?” Pinkie stuttered, causing the girl to give her a concerned look. “Oh dear, I forgot Doctor Sparks said you probably wouldn’t remember my real name. I don’t suppose you have an idea?” She asked to which Pinkie shook her head. “Oh well, my name is Fiona Shea, or you can call me Fiona or Nurse Shea, if you want.” She said giving a shy smile. Pinkie was absolutely dumbfounded, this couldn’t be real, the name, the way she acted. Just like the similarities Tessa shared with Twilight, Pinkie could clearly see the similarities Fiona shared with Fluttershy. “Diane? Is something wrong?” Fiona asked placing the tray down on the other side of Pinkie’s bed. Pinkie looked up at Fiona. “No you just-” Pinkie paused knowing it was pointless, Fiona probably wouldn’t believe a single word that came out of her mouth. “It’s nothing. You’re just like the rest.” Pinkie responded coldly, much to her own surprise. Fiona looked at Pinkie with an uneasy smile, obviously startled by her cold attitude. Pinkie saw this, her cold expression turning to that of guilt. Did she have to be that harsh? “Oh um, well um you can eat now, if you want I could go-” “Wait Fiona, you can stay, I guess I could use the company.” Pinkie replied sheepishly. Fiona, gave Pinkie a small nod, as she let herself lean against the wall in front of Pinkie. Pinkie took the tray placed on her bed and rested it on her lap. A look at the food in front of her caused her to grimace. She stared down at what honestly could have passed for what she vomited earlier in the day. Warm steam, emanated from the goop, causing Pinkie to realize that it was hot. She gulped as she slowly picked up the plastic spoon that sat beside it. She plunged the spoon into the indistinguishable goop, slowly lifting it up to her mouth. Pinkie quickly gulped it down, it passed down uneasily, due to her sore throat, but generally it wasn’t to bad, it was edible at least. Pinkie turned her attention to the water, taking a huge gulp of it before continuing to eat. The water washed through the lining of her throat, relieving her of the dry burning sensation, that came with trying to talk. Pinkie let out a satisfied breath of air, before turning back to her food. “Oh my. You must really have been hungry.” Fiona finally spoke out. Pinkie nodded scooping some more of the edible goop into her mouth. After swallowing she turned to Fluttershy, who was smiling meekly while watching her eat. Pinkie decided she might as well make some form of idle conversation, the silence was becoming as painful as watching paint dry. “So Fiona how long have you worked here as a nurse?” Pinkie asked, swirling her spoon around in her food. “Well, it’s been around four years now. I actually studied to be a nurse in the same university as Doctor Sparks, and coincidentally we ended up working together here. Also, you were actually the first patient I really talked to Diane.” This got Pinkie’s attention. “You always were interesting to have a conversation with.” Fiona said giving a small giggle. Pinkie gave her a shy smile, as she too giggled slightly. Pinkie then scooped the last bit of food into her mouth, putting down the spoon. She’d actually enjoyed her conversation with Fiona, even if she was a knock-off of Fluttershy, but for some reason she didn’t feel like it. One part of her actually wanted to trust Fiona. No don’t forget that they’re not real. They’re just trying to make you forget Equestria. “Diane?” Pinkie looked up to see Fiona in front of her. “Are you finished with your food?” Pinkie, handed Fiona the tray. “Yeah um thanks for the food, Fiona I uh enjoyed it.” Pinkie said forcing a smile. “Your welcome Diane. I hope we get to talk again.” Fiona turned to exit the room. “Wait! Um when is Doctor Sparks coming back?” Pinkie asked, a bit concerned. “Oh, she should actually be coming back for you soon, for your daily session.” Pinkie simply nodded turning to lie on her bed. “Well, good day Diane, it was good to see you again.” She said leaving the room. Although Pinkie noticed, she didn’t close the door. Curious she pulled herself up to make sure she wasn’t imagining things, then she heard footsteps. Pinkie watched as the orderly that accompanied Tessa entered the room, with a glass of water, and what appeared to be a very small white Jar, that rattled when shook. “Um w-what’s that?” Pinkie asked fearfully. The man turned to her, his body posture clearly showing he was nervous. “This is just an antipsychotic. It’s the medication your prescribed to take.” He held up the plastic capsule. “Don’t worry there just tablets. You just have to swallow them.” He replied motioning to the water in his hand. Pinkie crawled on the bed backing herself up to the wall that it sat against. Pinkie didn’t know what this medication was, and she definitely didn’t want to find out. “Thank you, but I-I don’t need any medication, I’m perfectly fine see.” Pinkie said waving her arms in a playful fashion. “See. Perfectly fine.” “Miss, please, I’m required to give you your medication and that is by any means necessary.” The orderly replied sternly, causing Pinkie to jump. “Am I going to have to give it you by force?” He held the glass of water out to her. Pinkie narrowed her eyes at him, snatching the glass out of his hand. The orderly unscrewed the cap off the container, handing Pinkie two circular white tablets. She inspected them carefully. “Ahem.” Pinkie glanced up to see the orderly standing over her, waiting for her to swallow the tablets. She grumbled something incomprehensible before putting one tablet, into her mouth. She took the water taking a sip to make the swallowing process easier. She repeated the process with the second tablet. “There you see, now was that so hard, was it?” The man said in a patronizing tone, which only caused Pinkie to become irritated. “Yeah whatever.” Pinkie spat. The orderly took the glass of water from her, moving over to the door. He turned his head to Pinkie. “Doctor Sparks will be along to see you shortly.” The orderly stated, before he closed the door. Pinkie rolled her eyes plopping back into her bed. She pulled Gummy close to her once again, snuggling up to the stuffed animal. After a few minutes, the door opened to reveal Tessa. Pinkie’s head shot up upon hearing the door creak open. Tessa was carrying a clipboard, a tan folder and a small fold up chair. She wondered if it’s contents had anything to do with her. “Hello again Diane, sorry if I’m a bit late, I had to give a report on how you were doing to my superior.” Tessa said as she turned and closed the door. “It’s not like I was going anywhere.” Pinkie grumbled. Tessa didn’t respond, probably because she could hear Pinkie’s remark. Tessa walked over to the bedside, unfolding the small chair. She took a seat, setting down the folder on her lap and taking a small pen from the clipboard. “Now, lets begin. How are you feeling since I last saw you Diane, I’m assuming you met Nurse Shea when she came to serve you breakfast?” Tessa asked as inquisitively as Twilight would. “Yes.” Pinkie answered. “Did you remember her at all?” “No, I don’t.” Pinkie finally decided to get it out. “When I saw her, when I see you. All I think about is my friends from Equestria.” Pinkie said sternly. However Tessa was quiet maintaining a calm sense of professionalism, as she began scribbling down several notes. Pinkie saw this as slightly irritating but ignored it. “Diane?” Tessa began, halting her writing. “Do you think perhaps your friends in Equestria may have been influenced by real people that you’ve met, example me and Nurse Shea.” Tessa stated. Pinkie scoffed at her answer. “Well, if I did that I’d be giving in to you thinking that I’m “sick.” Pinkie remembered using the word crazy, kinda set her off. “I mean, do you expect me to believe that my family in Equestria exists here?” Pinkie said letting out a sarcastic laugh. “Tell me about Equestria.” Pinkie froze at Tessa’s request. “What?” “Tell me about Equestria.” Tessa repeated politely. Pinkie was suspicious of this, but at the same time, she actually had so much to say. “W-what do you want to know?” Pinkie asked meekly. “Just about your family, some of your friends, whatever comes to mind.” Tessa said giving a reassuring smile. “Alright umm...” Pinkie glanced up to make sure Tessa was listening. “Well I was born on a rock farm, and raised with my three sisters, Maud, Limestone, and Marble.” “Was it a happy childhood-” “Fillyhood.” Pinkie corrected. “Sorry was it a happy fillyhood Diane?” “Y-yes of course it was, me and my sister’s always got along and my parents did a great job of raising us.” Pinkie said exasperated. “What are you trying to say here?” Pinkie inquired. “Well, it’s actually the reason I have this.” Tessa held up the same folder. “This is your personal file, and I got permission to let you have a look at it.” Tessa said uneasily, handing it over to Pinkie. Pinkie took it cautiously. “The reason why I was asking about your family, was that I needed to know how much you actually remembered, and truthfully most of what you described is the truth about them.” Tessa said causing Pinkie to give her an odd look. “I thought you didn’t believe me?” Pinkie asked still confused by Tessa’s statement. “Well, these delusions you have created a mirror of your actual memories. It’s in a way your mind integrating aspects of your real life, with this life you have created in Equestria.” Tessa finished causing Pinkie to laugh. “Seriously, you expect me to believe my parents are here, my real parents.” Pinkie said trying to maintain her composure. “Diane, I’ve found that in order to make progress with you, right now, I have to show you the truth.” Tessa motioned for Pinkie to open the folder now in her hands. Pinkie rolled her eyes opening the folder. Pinkie’s eyes darted through the first page she found. Her face slowly turning into that of shock as she read the information on the paper. She read out her full name in her head “Diane Philomena Pie.” below the name was her age. Age 17. No this wasn’t right. She was 20 last time she checked. Further still below the descriptions, was a photograph. It was of a young girl. Her hair was long and chestnut brown, with what looked like faded pink highlights. She wore a stoic expression on her face, which was partially hidden by one side of her face being covered by hair. Pinkie looked over at Tessa. “I-is this me?” Pinkie asked weakly, receiving a nod from Tessa. She turned back to the document. She read further down the page to find descriptions of what she was suffering from. Schizophrenia and delusions of grandeur. Below was her prescribed medication which was called clozapine. The description next to it said it as an antipsychotic. Pinkie recognized the word from what the orderly used. Pushing onward at the bottom of the sheet were two signatures. “Whose signatures are these?” Pinkie asked Tessa her eyes still fixed on the document. Tessa took a breath “Your parents.” “W-what?” Pinkie’s lip quivered. “Your parents signed you in here at the age of 14, I wasn’t there for some of those years, but you’ve been in our care ever since that age.” Tessa said sadly. It’s all lie, your parents are in Equestria silly filly. Pinkie let out a weak laugh “N-no my parents aren’t here. There back in Equestria. I only came here today. You expect me to believe I have a family living in this messed up world.” Tessa nodded. “Turn over the page.” Pinkie did as Tessa instructed. She turned the page over, what she found was a photograph. Pinkie gasped as she got a good look at it. It was a picture of six human beings. The four shorter ones of the group were all girls, while the other two were a man and a woman. The woman’s hair was brown, tied in a bun, while the man had shaggy light brown hair and a beard. Pinkie’s eyes then focused on the girls. She saw that the three girls had identical hairstyles to her sisters, but it was the fourth that really stood out. In the middle of the photo, was a little girl with long bright pink hair. Her family.