//------------------------------// // XVI: Endgame // Story: Dreams & Nightmares // by TheUnknownPerson //------------------------------// One Day Later Pinkamena trotted down the small, dusty path to Fluttershy's cottage surrounded by four royal guards and Twilight Sparkle. She sighed, angry with the guards constantly having an eye on her. Bucking lap dogs. I can do this without them watching me. You've hurt her before. Why shouldn't they? Because I actually feel bad for hurting her. I didn't have the right to do it. My rage got to me. Still, they can't know if you're lying or not. I guess. "We're here." "Hm... yeah..." Pinkamena said as she noticed that they were outside of the the cottage. "I'm going to tell her what's going on... and I'm and the royal guard are going to be watching you intently, so it'd be in your best interest for you not to try anything to hurt her. And please don't try to intimidate her." Twilight said as she trotted up to the door. "I promise. I'd lift my right fore-hoof if I could." "I hope so. For your sake." Twilight said as she knocked on the door. After a moment, the door opened and a buttercup pony stepped in front of the doorway. "Oh, h-hello Twilight. What's..." Fluttershy noticed Pinkamena and the royal guards almost immediately. "U-uh, Twilight, I-I'm sorry, but I've got to do s-something and I-I can't talk right now, bye!" Fluttershy said as she stepped back and slammed the door in Twilight face. "Horseapples... is she really that scared?" Twilight knocked on the door again. "Twilight, I-I'm sorry, but I really c-can't talk right now!" "Fluttershy, let me in. I'll just come in, okay? No guards, no Pinkie, just me and me alone." Twilight said kindly, trying to ease Fluttershy into letting her inside. "O-okay..." After a moment, the door slightly cracked. Twilight trotted inside and shut the door behind herself. Poor Fluttershy... she's so scared. Horsefeathers. I feel so bad... I'm glad. I told you weren't a bad pony. No-- I still am for even letting myself get that angry. I'm not a good pony. But you're apologizing to her! You're even going to say sorry to mom and dad! I'm not even sure I'll do it... they're never going to be my parents. Not after today, not ever. You have to, Pinkie. Even if it's the smallest, tiniest apology, it has to be done. Pinkamena sighed. You're right... I have to. Just for Marble and Limestone. That's the spirit. Even if it's just to them... Creak Twilight peaked her head out of the door. "Okay, I think she's ready now. I want you all to keep an eye on her." Twilight said as she pointed to Pinkamena. "Yes, your highness." The guards said one after another. "Now Pinkamena, come here and apologize. And if you so much as lift your hoof to her, I'll stop you and take you back to Canterlot immediately." Twilight threatened. "You won't have to worry about me with her, trust me." Pinkamena trotted up onto the front porch and into the house. "U-uh, Twilight... I-I don't feel comfortable being here... with her..." Fluttershy's hooves were quivering, barely able to hold her own weight out of sheer fear. "It's all right. The royal guard is here to protect us, and Pinka- Pinkie isn't going to do anything, aren't you?" Twilight said as she trotted to Fluttershy and stared at Pinkamena. "Pinkamena, is there anything you want to say to Fluttershy?" Twilight said, hinting for Pinkamena to say sorry. "Yes. I'm so sorry for what I did. It was out of my own blind rage and I shouldn't have done it." Pinkamena said. Fluttershy's hooves continued to quivered, still terrified of her. "I promise you'll never have to see me again. We'll just... go." Pinkamena turned away, taking a step towards the porch. "W-wait." Pinkamena turned back to her. "I... I j-just need some time, okay? I-I'll for-forgive you eventually. I j-just can't be around you right now." Fluttershy burrowed her into her mane. Thank goodness. "Okay... thank you. Really." Pinkamena said. Fluttershy nodded. "Fluttershy, thank you for being brave enough to do this and taking the time to do this. I'd really love to stay, but Pinkie has more ponies to apologize to." "Okay. G-goodbye, Twi'." "Bye, Fluttershy." Twilight said as she and Pinkamena trotted outside. Grrr Pinkamena looked back at the inside of Twilight's cottage(the origin of growl) and saw the cub was standing in a defensive position. "D-don't do anything, little one. S-she said she was sorry." Fluttershy said, trying to calm the cub. The cub still looked at her angry, but somehow managed not to pounce on her. "Let's just go to the hospital and I'll apologize to my parents." Pinkamena turned away, trotting away from the cub. "I'll see you later, Flutters'." Twilight said as she, the guards, and Pinkmena continued to trot away. ================ Limestone Pie sat down beside Marble Pie, who was now sitting in one of the chairs at the side of the hospital room. Maud Pie was lying back on the bed, staring at the ceiling, as if she was in some sort of a trance. Cloudy Quartz was talking with Igneous Rock about something that Marble couldn't hear. "Hey, Marble." Marble nodded, subtly and gently waving to her. "So, what is going on with you?" Marble shrugged her shoulders, glancing back to Maud before going back to her sister. "I'm bored." Limestone yawned, leaning back in the chair. "Wish they had more things to do at the hospital. We'd usually be in the fields at this time of the day." "Mmhm." "Marble?" "Mhmm?" Marble mumbled. Limestone glanced over to Maud for a moment to make sure she was still staring at the ceiling(which she was). "Do you think Maud's hoof will be all right?" Limestone whispered "I-I hope so." "Same. I guess we shouldn't worry too much about it unless the nurse tells us otherwise. Y'know, I was--" Knock Knock Knock Marble and Limestone looked over to the entrance to the hospital room, the origin of the sound. "I'll be back in a moment." Igneous said to Cloudy. He trotted over to the door and opened it. "Oh, hello again." Igneous said as he moved out of the way of the door and let Nurse Redheart in. She was holding a folded up wheelchair under her right shoulder. "Hello. Maud, I need you to come with me." Nurse Redheart said as she trotted over to Maud's bedside and sat the wheelchair down beside her, unfolding it in the process. Maud responded with silence. "Maudline?" Nurse Redheart asked as she waved her right fore-hoof above Maud's eyes. Maud blinked and looked up at her. "Oh, sorry. What is it that you said?" Maud said. The nurse began to unhook her from all the tubes and machines. "I need you to come with me. We've got to check on the condition of your hoof today, remember?" Nurse Redheart said. "Yes. Let me just..." Maud trailed off as she leaned up and sat down the said of the bed, letting her hind-hooves fall off the bed. "Let me help you." Igneous said as he trotted over to Maud and prepared to catch her if she were to fall off the bed and wasn't able to catch herself with her hooves. Maud cautiously put her hind-hooves down on the ground and slid off the bed. Her hooves quivered for a moment and buckled. She would've fallen as well if Igneous and Nurse Redheart hadn't been there to catch them. "Okay. Help me put her in the wheelchair, sir." Nurse Redheart said. Igneous nodded and began to lift her up and put her into the chair. "Okay. I'm going to come with you." "That's fine, sir. Just follow me." Nurse Redheart said as she rolled Maud outside of the room. Igneous followed behind. Hopefully she'll be all right... I'm so worried. ================ Pinkamena looked towards the hospital. The guards surrounded her, making her near-impossible to see her unless they allowed the passing ponies to look, which they didn't. Can't believe this... I'm having to apologize to the ponies who made me this way. Just don't think about it and get it over with. Don't get yourself worked up. I'll try, but I can't make any promises. Pinkamena and the group reached the hospital entrance and stopped. "Could I go in alone on this one?" "Uh... I can't allow that." "This one is a bit more... personal. Besides, if I'd escape and get out of doing this, I won't get my wings. I'd be losing more than I would be gaining." Pinkamena reasoned. "I'm coming with you and waiting outside of the room." "Fine." Pinkamena said. Twilight pointed to her hooves. The guards, seemingly knowing what she meant by it, removed the chains binding her hooves. Pinkamena rolled her hooves for a moment before entering the hospital "Please wait out here for a while. I can stop her if she tries anything" Twilight said as she followed Pinkamena into the hospital. "Yes, your highness." The guards said almost simultaneously. "Thank you." Twilight said as she entered the hospital and hastily trotted towards Pinkamena. "-Yeah, I'm apart of the family. What room are they in?" Pinkamena said impatiently to the mare behind the desk. "Let's see... they're in room 18." The mare said behind the desk. Pinkamena nodded to her and trotted towards a hallway filled with doors to different rooms. "I'm with her. Thanks." Twilight said as she followed Pinkamena. It wasn't hard, because Pinkamena was trotting slowly, as if she doesn't want to do this(which she doesn't). "Why are you trying to get away from me?" Twilight said as she caught up to Pinkamena. "I'm angry... and I'm trying not to lose my composure." "Because you have to apologize to them?" "No. Because I'm having to apologize to the people who put me into this position in the first place. Didn't Pinkie tell you what those monsters did to me?" Pinkamena said as she looked away. "Yes, but you can't just stay mad at them forever. They're your parents and your sister." "Why shouldn't I? Must I remind you that they took away my wings in the first place?! They will never be my parents!" Pinkamena exclaimed. Twilight remained silent for a moment. "I'm sure they didn't enjoy doing it." "Oh yeah?! Then you're saying that it's fine for my family and my sister to chop off my wings, ruin my life as long as they feel bad?!" Pinkamena said as she turned towards Twilight and looked over at Twilight. "No, of course not! I'm not saying that it's okay! It was a terrible thing to do! But you have to understand that it'd be really hard for somepony to enjoy doing that to anypony unless they're as evil and cruel as Queen Chrysalis or King Sombra." Twilight said. Pinkamena stared at her directly in the eyes before turning away and trotting over to a door and looking up at a small, gold-colored plate with something engraved into it. 18 Pinkamena sighed. "Twilight, please. Don't make me do this..." Pinkamena said quietly, trying not to alert her family inside the room that she was there. "I... you need to forgive them and they need to forgive you. This needs to happen." Twilight said sympathetically. Pinkamena sighed, trying to calm her nerves. Her heart raced as she grabbed the door handle, but stopped. You can do this, Pinkamena. I... I wish I could say the same. Pinkamena pushed down on the door knob and opened the door, seeing her mother and two younger sisters, talking about something. "Hello dear. How's-" Cloudy stopped talking as she turned her head and saw exactly who she was talking to. Marble and Limestone looked over to Pinkamena, as if they had seen a ghost. "P-Pinkie..." Cloudy managed to force out. "Where've you been? Father said he had--" "You'd better stay away from them." Cloudy said, sitting up.. "I'm not here to hurt anypony, I just want to talk, okay?" "Fine... what do you want to speak with us about?" "Well, originally, I just wanted to pop in and apologize, but know, due to some unwanted advise, here I am for a while." "Okay... that still doesn't answer my question." Cloudy pointed out. Pinkamena sighed. "I want to talk about what happened." "Wait, what's there to talk about?" "What is there to talk about? You attacked us, we ended up in the hospital, and that's where we are right now." "I mean, what did it feel like? How did it feel?" "W-what is she--" "I... I don't think you have the right ask me for that." "Oh, but I think I do. Especially after what you all did to me." PInkamena said as she turned her face away from her mother. She wiped her mane outside of her face, revealing her tear filled eyes. Cloudy's face became visibly paler. "W... what are you talking about?" Cloudy asked, a bit scared. "Oh, don't try and play dumb! You know exactly what you, Maud, and father did to me that night when I was a filly!" Pinkamena said angry. Pinkamena, calm down! Buck off, Pinkie! This has nothing to do with you! "M-mother, what is she talking about?" Marble said, her voice trembling. "Nothing--" "Oh, they didn't tell you what they did to me?" Pinkamena said as she turned over to Marble and Limestone and began to trot towards them. You're taking this too far! "Pinkie, stop!" Cloudy said as she began to move over to the bedside. "They did something to me when I was a filly that so cruel, so evil to me that I can't even describe in words how hurt I was and still am!" Pinkamena said as she got closer to Marble and Limestone, causing Marble to become petrified. Limestone stood up and tried to match her sister's aggression "Pinkie, you just can't--" "I'm sorry you're having to find out this way, but you both deserve to know this!" Limestone faltered back down to the chair as Marble whimpered. Pinkamena! "Your mother, father, and Maud aren't as good as they seem. They cut off my-" Pinkamena stopped as Cloudy shoved herself between Pinkamena, Marble, and Limestone, blocking Pinkamena from doing anything to hurt Marble or Limestone. "Pinkie, stop this. Now!" Cloudy said with an angry glare across her face. Pinkamena shot the glare right back at her for a moment before sighing. "We'll talk about this later." Cloudy said as Pinkamena noticed that there was a stream of blood trailing down her right fore-hoof. "No, they deserve to know--?" Pinkamena noticed Marble's tear filled eyes. Her face and formed into a small grimace, and her eyes looked at Pinkamena with shock and fear. Even Limestone seemed a bit shook, almost frozen in place aside from an occasional tremble in her hooves. Pinkamena realized that she was scaring them. She backed away, guilty and ashamed of herself. "I apologize." Pinkamena said as she disengaged from her little tyrant. "I'm sorry for everything. I'll just go." Pinkamena said sadly as she trotted towards the exit and walked right out of the door, leaving it open. "I heard some of that stuff in there. Are you alright?" "No. Just don't talk to me. Let's just go back to Canterlot." Pinkamena said, trying to hide her sadness. ================ A Few Minutes After Pinkamena Left Marble Pie and Limestone Pie sat beside each other, having calmed down a bit after Pinkie's outburst. What was Pinkie talking about? Marble looked over to her mother's hospital bed, noting that the I.V tube was hanging to the side of the bed and that there was a line of blood trailing down her pillow and stopped at the middle of her bed. Drips of blood continued towards the chairs. Apparently, she had ripped it out of her vein when it seemed like Pinkie was going to attack them and had shoved herself in front of Pinkie. She now was sitting beside them, giving them both a protective hug, despite dripping blood. "It's all right, you two. She's gone. We'll talk about her later." Cloudy Quartz said as she continued to hug them, ignoring her bleeding hoof and her aching chest. She frankly didn't care about it at this point. All she cared about was Marble and Limestone's safety. "-Her hooves seem to be healing, so that means that she's most likely going to be out of here in about... three days." "Thank you, Nurse Red-?!" Igneous Rock stopped speaking as he entered the room and saw the slightly bloody bed and the drips of blood leading towards his wife and two youngest of his fillies. "What happened?!" Igneous asked as he rushed over to them. "Pinkie came here..." "She did this to you?" Maud asked, still in the wheelchair, which had now been sat at the foot of Cloudy's hospital bed. "N-no... she j-jumped up trying to save us an-and ripped out the IV." "What did she do?" Nurse Redheart asked as she trotted over to Cloudy and began to inspect where her hoof was bleeding. "She came in her and started yelling at us for whatever reason. I ripped out the IV and jumped in front of her to protect them, like Marble said." "All right. I'll be back in a moment to bandage that up." Nurse Redheart said as she exited the room. Silence ruled over the room. ================ Pinkamena and Twilight sat in the carriage, which had taken off about 15 minutes ago, giving them a long while before they'd be in Canterlot. Twilight and her had remained silent ever since the confrontation at the hospital. "So, how are you?" Twilight asked, trying to find something, anything to talk about. "Just peachy-keen." Pinkamena said sarcastically. "Yeah... I'm gonna guess that things didn't go too well?" "Not really. I nearly scared Marble and Limestone to death and mother's hoof was bleeding when I left." Pinkamena said as she rested her head on her hooves. "That's not good." "Yeah. I still apologized afterwords." Pinkamena said. A few moments of awkward silence pasted by. "How do you and Pinkie coincide in the same body?" Twilight asked curiously. "It's kinda like she's my opposite personality. She can take control anytime." Pinkamena's body stiffened, as her hair inflated and became as messy as ever. "Like now." Pinkie said. She giggled as she saw Twilight surprised face. "I'm still not used to that..." Twilight quietly noted. "Interesting. Can you two talk to each other? I'll have to study this after Princess Celestia separates you two, if you two don't mind." She said, probably taking a mental note. "Mhmm. We can even touch and talk to each other in person while she or I's dreaming." "So amazing..." Twilight opened her saddlebag and took out her notebook and quill. She rapidly wrote down notes. "When are we going to be back in Canterlot?" "In about... a half hour." "All right. I'll try to get some sleep before then." Pinkie said. She leaned back into her seat and shut her eyes, trying to block out of her surroundings and let her mind roam. I'm kinda proud of you, Pinkamena. Why? Because I apologized? I've said it before, I'll do anything to get them back. No, because you were sincere with Fluttershy. You even relented on telling Marble and Limestone when you could have told them. I wouldn't have done it like that in front of them. I've done some terrible stuff, but I'm not that much of a monster to attack somepony's mother in front of them. I'm glad. Thank goodness... They're the only people in this family that I actually trust enough to tell them something. The only ones who deserve my love and respect. ================ Half an Hour Later Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle stepped off of the carriage. The sun was setting as she and Twilight trotted down the drawbridge. "So... where do we go?" Pinkie asked, bit excited. "I guess we should check the throne room first." Twilight suggested. "Okay, then, let's go." Pinkie said as followed Twilight to the throne room. After a few minutes of passing through different hallways, they found the throne room. Thankfully, Princess Celestia was in there(unsurprisingly) sitting on her throne. Twilight and Pinkamena trotted into the vast throne room, passing by a few guards. "Ah, Twilight. Has our friend completed our task?" Princess Celestia asked kindly as she spotted the two. "She has. I think that she had some trouble doing it, but she definitely got it done." "Great. Give me a moment. Princess Luna must join us." Princess Celestia said as she whispered into the ear of a guard that was standing beside her throne. "Of course, your highness." The guard said as he trotted towards the exit to the throne room. After a few minutes of waiting went by, the guard returned with Princess Luna. She must have just woken up, because her crown was clumsily placed on her head, her mane was slightly messy, and she had bags under her eyes. "Sister, why hath thou awoken me early?" Princess Luna said she trotted up to her sister. "It's still day; the sun hasn't yet set." "You see Luna I need you to come with me and I'll explain it. Twilight, Pinkie, please followed." Princess Celestia said as she got up from the throne and trotted towards the exit with Luna, Pinkamena, and Twilight following her. After a few minutes of trotting from hall to hall, they arrived at Celestia's private room. Celestia opened the door and let everypony pass into the room. After everypony was inside the room, Celestia entered the room herself and shut the door behind them. "Will you please explain what is going on, sister?" "Of course. Excuse us for a moment, my little ponies." Princess Celestia said as she and Luna trotted in front of the fireplace. "You see, sister..." Princess Celestia said as she began to whisper, making her words nearly undecipherable. "Hm..." Luna mumbled as she acknowledged Celestia's. She continued to listen to Celestia words. After a full explanation had been made, she seemed to be having a hard time processing it. "Sister, are thou sure that this subject hath been telling the truth?" "Yes. I've seen her change in a matter of seconds and do and say things Pinkie Pie never would." Princess Celestia said. Luna looked at Pinkie with a sympathetic look. "I shall do this deed. What is it that thee need need me to do?" Princess Luna said quietly to Princess Celestia. "All I need you to do is help me separate them." "Let's do it, shall we?" Princess Luna said as she and Princess Celestia trotted back over to Pinkamena and Twilight. "Twilight, I want you to watch Pinkie when we begin this spell. If anything seems off about how she looks, warn us." Princess Celestia said. "Okay, princess. What exactly is off?" "I'd rather not say with her standing there..." Princess Celestia whispered. "Pinkamean, can you join us now?" Pinkie's body stiffened and her hair deflated. "Okay. I'm here." Pinkamena said, becoming nervous. "It's crucial that you stay as still as you can." "I want to warn you, it may hurt." "All right..." Pinkamena said, her nerves worsening by the minute. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna began to start the spell, loading the magic required to perform the spell into their horns. I'm not gonna lie... I'm very nervous... and a bit scared. It's all right. I am too. Hopefully it works out. I just hope this works out... "Okay Luna, do it now!" Princess Celestia said. Luna shot out a magical beam towards Pinkamena forehead. Twilight seemed to hesitate at this, but didn't act. ================ Pinkie began to fiddle with her hooves nervously, unable to remain calm. "I... I don't like this... I'm so nervous." Pinkie said. Suddenly, there was a jolt of pain in her head, as if somepony was hitting her with something. Something sharp. "Ah!" Pinkie said as she immediately grabbed her forehead. The pain began to spread from her forehead to her entire head. Then it spread from it's entire head to her entire body. "Stop!" Pinkie called as she felt the pain become even more immense and a burning feeling began to spread across her body along with the pain. Her body began to rise up from the ground, but Pinkie barely noticed due to the pain. ================ Pinkamena's clenched her eyes shut as she felt the burning pain from her head. She tried to as remain still as she could, but the burning sensation in her hooves made it difficult to keep her hooves firmly planted on the ground.. Princess Luna's beam of magic was still feeding into Pinkamena's forehead. A beam of magic exited Pinkie's forehead, at first black, but then it became a dark shade of pink, the same as Pinkamena's. The beam began to form slowly into a pony-- a pegasus, becoming a fully grown, tall pony. Princess Celestia put the tip of her horn against Luna's. "Okay, fire it beside Pinkie!" Princess Celestia said as she fed some of her magic into Luna. Princess Luna as she was told, pulling her horn away from Princess Celestia and firing at the floor beside Pinkie. The spell caused as thick cloud of smoke to fill the room. Princess Celestia fired a magical beam at Pinkamena's back, over her ribs. Pinkamena's pain suddenly moved over to her back, however, it stopped shortly after. She opened her eyes, finding nothing but smoke "W-wow... that's... amazing!" Pinkamena looked around the room, looking for Twilight. "Ow... that hurt... where the hay am I?" Pinkamena recognized the voice immediately and turned to her right and saw Pinkie. "What the... they did it?!" Pinkamena said. Pinkie swatted her right fore-hoof in front of her face, trying to blow away the smoke. Once the smoke had finally clear, Pinkie's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. "Why are you..." Pinkamena stopped as she began to fully realized the situation she was in. She looked back and saw something that she nor Pinkie could believe. There was a pair of wings on her back. And this time, they were real. ================