Hotaru, Hotaru

by Vanilla Hex

Prologue II--Laughter

PROLOGUE

Part Two

Laughter

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Pinkie Pie sat alone.

(Well, I'm not entirely alone.)

Her company was her own reflection. It was a grim presence that mocked her with cruel indifference. She sighed as she saw what she had become; the jovial party pony now wore distasteful bags beneath her spiritless cobalt eyes. Her mane was beyond frazzled--it had lost its buoyancy since it happened--and laid limp and straight upon her bowed head. "You knew," she mumbled with an incredulous flair. A lock of her mane fell over her eyes. She whipped her head sharply to uncover them.

Then, after that mild interruption, it was back to staring at herself.

She was broken. She was empty.

And she had known.

"You KNEW!!" Pinkie shrieked without notice, bashing her head into the glass. A cobweb of shards remained where Pinkies' head had vacated; the impact wasn't hard enough for them all to fall, although a few diminutive bits littered the floor at her hooves. Her breathing was jagged and heavy as she gazed at her now warped reflection. It gave the illusion that she had five pairs of despondent eyes.

She heard the shrill sound of laughter.

She numbly acknowledged that it was herself. It was a thunderous caterwaul of a laugh, the din reverberating off the walls.

"You--hahaha!!--you knew! I always knew you--always knew that I was stupid!" She shot up again, and didn't even brace herself for the next blow. Larger shards tumbled this time, leaving a blank space where a section of mirror used to be just moments before. Some had cut her face and forehooves as they descended, and she gave an anguished cry at the pain. (But you deserve it!) A wail erupted from her esophagus.

She now saw half her face, jaded from the fractured glass, gaze back at her. Blood mixed with tears, causing sanguine orange droplets to slither down her face and plummet onto the floor beneath her.

"Your knee was all pinchy, your body was shuddering and a twitch-a twitchin'! You knew a doozy was coming, so why didn't you stop it?! Why, why, why, WHY?! You could have saved her!"

The reflection, as fragmented as it was, revealed that Madame LeFlour was sitting behind her. Her burlap arms were flaccid, and although she had no eyes, Pinkie could tell she was staring. Judging, probably.

"What do you want?" sneered Pinkie, whirling around. She twitched, her mouth twisting into a barely possible angle before settling into a deep, unsettling grimace.

"I knew they were bad friends, but it is morally wrong to let a friend perish! You knew that something was wrong and you could have warned her! You could have saved her! You let her die!" Pinkie's accent became thick as she became the sacks' puppeteer, moving its 'arms' to accentuate its rant.

"But I didn't--"

"YOU KNEW! YOU KNEW! YOU KNEW! YOU--"

"SHUT UP!" Pinkie torpedoed into Madame LeFlour, landing one hard blow into her side. With blind rage, she slung the sack across the room and dived. Pinkie pinned her in place, sitting on her hackles atop her, and struck over and over again. In the heat of the fight, she bit the side of Madame LeFlour and tugged...

And watched as her friends' white, fluffy innards spilled out all over the hardwood floor.

Pinkie heaved in the aftermath, her pupils shriveling into paranoid pinpricks. "Oh no," she gasped, trying desperately to prod the flour back into its host. But it was far too late. Madame LeFlour was gone.

The flour stuck to her hooves, her blood acting as a macabre paste. She sobbed in the soft entrails of her fallen friend for what felt like hours before the room dimmed. She snapped back to reality at the sudden contrast in light.

Outside her window, framed by her billowing curtains--(oh Celestia the window was open oh no oh no they heard)--the moon had risen. Night had fallen.

There was time to grieve later. For now, it was time to wash up.

She had somewhere to be, however much she hurt. And the throbbing pain in her head could not compare to the pulsating guilt in her heart.

Author's Note:

I love writing in Pinkie's point of view, she's such an interesting character and I love her despite the fact her mood swings are crazy! Hope you enjoy!