> Pinkie Pie Vs The Narrator > by Odsin Ends > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Chapter One- It begins to get on her nerves. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was a bright and cheerful morning at sugar cube corner, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the residents of Ponyville were blissfully going about their daily routine. But a certain pink pony who liked to party was being uncharacteristically downtrodden. A feeling of dread filled her being, and it was as if there was some darkness weighing heavily on the element of laughter’s soul. Although her hair was not deflated, any could tell that the mare was saddened, for no discernible reason whatsoev- “Oh be quiet!” The pink mare shouted at nothing. Obviously the stress of running Sugarcube corner while the Cakes were out of town was getting to her. “Hey, I can take care of Sugarcube corner!” Pinkie Pie yelled to herself. “You..you big meanie Spudini!” Pinkie moved from the kitchen to the counter of Sugarcube Corner, but she tripped and fell flat on her face. “Owwww....you did that on purpose!” The poor, poor delusional creature said to nopony in particular. “And don't call me Delusional!” The pink mare grumbled to herself as she made it to the stores counter. She'd always seemed to find comfort working there, meeting ponies and enriching their days, but for some unfathomable reason, not today. Today, she felt a cold dull, ache in her soul that didn't seem to be going away, but still, she couldn't place why she felt this way. “Oh shut up,” Pinkie mumbled to nopony in particular. “And I know why I feel this way!” “Good morning pinkie dear! How are you?” A white mare with a flair for dramatic entered the desolate, empty shop, which was ironic, as that was the way the pink party mare felt. Pinkie Pie gave the ceiling a glare, once again showing just how unstable she was. “Yeah, yeah, keep it up,” Pinkie mumbled under her breath. But as soon as she saw Rarity, Pinkie Pie perked up. “Oh, hey Rarity! Here for your morning cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin?” “Quite darling,” Rarity said with a smile. “I have a big order due for a Manehatten show, but you know me, I need my morning caffeine to get anything done.” Pinkie Pie smiled at one of her best friends, doing her best not to think of how her entire existence was a superfluous one, where the highlight of her day seemed to be serving much more hardworking mares coffee and confections. Being such a hyperactive hardly able to focus party and pastry pony, it was only natural that she doubted her self worth so intensely. “HEY!” Pinkie pie shouted again in her delirium. “I'm proud of what I do! And you're just sore that you can't come to one of my parties!” Rarity took a step back from the raving mad pony, and even a mare so far gone as the pink wonder realized that she was alarming a close personal friend of hers. “Oh, now look what you made me do!” Pinkie said to nopony in paticular, her face turning white, then red. “Now she's gonna think I'm Loco in the coco!” “Pinkie dear, who are you talking to?” Rarity said with a furrowed brow. She'd come in for her morning cup of coffee, but seemed to be getting a little more than she bargained for. It was glaringly obvious that this poor pink mare was coming apart at the seems. “I'm talking to the narrator!” The pink Mare said glaring at the wooden ceiling as if it were alive. Rarity's face was contorted in confusion.“I'm sorry dear, I must have misheard you, did you say you were talking to....?” “The narrator! And he won't give me a straight answer!” The Pink mare puffed her cheeks up in a very childish, immature manner and stuck her tongue out at the ceiling. She really looked insufferable, and for some reason the thought that came into her mind was that she had probably gained some weight. “Well, at least I have a body that can gain weight!” Pinkie yelled at the ceiling, as she ignored completely one of her very best friends reacting to her mad behavior. As if she suddenly realized this, she looked to rarity with concern, and her ears lowered an appropriate amount. Rarity had on a very disingenuous smile as she backed away from the crazy cupcake confectioner. “Ok,” The pink mare mumbled to herself under her breath, as to not scare her diva of a friend any farther. “That one was actually clever,” “So, Pinkie, uh...who exactly is this, um, Narrator, did you say?” Rarity said keeping the edges of her face up. She looked around the room sheepishly, in a manner that even the party crazed pink pony could understand was to humor her. “Is, uh, is he in here with us?” “Oh you won't believe me.....no one would believe me.” Pinkie said as her hair deflated for the second time in one day. Then, more to herself than rarity, and definitely so quiet one could question if she even said it at all. “even I don't believe me...” It seemed that the element of laughter perhaps should have become the element of melancholy cliches. Pinkie couldn't help but think that perhaps she was failing completely at the one thing that defined her, that gave her purpose. She glared at the ceiling again, reenforcing that she should not be trusted with sharp objects or small children. But Rarity, if nothing else, was a good friend. Pinkie had always known this, but only now did she realize how true it was, as the marshmallow mare moved over and put her fore hoof on Pinkie's shoulder. “Pinkie, now you know that whatever it is you're going through, whatever it is that's happening to you, you know that you can talk to me about it, right?” The smile she wore was genuine, and sympathetic, not like the forced one she'd shown earlier, and pinkie felt that perhaps there was a chance that some pony might believe her after all. Pinkie nodded back to her and took a few deep breaths before she continued. Finally she filled her lungs to bursting and began. “He's this big dumb deep voice that just follows me around and just....talks about things! Like the sky, and the constant second guessing of myself, and he talks about the other ponies thoughts around me and the monologuing , oh the monologuing! A few days ago he started describing a trash barrel and all the different pieces of refuse inside of it! He's so mean and he's always there and he's always talking, never even stopping to breath! Even in my dreams, describing what I see, and hear, and taste, and touch, and he's been doing it all week and I really really realllly want him to stoooooopppp!!!” Pinkie said her hair standing on edge, her mouth frothing with foam, though she stopped after looking to Rarity. Rarity's face was one of concern, pity, and general uncomfortableness. “So, let me get the gist of this, you've been hearing this, uh...this voice for a week now? And you didn't tell anypony, and you have no idea why?” “Well,...” Pinkie pie said rubbing her hooves together like a little filly that had just been caught with her hoof in the cookie jar. “I...uh, didn't want to worry anypony, I thought it'd just, you know, go away, and I don't know why. I mean, I didn't do anything out of the ordinary or anything!” Rarity raised an eyebrow at her pink friend, obviously unconvinced of her innocence. Of course any pony who knew Pinkie Pie would know not to trust her. After all, the mare had a habit of staring angrily at ceilings, even though there wasn't anything there, very much like what she was doing at this moment. “.....” It seemed that for once in her life, the pink mare was silent, though it would most likely be short lived. After all, when the ponies of pony ville inevitably celebrated her silence, she would be forced to cheer in ecstasy at the idea of a party of any sort, ruining the whole event. “Dear,” Rarity said, interrupting Pinkie's attempt to bore a hole into the ceiling using nothing but her eyes. “Now, correct me if I'm wrong here, but I get the feeling that you are not being entirely truthful with me.” Pinkie Pie looked to the ground uncomfortably. It was true that she was hiding something, she'd been hiding something since long before the day she'd met her friends. Hiding the truth of what she was, of her true capabilities. If they even knew half of what she knew, she was afraid that they wouldn't be able to handle it, Twilight especially. Pinkie was much more intelligent than she let on, while that certainly had to be the case, her intelligence had never done much but depress her. Of course deep down, most things probably just depressed her, that was probably why she acted- “La La La I'm not listening! I'm not Listening! La La La La!” The Pink pony fell to the floor and covered her ears to block the nonexistent voice she seemed to be hearing. Celestia knows what Rarity was thinking of her actions. “LA LA LA LA!” “PINKIE!” Rarity shouted over the party pony's loud shrill voice. Pinkie Pie stopped moving erratically and began to breath normally. “I, I think that maybe we should go and see Twilight, you know...if you really are hearing these voices,” “Voice! Just, just a single voice,” Pinkie corrected Rarity, as if hearing less voices made her less insane. “And I'm not insane!” “I never called you insane!” Rarity spoke with a mortified tone, implying that she hadn't even thought it. She had though, but she would never say it. “Not you,...” Pinkie said all the while grinding her teeth in a manner that probably wasn't good for her already cavity ridden teeth. She pointed her hoof up to the ceiling, and hissed with vehemence. “him.” Pinkie's eyes then went wide with horror, realizing what Rarity had suggested. “Oh , no no no, We can't go see Twilight! Any pony but Twilight! We just can't! She won't understand, she'll try to study it, or she'll throw me in the clink! Or she'll write to Luna and get her to go inside my head, or, or, or-!” “Oh come now, Twilight wouldn't do that, she's our friend, isn't she?” Rarity said nonplussed, grabbing Pinkie by the hoof. “Now, let's just go see her, and things will be right as rain in under a Manehatten minute!” It would be a short walk to Twilight's house from the bakery, and finding no fault in Rarity's logic, The Pink mare decided to go with her. “No I didn't!” Pinkie and Rarity headed off together towards Twilight's library home, some of the earlier tension relieved. After all, they were all friends, weren't they? Twilight wouldn't do anything against her wishes, would she? “Don't you dare do a scene transiti-” _________________________________________________________________________________________ “Here we are!” Rarity said as they walked into the Golden Oaks library. “I'm sure that Twilight will know what to-” “HORSEAPPLES!” > Chapter Two- More ponies become involved. > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- “....Pinkie? Are you alright?” Rarity said with concern. Her poor delusional friend seemed to be losing it. “I'm FINE!” Pinkie yelled back. Rarity winched, and shrunk back, and Pinkie noticed immediately, her face and tone softening. “Oh, I'm sorry Rarity, I'm just a little bit stressed out. I mean, aren't you freaked out by how we got here?” “....Pinkie, we walked.” Rarity said with a raised eyebrow. “I mean, sure you were a little quieter than normal, but surely you remember walking with me, don't you?” Pinkie's mouth was so far open that she might catch flies. Of course she had lots of practice opening her mouth wide, what with her- “HEY! Don't you dare!” …..constant need to stuff her face with cakes the size of her stomach. “....ok, that's better I guess,” She grumbled, then she turned to a very confused Rarity. “ But Rarity, I didn't walk here with you. We were standing in sugar cube corner, and then there was a-” Pinkie Pie stopped in mid sentence, thinking about how this would sound to her friend. Rarity quite probably wouldn't believe her, even if she wasn't currently questioning the pink mare's sanity. Pinkie, twice in one day, miracle of miracles, decided that speaking wasn't the prudent thing to do. “Never mind.” Pinkie seethed through gritted teeth, her eyes once again looking up to the ceiling. Rarity was concerned, but she knew by now that Pinkie was in need of help, and Twilight was just the mare for the job. “..Ok dear, why don't you just have a seat over there at the table, and try to relax? I'll go get Twilight.” Rarity said with a cautious smile. “Oh Twilight?” At the sound of Rarity's voice, there was the sound of quick feet on the stairs, and down came a young energetic purple Dragon. Pinkie could have sworn that she saw hearts in his eyes as he ran up to answer her call. “Oh, Rarity, I didn't know it was you,” Spike said running his clawed hand through his spines backwards in a flirtatious manner. Pinkie managed to hid her snicker barely. Rarity, however, seemed to be happy with the attention. “Oh, my little Spikey Wikey, you know that it's always the highlight of my day to see you,” Rarity said with a smile. The young dragon's face perked up even more than usual. Pinkie's sniker also increased, but was still within acceptable levels. “But right now dear I do need to see Twilight, it's dreadfully urgent. So if you could be a dear and fetch her, That would be fantastic.” Spike hardly was able to contain his excitement. Pinkie could've sworn that he was floating when he zoomed off to go after Twilight. Rarity smiled politely with her head turned, she was quite fond of spike, well as fond as any of the ponies could be of a dragon. “Hey, just what are you implying?” Pinkie mumbled to herself. “What was that dear?” Rarity said turning back to Pinkie. “Nothing, nothing,” Pinkie said with a strained smile. “Just talking to myself.” Finally, Pinkie had decided to be honest to herself and admit that there really was no voice, that it was all in her head. Or, perhaps not, considering her glare at the ceiling. But as her frustration over her current situation passed, her thoughts turned back to Spike. Pinkie had always found his crush on Rarity a little bit charming, but also a little bit unnerving. After all, he was still a baby, and not mature enough to be in a relationship. Sure, Rarity hadn't pursued it, but she still hadn't sat down and explained to him that it was never going to happen. It wasn't really her place to meddle or interfere, but still, It made her feel a bit skevy. “Ok,” Pinkie mumbled under her breath. “I'll admit that that's mostly true,” That, and Spike was a dragon. “What!” Pinkie yelled at the top of her lungs. Rarity turned to look at her, with a raised eyebrow. Pinkie smiled sheepishly, but when Rarity turned back around, Pinkie's eyes lowered along with her voice, and then she whispered. “What?” Yes, spike was a dragon. So far as Pinkie was concerned, though she never brought it up, that was just a little bit weird. Dragons were different than ponies, after all. They were scaly instead of covered in fur. They ate Gemstones instead of vegetables, and all the dragons that they'd met beside spike had been giant bullies. “I don't know what you're talking about, Spikes a great little guy!” Pinkie whispered again to herself, trying to assuage her feelings of guilt. Sure he was fine enough as a child, but what about when he grew up? What about when instead of living in the library, he was the size of it? And what about when he succumbed to his greed? He had before, and her friends had been in danger. Sure, they'd all forgiven Spike, but still. It was hard to trust someone who could go giant monster just because he decides that he wants two cupcakes instead of one. “No no no no!”Pinkie whispered fervently. “I don't care what you say, Spike is a nice, cool, sweet, innocent little dragon! He would never do something like that on purpose!” While Pinkie did sincerely believe what she said, it was still hard to dismiss the thoughts that she was having. If Spike had put her friends in danger once before, maybe he would again? And what about the Wonderbolts? They'd been injured, and Spike had caused it. If Spike could Harm somepony, even accidentally, well, maybe there was a reason that Ponies and Dragons didn't typically live in the same towns. Maybe he really wasn't meant to be her friend. “Stop it Stop IT STOP IT!” Pinkie Yelled at the top of her lungs, She leaped out of her chair, and pointed one of her front hooves at the ceiling. “Who're you to tell me how I feel anyway, huh? Why can't you just go away!” “Pinkie?” Pinkie Pie's neck hairs stood up as she looked over at Princess Twilight Sparkle, whose mouth was agape. Spike stood behind the newly alicorned princess, and Rarity was smiling weakly. Pinkie was mortified. “Oh hey Twilight, I'm sorry, I was just having an argument with mister meanie mcNarrator,” Pinkie said with a smile meant to hid how vulnerable she was feeling. “Right, the narrator,” Twilight said with a raised eyebrow. “Look Pinkie, Rarity has explained the situation to me the best I can, and I really want to help, but I need you to trust me ok?” Pinkie pie had always trusted Twilight, and her recent transformation into a princess had done nothing to change that. “Well, thank you! At least you got that right.” Pinkie grumbled under her breath. Though she was a bit envious of Twilight's new sta- “Ok, we're not going there,” Pinkie humphed loudly and walked over to Twilight. “Yeah Twilight, I trust you completely.” “Excellent! Well, I think I have everything I need right downstairs in my lab. There's just one more thing that I need you to promise me Pinkie.” Twilight said with a smile. “I need you to make sure that you tell me the truth, ok? I can't help if you aren't honest with me.” “Okie Dokie Lo-” Pinkie Pie stopped mid-sentence. Truth? Twilight wouldn't like the truth. She might be able to help, but she just would not understand what Pinkie had been through, what Pinkie knew. Deep inside she decided, she wouldn't tell Twili- “Okie Dokie Loki!” Pinkie said Defiantly to the Ceiling, glaring all the while. “Uh...Good, alright then. Let's head down to the basement, shall we?” Twilight said nervously smiling. Pinkie nodded fiercely, as if she had a mission, not noticing the look on Twilight's face that suggested she thought Pinkie had lost it, probably because she was currently trying to win the national ceiling glaring championship. “Well,.... alright, Glad you're in agreement.” Twilight said with a nervous chuckle. She moved to open the basement door to the library. Pinkie passed her, but stopped at the little youthful dragon who was watching with curious and confused eyes. Pinkie's eyes teared up a little bit, then grabbed him into a big bone crushing hug. “Gah!” Spike said as he turned blue. “Need...A-air!” “Oh, sorry Spike!” Pinkie said as she leg go of her death grip, she looked at him with a slightly sad smile. “I-I just want you to know that we're friends, okay?” “...uh, okay Pinkie,” Spike said, not sure if he was having a moment, or if he should be worried for his life. “I know we're friends.” “Good!” Pinkie said cheerfully, then she bounced down the stairs to the basement. The other three in the room looked at each other concerned. Twilight gave Rarity a look that clearly asked what that was about. Rarity shook her head, answering that she had no Idea. Spike just looked at one of them, then the other, dumbfounded. “....what the hay was that about?” Spike said rubbing the back of his neck. > Chapter Three- " ...." > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pinkie pie bounced down the stairs with wild abandon, and soon found herself in twilight's laboratory. Quite a bit had changed since last Pinkie had been here, having her Pinkie sense questioned. The results had been inconclusive, and the thought that Twilight had found nothing before seemed to fill Pinkie with doubts that anything more would come of these tests. “Not true!!!....entirely....” Pinkie shouted at the ceiling. Her friends had waited a few moments before descending after her. Twilight was getting out that device Pinkie had seen her use before to measure her Pinkie Sense, and was hooking sinister looking wires through it, and into a separate machine that made the sound of a bellowing monster. Pinkie did her best to not look nervous, both at being tested and finding out that there was really nothing mystically wrong with her. “Twilight will find something! And then it's hasta lasagna, you big meanie!” Pinkie said defiantly to the ceiling. It wasn't unusual that all she could think about was food, after all it had probably been five whole minutes since she last ate, possibly a new record. Pinkie just shook her head and began to grumble. “Alright Pinkie,” Twilight was speaking while working on the machine, dressing herself in a lab coat and goggles, and taking notes. Pinkie didn't know whether to be impressed, or slightly offended that Twilight was taking this so leisurely. “I'm going to hook these sensors up to you, and then I'm going to ask you some questions, OK?” “Okie Dokie Loki!” Pinkie was smiling. A little bit of hope had returned to her, however small it may be, that the voice she continued to hear would be gone. She still wasn't able to comprehend that the voice wasn't some outside entity, not some mystical ailment. The voice was just Pinkie Pie's inner thoughts, just her sanity slowly slipping away. “Alright, now, before we begin with the tests, there are some preliminary questions I'd like to ask you, if that's OK.” Pinkie nodded in recognition, and Twilight continued. “Alright, well, Rarity told me that you started hearing this....voice, about a week ago, is that right? Can you remember what happened right before you started hearing it? Do you have any Idea what caused it?” Pinkie didn't like the way that Twilight had said voice, it sounded a bit to much like an accusation. Pinkie was still feeling a bit on the nervous side, she really didn't want to tell Twilight about her secrets. She looked sheepishly down to her hooves before she replied. “....Twilight,” Pinkie said Tentatively. “are you sure that you need to know?” “...Yes, Pinkie,” Twilight said slowly with a raised eyebrow. “If we're to find a way to stop these voices-,” “Voice, there's only one,” Pinkie mumbled under her breath, “ -then we're going to need to know what caused them in the first place.” Pinkie was visibly uncomfortable with the whole event, and her friends picked up on it almost immediately. Eventually, however, she nodded, and her resolve hardened. After all these were her friends. If anypony would believe her, they would,....though that was the problem. Would anypony believe her? “...Ok,” Pinkie said, staring once again defiantly at the wooden ceiling. One would think this mare would live in a house without ceilings considering how much she seemed to hate them. “I'll tell you, but, well.....I'm gonna need you to just keep an open mind, ok?” Twilight's eyebrow reached new heights, and she looked to Rarity for support. Rarity shook her head and shrugged, unsure herself what to think. “Alright, I promise.” “Alright,” Pinkie sighed with some relief. “OK,...So, you know how I sometimes inexplicably seem to find things that we need faster then I should be able to, and go places that I have no business reasonably being able to go to?” Twilight nodded cautiously, then her eyes lite up in realization. This was one of the mysteries that she'd been trying to figure out since the day she came to Ponyville, and Pinkie had always bee acting ignorant of the real reason. But here she was, willing to tell her secret. Twilight's look changed from concerned to hungry for the knowledg- “WELL,” Pinkie Said Loudly, trying to drown out the voice that only she could hear. “I, sort of....cheat, a little bit.” “You...cheat?” Twilight's head tilted in confusion. “What do you mean you,...cheat? How do you cheat exactly?” “I'm getting to that!” Pinkie waved her hoof, telling Twilight to calm down. “Well, firstly, you need to realize that I'm not exactly sure how I do it personally, but I know that it's connected to my pinkie sense. Whenever I get a twitch or an itch that tells me that somepony needs me, I just sort of,...go there. I...I take a shortcut.” “What do you mean you take a shortcut?” Twilight said coming as close as she could to the pink mare. Their muzzles were almost touching, and it was making Pinkie a little uncomfortable. Not being close to somepony, she was fine with that. It was the look that Twilight was giving her, the look of a mad mare on a mission. “Look, maybe it'll be better If I demonstrate,” Pinkie said taking a cautious step away from her intellectual friend. Pinkie Pointed behind Twilight, whose gaze was unwavering. “Just, could you hand me that book over there behind you Twi?” Twilight reached behind her while keeping her gaze on Pinkie Pie, but realized that she couldn't get the book. “Here ya go Twilight!” A voice said from behind her. Twilight turned, and took her gaze off of Pinkie Pie for half a second, to get the book from Pinkie Pie to hand it to Pinkie Pie. “Thanks Twilight,” Pinkie said with a smile. “No problem Pinkie, now when are you going to show me....”Twilight stopped in mid sentence and her mouth opened up in apprehension. She looked back behind her, then to Rarity whose eyes were wide as Twilight's then back to Pinkie. “How...how....just how!?!” Twilight said with wide eyes. It didn't help that Pinkie was smiling like a deviant. “I just told you, I'm not entirely sure, but,....I'm taking a shortcut.” Pinkie said, as if she found some of the right words. “I'm able to do things when they're funny, for instance.” “When it's funny?” Twilight said incredulously. “What do you mean, when its funny?” “Just like I said,” Pinke said with a shrug. “I don't know why, but hey, it seems to work out that way.” “Ok, well, how are you doing it? What are you doing? Where do you go to travel?” “Well, It's hard to explain, but I'll try,” Pinkie said as she began to tug on her own mane in nervousness. “Ok, so it's like to each and every pony can see in three dimensions right?” Twilight nodded, and Pinkie Continued. “Well, it's like there's a secret fourth type of dimension, but to most ponies it's less like a dimension and more like a, limitation. It keeps you from just moving foreward. I don't know what I'd call it, but Most ponies can't even see it, it's like a.. barrier, a border...a...” “A wall?” Twilight suggested. “No, that's not it.” Pinkie waved her away and kept thinking. “Oh I know, it's like a wall!” Twilight raised her eyebrow. “But that was-” “Yeah, it's like most ponies don't even notice that there's this fourth wall holding them back, and it holds me back to. But sometimes, when it's funny, or when I try, I can sort of, sort of..... break the fourth wall!” Pinkie said with a smile as she dramatically stood on only her back hooves. Unfortunately for her, she didn't seem to notice that the book she'd asked for was under hoof, and she fell down onto the table in front of her, smashing her head against a book. “Pinkie!” Twilight said with concern. Pinkie raised her hoof at Twilight. “It's alright, Twilight,” Pinkie said with a groan, as she glared back at the ceiling. “He just Get's super angry when I do that..” “Wait,...are you implying that this,....this voice, can actually hurt you?” Twilight said helping Pinkie to her hooves. “Well, Not a lot, at least I think not a lot,” Pinkie said. “He doesn't like, constantly do it or anything, but sometimes, especially right after I break the fourth wall, he does stuff like that, you know, to try and get back at me maybe?” “Pinkie, I don't know,” Twilight said backing away and sitting down. “What you're saying is....well....” “Harder to swallow then a maple syrup and gummy-bear milkshake?” “Well, yeah, no offense. But still,” Twilight bite her bottom lip. Pinkie had displayed some extraordinary abilities just now, and her story wasn't completely without merit. “Ok, you might be onto something.” Pinkie's face brightened to a point where Celestia's own sun would have paled in comparison. “But let's hold off on theories until we've run some tests, ok?” Pinkie nodded enthuisiastically. “Alright, I'm going to put these sensors on you, and then I want you to tell me when the voice starts talking and exactly what the voice is saying, ok Pinkie?” “Okie Dokie Twi!” Pinkie said giving the purple princess pony a salute. Twilight sighed and attached the helmet and other deviced to Pinkie Pie. Then She went over to her machine, flipped a few switches and began to wait as the hum of electricity filled the machine. “....” “....” “...” “...” “....uh pinkie?” “Yeah Twilight?” “Anytime you're ready,” “Okay!” “....” “...” “...” “...” “...” “I said, anytime you're ready Pinkie,” “Okay Twi, I know!” “....” “.....” “....” “.....” “Pinkie! We've been sitting here for two hours, what's the matter!?” “Well he's not saying anything!” “....are you joking?” “No, he's just gone completely silent the moment you turned on the machine!” “What, are you sure?” “Yeah, like, the one time I want him to be talking my ear off and he's just gone completely silent!” “Oh Geez,” “I know right?” “Well, let's keep going for a while longer, then we'll stop and...and try something else.” “Ok, you're the boss miss science lady!” “...” “...” “...” “...” “Okay, I think that that's enough of that,” Twilight said powering down the machine. It had been hours since the two had started trying to over explain the simple case of insanity that- “Twilight he's talking again! Flip it back on, flip it back on!” “....Well? Is it working?” “Patooie,” “I'll take that as a no then.” > Chapter Four- Pinkie hides her problems > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pinkie Morosely found herself mourning the failure of her current plan to get rid of the voices in her head. “Oh, now you talk!? Why not before? Why did you go silent on me? Why in the heck did you-” Pinkie's voice was normally the most prominent thing in the room, but as she sat here I the basement of the tree, waiting for Twilight to return, the vent that her chair was next to began to exude volume. Voices from the kitchen could be heard. Not all of the conversation, mind you, but enough of it. “-no clue how to even explain it.” “But dear, it's Pinkie, we can surely trust Pinkie, Right?” “ It's not a matter of trust! There's no magical or scientific explanation that I can find for her hearing those voices!” “Voice dear, it was only one.” “Whatever! Look, I just....I don't think that I'm able to give her the help that she needs. Maybe If I write the the princesses, I can get some specialists.” Pinkie froze at the word specialists. Was Twilight trying to send her to some institution? Was Twilight trying to get rid of her? Pinkie had known for quite some time that ponies who were considered....different, for lack of a better term, were dealt with. Harmony was incredibly important to pony society on the whole, and anypony that expressed disinterest or even antisocial behavior was considered an oddity that needed to be fixed. Pinkie Pie didn't want to be fixed. “Twilight wouldn't do that to me!....a-and besides, I'm the element of laughter! Princess Celestia wouldn't let anything happen that could cause me to not be, uh, element of laughtery!” Pinkie Said pointing her hoof accusingly at the ceiling, as if that justified her opinion. However, then Pinkie thought about the it longer. Princess Celestia had banished her own sister to the moon for a thousand years because she had presented a threat to harmony. Pinkie didn’t' even have the luxury of being related to the princess. In Pinkie's mind, she'd already shown Twilight that she had unexplained powers, and that she was hearing a voice. In Pinkie's mind, that was already enough to constitute a threat. “No no no!” Pinkie said with a look of worry. “Twilight wouldn't do that to me! .......would she?” Pinkie couldn't stop thinking about the institution she might soon be sent to, but at the same time she wanted to to believe that things were going to be okay, that if she was just honest with Twilight. “Yeah! I'll just be honest, and,...and things will go okay!” Pinkie said blowing a raspberry to nopony in particular. “-just don't tell her okay,” Twilight's voice echoed inside the vent. “I just don't want her to see it coming.” Pinkie froze, and the color drained from her normally pink face. “Hey Pinkie, I'm ready to begin the next round of tests, if that's okay with you,” Twilight Sparkle said as she descended the stairs. Pinkie however was looking up at Twilight with a big, albeit fake, smile, but Twilight didn't seem to notice that she was faking it. “Oh, thank you thank you Twilight!” Pinkie said bouncing up and down. “I don't know what it was you did, but you did it! And now the voice is gone!” “What...?” Twilight said bewildered. Pinkie was smiling and jumping up and down, as excited as a toddler on a sugar high, and just as immature. Twilight also failed to notice Pinkie's eye twitch. “But Pinkie, I didn't do anything to stop the voice...” Twilight said looking through her notes with abandon. “Well yeah, silly, but what about when you put the helmet on me the voice stopped, and so I just kept it on for a while, and then nothing! I'm not hearing it anymore!” Pinkie said with a chuckle. Twilight looked at Pinkie with a raised eyebrow, which is to say that she wasn't entirely sold on the idea. “Pinkie,....I'd at least feel better if you let me finish my tests,” Twilight began, but then she was immediately interrupted by Pinkie Pie. “Oh no Twilight, not now. I'm just, I'm to tired. I haven't had any sleep forever, and I need to get some shut eye yesterday.” Pinkie said with a weak smile. Twilight was about to say something, probably along the lines of Pinkie Pie should stay there and finish up the tests just to be sure, but she looked over and saw the dark rings under Pinkie's eyes. Certainly Pinkie wasn't selling the enthusiasm of finally being cured, but Twilight could overlook it for now. After all her friend needed her, and she truly did care for Pinkie Pie's well being, Twilight owed her more than she'd ever admit. Out of all her friends, Pinkie had done the most to get her to come out of her bookish shell, not to say that she didn't value all her friends equally, just that Pinkie seemed to be the one who always eased other's burdens, and now Twilight had a chance to ease hers. “Aw, thanks Twi!” “...Thanks for what?” Twilight said with a raised eyebrow. “F-for helping me get rid of the voice silly!” Pinkie Pie said nervously. “ “Ok Pinkie,” Twilight said cautiously. “I think I can let you go home now if you promise to take it easy for a few days, and come right back if you start to hear the voice again. But you have to promise me, okay?” “Okie Doki loki!” Pinkie said with a plastered on smile. Twilight should have thought to ask for a Pinkie Promise, instead of a promise from Pinkie. But as it was, Twilight was getting lied to. It must have been all that trust that Twilight had I her friends coming back to bite her. “ANYWAY,” Pinkie half yelled through gritted teeth. “I'm gonna go home now, okay?” “....Okay?” Twilight said incredulously, eyebrow raised. Pinkie didn't respond, she just jumped from the basement and out the front of the library. She was, for some inexplicable reason, not in the mood to talk. On her way out, she passed Rarity sitting down next to Spike, Rarity had red eyes, as if she'd been crying, and it looked as if Spike was trying to comfort her. Pinkie could only think that Rarity was reacting to the information that Pinkie was going to be sent to some sort of asylum. Pinkie for some reason increased her pace, as if there was a small voice in the back of her mind egging her on, though it was hard to do, what with how heavy her hooves felt. Pinkie scowled and looked up at the sky, squinting a glare through the sunlight, and possibly blaming all of her troubles on Celestia's Sun. After briefly considering whether or not Celestia could actually be considered the owner of the sun in the sky, Pinkie's pace once again quickened. She did not stop to talk to Lyra, who was looking slightly down, she did not stop to say hello to Bon Bon, even though Bon Bon had offered her some special sweets. Pinkie Ignored the towns-ponies, and instead went to her room in sugar cube corner. She slugged through the door, and locked the door, keeping the closed sign closed. The cakes might be angry, but it seemed that her own problems were far more important right now than those of the rest of the world. She looked to the sides of her room, then out to the street, and pulled the curtains shut. She locked the doors after checking the outside to see if anyone was there to. Pinkie seemed overly worried about whether someone would hear the ramblings of a madmare- “OK! That's enough!” Pinkie screamed at- “No, NO! You don't get to do that right now!” Pinkie said with a scowl. “WHY are you treating me like this!” Pinkie couldn't help but be amazed at her own madness. It seemed to be controlling the world. It seemed to be controlling her mind. Of course madness did that a lot. Dibble was a word that came to her mind, as well as Gibble, Dalwok and Muddiepuddy. Though they were funny words, the fact that the words came into her mind over and over again seemed like an inconvenience. “No, you stop right there you Gibble!” Pinkie Gasped and grabbed her mouth. “I mean, you... you Dalwok Muddiepup- I mean,...I...I...” Pinkie stopped after a few seconds and her hair slumped. She hadn't been getting much sleep these past few days. She'd grown grouchy, and distant. She'd stopped putting the happiness of others first because she was afraid of having an outburst when talking to ponies. “Well, whose fault is that?!” Also, she was afraid that the she might reveal something about herself. “NO JUST YOU! Just....just you! I don't want people to know about you!” Pinkie sighed and looked downtroddenly at her hooves. “I just really need some sleep....can't you do that? Can't you give me one night of sleep!? Just....can't we call a truce for one night? Can't you let me get some sleep!” _________________________________________________________________________________________________ Pinkie awoke with a sharp intake of breath, her body well rested for the first time in a week. She decided- “THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT!” Pinkie shouted at the ceiling, being jittery and distraught despite the full night of sleep that she'd just had. “You can't just jump cut to the next morning without letting me have any...any dreams you...you DIBBLE! DIBBLE DIBBLE!” Pinkie breathed heavily, froth coming from her mouth, and eyes glaring at the ceiling. After a few seconds, she calmed down, her straight her puffing back out with a little less than enthusiasm then normal. She walked down the stairs to sugar cube corner, and began to get set up for the day. She'd slept in a little bit and the shop was a little late in opening. That being said, it wasn't as if there was a large line out there waiting for the shop to be opened up. It seemed that the ponies just didn't want to see the Pink mare today, probably because she was so annoying. …..Pinkie continued preparing the confections in silence, as uncharacteristic as that was for her. She moved her large, fat plot over to the counter and began to eat her large fat breakfast, as appropriate as that was. ….Pinkie continued eating, a look of solace on her face. As she sat there, trying in vain to ignore the voice in her head, she decided to read her mail. She had obtained letters from the other elements of harmony, each telling her some exciting news. Fluttershy was negotiating a peace treaty between the manticores and the local rabbits, to stop the manticores from eating them. It was a very delicate matter with a hundred things that could go wrong. Rainbow Dash was putting on a private show for the wonderbolts as a sort of audition. If things went well, she might become a full fledged member. Rarity had a fashion designer coming all the way from Canterlot, someone who was going to sell her line all across of Equestria. AppleJack was transporting a large shipment of apple pies for a festival in Manehatten, it was one of the biggest orders ever and could put Sweet apple acres on the map. The most surprising bit of information however was from Twilight Sparkle. Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence had all come to Ponyville to meet some very important delegates from both the Griffin and Zebrican Kingdoms, in an attempt to negotiate some sort of trade agreement. Ponyville had been chosen because it wasn't closer to the border of either kingdom, and as such it was a truly neutral location. . Pinkie was distraught at the thought of choosing between which of these events she wanted to go to, as she'd never made a decision in her life if she could help it. Being scatterbrained was just a disability that she'd have to live with. “It's not going to work, you won't get a rise out of me.” Pinkie said calmly to no one in particular, her madness becoming quite apparent. “I'm done with you.” …..It was quite odd that such high profile events were happening at the same time, but they all seemed much more interesting than whatever pinkie was doing. “Yeah, leave me alone for a while.” Pinkie said as calmly as possible while she went to preheat the oven. Such high profile events, it seemed like anything could go wrong with them. “Wait, what? NO! Get back he-!”