Pinkie Pie has snapped. Now she must rediscover who she is.
Beginning in a psychiatric facility, the pink earth pony falls victim to faulty doctoring and her mental health deteriorates. This story is based on "Cupcakes," only in this universe, it never happened. It was all in Pinkie's mind. Now she's back in reality and her friends try desperately to help her recover. However, through this, her relationships with the rest of the mane six are altered for good. Now she must rediscover who she is and who her friends really are.
Her blue eyes opened slightly. A woman with a nurse hat and a tight bun on her head was holding a clipboard and looking at her. She groaned and opened her eyes more, strands of straight pink hair falling over her face as she lifted her head. Voices were swimming in her mind. “Nurse?” She asked. “Nurse Redheart? Is that you?” Of course it isn’t! She’s not real. Ponies are fiends. Fiends! Too many voices were rambling inside her head. It’s not time to sleep; you have to wake up. This isn’t a dream; you killed your friends. “Where’s the Doctor?”
“Doctor Ratchet will be in shortly. Would you like some more orange juice?” The nurse held out a juice box for her.
This is what happens- you kill your friends- they don’t want you anymore- you and your stupid parties! Who needs them?! Kill them all. “Nurse, my… friends don’t like my parties….”
“I’m sure they do, sweetie,” the nurse busied herself, looking away from her and fixing the sheets.
“They… don’t want to be my friends anymore.” She looked down blankly at her knees, curling them up to her chin. Her hair cascaded down the sheets on her legs, covering her face. Listen- Pinkie- Listen- Shhh- You hear that? It’s insanity- It’s in the walls. Crack… crack… You’re cracked! The walls, Pinkie.
She got out of bed. The nurse tried to keep her in bed. She just pushed her way past the nurse and headed out the door, placing her hand on the wall as she continued slowly down the hall. The nurse kept a safe distance behind her. “Diane-“
“Pinkamina….”
“All right, Dia-“
“Pinkamina. Pinkamina Diane Pie. Pinkamina.”
“Honey, the doctor will be coming to your room soon, please come back with me?”
“Doctor Whooves?”
“No, Doctor Ratchet.”
“There is no Doctor Ratchet, Nurse Redheart. Only Whooves.”
The walls! Listen, Pinkie! Stop wasting time! The walls! The walls!
Suddenly, a young man with tousled brown hair and lab coat, carrying a clipboard, met up with the two women in the hall. “Well, now, Miss Diane! How are you?”
“Shh….” She placed her head against the wall, “The walls are cracked.”
Seeing that this may be her only chance for getting the girl to speak with the doctor, the nurse tried to speak to her. “Um, Pinkamena? Would you like to tell Doctor, um, Whooves here what you told me?”
“My friends don’t like my parties and they don’t want to be my friends anymore.” She glanced blankly at the doctor, eyes looking in seemingly different directions. The doctor nodded solemnly and pulled the nurse to the side. They talked in hushed voices. Soon, a consensus was apparently reached, for the nurse and doctor looked back at her in tandem, and the nurse led her into her own room, all white and soft and fool-proof.
You know what they’re saying, Pinkamina? We know what they’re saying. She looked over at the white wall, which now had a cupcake, with arms and legs, standing on it, shaking itself at her in disapproval. It had eyes and the top of the pastry came off of the little wrapper on its body like a mouth as it spoke. They think you’re delusional. You imagine you’re a pony? Ha! What lies! Look at your hands! Yes, hands. You have hands, Pinkamena. She contemplated these words and looked confoundedly at the fingers that wiggled before her blue eyes, as though she were controlling them. Those ponies? Your “friends?” Ha! You don’t have friends, foolish girl! Delusional, that’s what you are.
“I’m delusional, you’re right, talking cupcake,” she nodded and stared blankly at the ceiling. “And no one can save me from my delusions…. Cupcake? Are you Rainbow Dash flavor?”
“Pinkamina?” The voice came from the door. The nurse was back, with food.
“Diane,” she said, not bothering to turn around to face the woman. She could feel the nurse relax slightly. The tray of food softly fell onto the floor, where the nurse usually placed it.
“Your dinner is ready, Miss Diane.” She could hear the smile in her voice. They had done it. They had broken her. It had taken too long- over a month!- but she finally knew who she was and her “delusions” of ponies was far away from her mind, now.
“Thank you, Nurse Redheart.” The door closed with a clang. Suddenly, a new voice entered her head. It was a voice she hadn’t heard in what seemed like centuries. It wasn’t a voice that usually came to her when cupcakes danced in her mind. It was that of an old friend- an old, imaginary friend.
“Pinkiepie….” Her eyes widened at the voice of Twilight Sparkle. She ignored it and looked down at her crossed legs, thinking hard about the impossibility of this. She had it together. She knew who she was.
“No.”
Twilight wasn’t real. Neither was…
“Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow Dash. The cupcake…. No, not a cupcake. This was the real- no, the original imaginary pony she had made dear friends with.
“My name is Diane,” she reminded herself. “You’re not real.” It was like the ponies were right there, behind her.
“Not real?” Rainbow Dash crossed her hooves as she hovered above the floor, looking to the purple unicorn that stood sadly behind the pink-haired girl. “What the hell is she talking about?”
“Oh, Pinkie….” Twilight Sparkle wasn’t very concerned with the blue Pegasus at the moment. “What have they done to you?”
“Ponies don’t talk, unicorns and pegasi don’t exist. If you talk and you’re not human, you’re not real.”
Rainbow Dash was extremely perturbed. “Why doesn’t she think we exist?! Listen, Pink-“
“Dash, don’t,” Twilight’s purple gaze was still on her. She didn’t turn to face the Pegasus, “I think I know what’s going on. I have a plan, just go and watch for the doctor, please?” Rainbow grumbled, but flew over to the metal door, peering with crimson eyes through the small slot on the door into the hallway.
“Diane….” Her eyes began to shine, as though the dimness of reality was leaving her. She turned for the first time to face the unicorn. However, she was facing another woman, about her own age, with purple eyes and hair sculpted perfectly around her face- bangs and layered, straight locks. She was familiar. “Hey. Remember me?” she smiled at her, speaking softly and placing one five-fingered hand onto her shoulder, which was still covered by the atrocious hospital gown they had placed her in the first day of her commitment.
“Twilight?” she asked, confused at her appearance and hesitant to believe in her existence.
“Yeah. Listen, Pin- Diane. We’re going to take you home now, OK?” Twilight tried to look as sympathetic as possible. She hoped Rainbow’s Pegasus form wouldn’t deter the pink-haired girl from trusting Twilight. However, that wasn’t an issue as her attention was solely focused on Twilight’s human eyes. It was lucky- no, not luck. It was a blessing that Twilight’s magic had worked so perfectly to fool the poor girl into thinking she was human.
She was pleasantly surprised by this news. She would be leaving this dank place? It must mean something good. “Am I cured?”
Twilight bit her lip and looked a little less confident. “That’s hard to explain. You see-“
Just then, the rainbow-maned Pegasus gasped and turned with a flutter of wings toward the two humans. “They’re coming!”
Twilight swore, grabbed her firmly by the arms and turned swiftly toward Rainbow Dash. “There’s no time! Hold onto me; we’re winking out!” She stared in disbelief and shock at the horn that had appeared atop the human Twilight’s head. It began to glow. What was more, a blue Pegasus with rainbow mane and tail was zooming toward them.
“Aye, aye, Cap’n!” it said. And with that, the world disappeared in a blink- or wink, rather, as Twilight magicked them out of the cell. When she opened her eyes again, there were ponies everywhere.
The ponies gathered together behind the one-way glass, hoping Pinkie Pie would be all right. She sat inside the white room, staring at her hoof, long, straight mane falling over her eye. Rainbow Dash was watching helplessly. Fluttershy and Twilight, the only other ponies present, spoke in hushed tones to each other.
“How is she doing, Twilight?” The yellow Pegasus asked worriedly, one hoof over her heart.
“Not well….” The purple unicorn replied, glancing sideways at the glass. It was hard to look at. Pinkie Pie just sat there, staring at her hoof in confusion.
Frustrated by the situation and unable to think while the other ponies were talking, Rainbow Dash lashed out, slamming her hooves against the solid glass. “Dammit! I knew we shouldn’t have trusted those… those quacks!”
Pinkie Pie had heard Dash’s attack on the glass and looked up. “Doc?” she asked aloud. “I think I’m having a breakdown….”
Outside the room, Rainbow continued her rant, turning to her companions and gesturing deliberately behind her with one hoof. “Look at what they did to her! She doesn’t even know who she is!” The pegasus lowered her head, letting her mane cover her tearful eyes.
Fluttershy suggested somepony talk to her. Twilight galloped outside, returning a few moments later with something in her hand. Gingerly, the unicorn stepped toward Rainbow Dash. The Pegasus sniffed as a single tear rolled down her cheek. She was out of ideas and she couldn’t continue to watch her friend suffer.
“Here,” Twilight held out her hoof to Dash, “take this to her.” The Pegasus turned her gaze to the pastry Twilight was holding. Taking a deep breath, Dash took the cupcake and walked into the room.
A cold breeze washed over Pinkie Pie as the door behind her opened and shut. Her ears wiggled slightly at the soft footfalls of Rainbow Dash. The voices were coming back to her. It’s her. Remember how you killed her? How you made her into cupcakes? She deserved it. She deserved all of it. Rip her apart, like you did before. Pinkie’s eyes were dark, and her mouth twitched at the edges.
“Um, Pinkie?” Rainbow Dash finally spoke up, hesitant to approach the unstable Earth Pony. “I brought you something.”
That triggered memories. Memories… of Rainbow’s organs being removed from her body. Pinkie began to smile at the memories. She could see the Pegasus crying in pain as her wings were removed. “Did you come to make cupcakes, Dash?” She hadn’t turned around yet.
“Heh, um, funny story about that,” Rainbow giggled nervously and looked down at the frosted pastry in her hoof.
Pinkie whipped around to face the Pegasus, eyes small and grin wide. “You know what happens when you make cupcakes?!”
Outside the sound-proof room, Fluttershy and Twilight watched as Pinkie flashed that devious grin at Rainbow. “Look,” the yellow Pegasus said optimistically, “she’s smiling!”
“That doesn’t look like a good smile,” Twilight walked cautiously closer to the glass, worried for what would happen next.
Suddenly, the earth pony’s hooves came down on Rainbow Dash. The cupcake went flying. Dash tried desperately to get away, spreading her wings to try and wriggle free. Pinkie had her forelegs firmly holding the feathered appendages down. Her wicked grin was inches from the pegasus’ frightened face.
“Pinkie, stop!” Rainbow Dash’s gaze on her captor darted from one crazed eye to the other. “What are you-?”
“I killed you once,” The pink pony giggled, raising a hoof over Dash’s head, “I can do it again!”
“STOP!” The cry startled Pinkie just long enough for a yellow ball of fury to slam her away from Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie lie still, curled into a ball, her eyes tight in pain. The voice of the furious attacker spoke again, “You do not. Hurt. My. Friends!” Pinkie dared to open one blue eye to look at the sweet face of Fluttershy hovering above her; pink mane falling gracefully around her head like a halo. With a sniffle, she finished her tirade, “Y-you got that?” Her eyes began to well with tears. Pinkie Pie’s followed suit.
“Fluttershy?” Her voice wavered, breathless in disbelief and sudden recognition. “I…” she buried her face into her own forelegs, trying to hide from the truth. “I’m sorry!” She sniffed as the tears began to fall ceaselessly. “I’m so sorry….”
Fluttershy stepped back, feeling like she couldn’t do anything more to help Pinkie Pie. The yellow pegasus trotted slowly over to Rainbow Dash, who was now on her feet, trying to understand what had happened. By this time, all the ponies present were inside the sound-proof room. Twilight Sparkle walked carefully over to the pink earth pony, glancing sympathetically at her two pegasus friends as she passed.
Pinkie Pie was still curled up in a fetal position, sobbing hysterically into her forelegs. “Pinkie?” Twilight asked softly as she approached, afraid to disturb the pony while also trying to help her relax. “Pinkie Pie, it’s OK. We’re still your friends. We’ll stick by you.”
Sniffing, Pinkie Pie looked up through the straight strands of her pink mane with wide, glistening blue eyes. “You… you’re not mad at me?”
Twilight smiled. “No, not at all.” She placed one purple hoof on Pinkie’s head. “We know it’s been rough for you. We’re just trying to help.”
“Do yoo….” Pinkie mumbled to herself, blushing a little.
Rainbow Dash had joined the two by now and was nudging Pinkie Pie. “You gonna get up?” Twilight flashed a glare in the blue pegasus’ direction. Dash sighed, “I mean, would you like some help standing up?” The earth pony shook her head silently and pulled herself up on all fours.
“What were you saying, Pinkie? I couldn’t quite hear.” Twilight smiled sadly. It was almost like Pinkie Pie was turning into Fluttershy. She seemed so ashamed or bashful. This was definitely not the same old Pinkie Pie.
“I… was gonna ask…” Pinkie bit her lip and turned to face the three other, more magical, ponies, “do you like my parties? And would you… do you still want to be my friends?”
“Dude!” Rainbow Dash came to the rescue, draping one foreleg over her pink friend’s shoulders, “Your parties totally rock! And of course we want to be your friends! I mean, sure, you can get a little annoying at times.”
“Dash,” Twilight scolded, glaring once more at the Pegasus.
The rainbow-maned mare rolled her crimson eyes and continued, “That doesn’t mean we won’t stand by you, like Twilight said.”
Fluttershy fluttered over to land on the other side of Pinkie Pie, “That’s right. We still love you. I’m… sorry for knocking you over.”
Pinkie Pie looked sadly at Fluttershy, “It’s OK. I kinda deserved it.” Then… it happened. It started slowly, no more than a chuckle, but Pinkie Pie’s mouth curled once more, slowly- the ponies were anxious, afraid that she was cracking again- and she let out a tiny, insignificant sound. Then it grew. Over the period of less than two seconds, Pinkie Pie’s laughter became a burst of joyful giggles. It was like a light had been switched on. Her coat seemed to brighten; her eyes began to shine; and her hair! It popped like a balloon, back into bouncy pink curls! The gathered ponies were astounded.
“That’s all it took?” Rainbow stepped back, mouth agape.
“Guess so!” Pinkie Pie smiled wide, eyes closed in bliss.
Twilight smiled warily, “That’s the power of laughter.”
Immediately after her transformation, in classic Pinkie Pie style, the pink-coated mare skipped merrily through Ponyville, wanting to reacquaint herself with everypony. The others who had been with her began to disperse on their own, after discussing some things Pinkie wasn’t included in. She passed several of her friends and tried to greet them pleasantly. However, anypony she stopped to talk to seemed distracted, like they’d rather not deal with her right then. She could understand a few ponies rejecting her hyperactivity, but the whole town? After a moment, the earth pony just shrugged and decided to visit with one of her better friends.
Sweet Apple Acres was bustling with activity. The whole Apple family seemed to be out and about, bucking trees, carrying baskets, or just sitting around talking. As Pinkie passed, several of the ponies present moved themselves only so slightly away from her. Pinkie became suspicious, but wasn’t really concerned. Maybe Applejack would be glad to see her. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been gone, but things seemed mighty peculiar here in Ponyville.
“Hey, Applejack!” Pinkie bounced over to her fellow earth pony friend who had just kicked a whole bushel of apples out of one tree. Her yellow mane whipped about her face as the mare caught her breath.
“Huh? Who goes?” Applejack pushed the hat on her head up a little more with one orange hoof to get a better look at her visitor. At the sight of Pinkie Pie, her green eyes widened in shock. “Pinkie! I- I didn’t know y’all were comin’ back home so soon! You all right, sugar cube?”
Pinkie squinted confusedly, but giggled just the same. “Yeah, I’m fine. You OK?”
AJ chuckled hesitantly, “I’m doin’ just peachy, Pinkie Pie. W-would you like some apples?”
Realizing that these apples were to be a pity present, Pinkie Pie declined the offer, saying, “No thanks. Although they do look just ripe!” She winked, hoping to get at least a groan from the bucking mare. However, all she received for her terrible pun was a quick smile of sympathy.
“OK, well, I’m gonna go now, Applejack…. You have fun with your apple bucking.” And with that, the orange earth pony went right on back to bucking, leaving Pinkie Pie to roam around the orchard alone. As she walked, she thought.
This was getting annoying. First, all the ponies in town were acting weird around her, and now her best friends, too? Maybe it would be different the next time. With a little hope left in her newly revitalized heart, Pinkie trotted with glee back into Ponyville to make one last visit.
“Helloooooo? Rarity?” Pinkie poked her head into the boutique, trying to spot the unicorn. It didn’t take too long. She could see the white body and purple mane of the unicorn from inside the doorway. She was bending over a workbench, holding a needle and thread in the air with her horn. There was an audible gasp from the magic mare and the needle fell onto the table.
“Pinkie Pie!” Rarity turned about anxiously to talk to the happy pony who had just walked into her shop. Then came the barrage of questions, fired like lightning.
“Oh, Pinkie Pie! How are you?”
“Fine.”
“Would you like a coat? I’ve made tons, in case you came back.”
“No, thank you.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“How about a new dress?”
“No.”
“A facial?”
“No.”
“Oh, you poor dear! Are you all right?”
“Yes.”
Pinkie’s replies were just as quick and biting; she answered with little to no emotion, fed up with the whole “let’s treat Pinkie Pie like she needs help” treatment. Still, she remembered that these were her friends and that they really were worried for her. The mare with the curly pink mane and tail smiled sadly at her friend and tried to speak, but Rarity was still anxiously thinking aloud.
“I think I’ll make some tea. Would you like some tea, Pinkie?” she began to trot towards the kitchen (The boutique has a kitchen?! Pinkie thought, When did that happen?), purple tail bouncing elegantly with each quick step.
“Rarity,” Pinkie chuckled hopefully, “I’m fine, really! Can we please just play around?” But the unicorn was already busying herself with choosing which tea Pinkie would probably prefer (“Maybe some Earl Grey?”). Pinkie, completely disheartened by this point, sighed, finally giving up. “OK…. See ya later, Rarity….” And with that, the disappointed pony clopped sadly out of town to go think, alone....
The sky was beginning to darken by the time Pinkie Pie had galloped up the hill. She sat sadly, plopping her flank down on the green, itchy grass, overlooking all of Ponyville. Everything was the way she remembered- all her friends, properly characterized (besides their absurd obsession with trying to make Pinkie Pie happy). She was happy. It was in her hair! It was in her bouncy step! She was very obviously herself. Or… was she?
The earth pony gazed at the sky as small dots of light began to appear before her in the sky. Her eyes were filled with wonder at the sight of all the stars before her. How far away were they? Were they really up there, or were they just fireflies that were stuck up in that blue-black of the night sky? The sun was almost completely hidden, now. All that remained of the dying light was a pinkish glow beneath the darkening expanse of sky. “What happened to me?” she wondered aloud, looking down at her hooves. She assumed everything would just have gone back to normal, now that she was in Ponyville with her friends. What had happened to make her doubt her life? To doubt reality to begin with?
“A lot.” The voice came from just above her, in the tree she had been sitting under. It was Rainbow Dash. The Pegasus flew out of the leaves and landed beside Pinkie Pie, her crimson eyes glittering in the fading light.
“Dash? I don’t even remember what happened before Fluttershy hurled herself at me…. Am I crazy?”
“Heh,” the Pegasus shook her rainbow mane, unsure of how to answer the question in an appropriate manner. “Well, I mean, you’re normally crazy, which is good, but this time…. You got kinda… way bonkers. I mean, I should probably start at the beginning…. Do you remember the party you threw for Gummy? And then you wanted to have a party the next day, and all your friends rejected you?”
“Um… yeah, I think I do. I kidnapped Spike to try and get something out of him, but all he did was tell me what I wanted to hear, which was….” Your friends don’t like your parties. They don’t want to be your friends anymore. Pinkie’s eyes widened at the sound in her mind and she gasped aloud. That wasn’t Dash’s voice. It wasn’t even her own voice, or Spike’s.
Dash looked concerned, but decided it would be best to finish telling her friend what had occurred that day. “Pinkie, after that, I came in to get you. You were talking to inanimate objects, giving them names and other weird stuff. The point is, I tried to get you out of there, and you kinda sat on my head.”
Pinkie giggled. Dash growled briefly and continued her tale.
“Afterward, I finally got you out the door and plopped you down into the middle of a surprise party we threw for your birthday. Only… you didn’t cheer up. You just turned around and walked away. It was so bizarre….
“After that day, you kept yourself locked up in Sugarcube Corner for weeks! The Cakes were really worried. They said you were doing strange things down there, in the basement…. The one that disturbed us the most…. You had… things down there, food, mostly, that you thought were parts of ponies…. A carrot was a unicorn’s horn… And you….” Dash looked away, cautiously approaching the subject.
Pinkie was already looking anxious, hearing what she had done when she couldn’t remember it herself. “What did I do, Dash?” She asked with morbid curiosity, her heart pounding loudly in her chest, blood pulsing in her head. “Tell me what I did.” You know what you did. The pony tried to ignore the voice. Don’t you remember?
“You… strapped down a cake… a cake shaped like…. Pinkie, I don’t think I can tell you. It’s starting to make me feel sick inside. Only, I know it wasn’t you! I mean, it was, but you weren’t yourself.”
“It’ll be better if you just tell me, and tell me quickly.” Pinkie was bracing herself, shutting her eyes against the darkened world, letting her imagination take over as Rainbow Dash began to divulge the most gruesome part of the tale.
“It was a cake shaped like me. You had strapped it down on a table in the basement. You bragged to the cake about a coat you had made with skins of ponies and a necklace of unicorn horns. You said you needed me to help with a special ingredient in your cupcakes. Then… you started… cutting the cake. The Rainbow Dash cake.”
“Oh, Celestia….” Pinkie’s voice began to shake and her eyes were now open wide, pupils miniaturized with fear. She could see the dank basement in her mind’s eye. Rainbow Dash strapped to the table, all the knives and scalpels and other surgeon’s tools laid out on a bloody bench. She could imagine the skins of the ponies she had supposedly killed; the necklace of horns- a trophy of her defeat of those whose friendship had waned with her. Dash’s voice began to fade into the background as Pinkie’s memories returned- her twisted memory. All the cries from Dash as her cutie mark was peeled off of her flank like a fruit; as her wings were cleaved off, the Pegasus still alive. The scalpel in her hand as she sliced open her friend’s torso, removing each organ one by one, making sure Rainbow Dash would stay alive until the very last organ was removed- the heart.
The pink earth pony vomited all over the grass. Rainbow Dash finished her story and looked at Pinkie Pie with concern. “Pinkie? Pinkie Pie?”
Yes… Now we remember, don’t we? Pinkie Pie could barely hold herself up-right, her legs shaking under her. “Get away from me….” Was she talking to the voice? To Dash? Or maybe she was just talking to herself… Now we remember, and we don’t want to forget…. Do we, Pinkamina?
“Pinkie, your mane- ” Rainbow Dash was shocked to see that her friend’s bouncy mane had once again deflated.
“I’m not Pinkie….” The pony said, her face contorting into a gruesome smirk, eyes crazed once more. “My name is Pinkamina.”
“My name is Pinkamina. Not Pinkie.” The pink earth pony looked with crazed fury at the cerulean Pegasus, her small, blue eyes glinting deviously in the starlight. Rainbow Dash leapt into the sky, looking down on her friend from only a few feet above her- a safe distance.
“Pinkie, you’re really scaring me, now.”
“Silly Rainbow Dash,” the pink mare smiled darkly up at her companion, “Didn’t I make it clear to you? I’m Pinkamina, not Pinkie. Pinkie isn’t here anymore.”
The pegasus’ heart beat rapidly, her breath becoming more staccato with her increasing anxiety. “What did you do to her?!”
The earth pony cocked her head to the side, confused by Dash’s question. “What did I do? You’re the one who killed her.”
She started walking nearer to Rainbow Dash, who was now backing away slowly in the sky, still wanting to help her friend but also watching out for her own safety. “I didn’t kill anypony! What are you talking about? You’re insane!” The Pegasus hadn’t been looking where she was going and bumped against the tree she had been perched in earlier. In the time it took for her to turn around and quickly check behind her, Pinkamina had found her way into the branches of the tree. When Rainbow Dash turned back to face the mare, she was greeted with two wild, derped blue eyes that seemed to stare deep into her soul.
“You brought me back,” they said.
With a terrified scream, the Pegasus zoomed out of the branches and headed back home, her wings fighting with all their might against the air, hoping the pony wouldn’t be following her. She knew how quickly the pink mare could catch up to one, no matter where that one was or how fast that one was fleeing.
The only thought that was constant in Rainbow’s mind was flight. However, this meant she wasn’t being too particular about where her final destination was. She glanced down with wide, frightened eyes at the dark town below her, trying to catch any glimpse of the pink pony. Nothing seemed to catch her attention. Then, she spotted her. A tiny purple speck on the ground. “Twilight!” Rainbow Dash snapped herself downward, aiming directly at the purple unicorn below her. With a whack!, Dash had pinned the unicorn and was breathing heavily atop her, eyes wild in anxiety.
Twilight looked up at Dash with fear and lifted her away with her magic, closing her dilated purple eyes in the hope of making Dash disappear. Of course, if she had really wanted to, she could have used her magic to cast Rainbow Dash far off, but something was wrong and she knew it. She was just startled by the sudden attack.
The Pegasus had no time to explain or apologize. As soon as she got herself back on her hooves, the blue mare dashed back to Twilight Sparkle’s side and began speaking rapidly, “Pinkie Pie’s gone cupcakes again and is trying to kill me and might just kill us all we have to get help! Call the Princess!”
Realizing the seriousness of the situation, the unicorn looked about helplessly, “If it’s as you say, Dash, then there’s no time to call in the Princess! Where’s Pinkie now? We need to find her and stop her as soon as possible.”
“I- I don’t know! I was flying for my life!” Rainbow Dash barked, still trying to regain her breath.
With great difficulty, the scholarly unicorn focused on keeping her cool so things wouldn’t get too out of hand. She tried to think beyond Dash’s foolishness of not keeping an eye on the crazed earth pony and instead focus her thoughts on where Pinkie Pie could be. Then it occurred to her. Her eyes widened in recognition as she looked back to Rainbow Dash, locking gazes with her. That glance registered with the Pegasus, and they were now thinking the same exact thing.
“Sugar Cube Corner,” they said in unison.
-----------------------------------------------
“Mrs. Cake? Hello? Are you here?” the pink mare opened the door to the darkened shop slowly and deliberately. A street light from outside was lit behind her, casting a long, eerie shadow on the floor of the shop as the door creaked open ever so gently. She took very carefully placed steps, first peering inside with her head, then one-by-one placing each hoof inside the shop as she eased her way inside, letting the door hinges squeak as the door gradually swung back into place behind her. “It’s me,” she smiled wide in a fearful grin, eyes scanning the shop for any sign of the mare. “I was hoping we could make some cupcakes together….”
“Pinkie Pie?” The voice came from upstairs. It definitely belonged to Mrs. Cake, but she sounded a bit concerned. A shadow was cast on the wall as the married mare eased her way down the steps, appearing before her own form was visible, like a ghost announcing her presence. “Pinkie,” Mrs. Cake started as she came into view, still descending the steps with care, “what are you doing here? It’s nearly 10 o’clock! Shouldn’t you be asleep?” She knew where Pinkie should really be. After all, it was Mrs. Cake who had made the call the first time; to come take the pink pony away for medical treatment.
The streetlamp flickered some outside, altering the world inside the shop from shadowy to pitch black in moments. Pinkamina looked over lovingly at some knives laid out on the kitchen counter. She dreamily trotted over to the counter, passing very near Mrs. Cake so their pelts slid past each other. The contact sent shivers up the older mare’s spine. “I was asleep all day,” the pink pony answered as she approached the glistening knives, “letting Pinkie play a little. Now I’m awake again.” She found one knife particularly appealing- it was more of a cleaver. Mrs. Cake walked cautiously behind Pinkamina, giving herself space and, hopefully, time to contemplate how to call for help without startling the unstable mare. Meanwhile, Pinkamina grasped her chosen weapon with one hoof, holding it up to let the streetlight from the window glint off the metal. She smiled at the reflection of Mrs. Cake that was present when the pink pony held the cleaver just right. She giggled, “We should celebrate! After all, I owe you for getting me the help I needed. Now I think it’s time to pay you back.”
-----------------------------------------------
The door was closed when the unicorn and Pegasus had made their way to the darkened pastry shop. It was eerily silent as the two ponies cautiously opened the door, making the sound of creaking hinges seem exaggerated. The street lamp had been dimmed for a while. Somepony really ought to look into that, Twilight thought to herself. Aloud, she whispered to Dash, “Do you think she’s here?”
“Where else would she go?” Rainbow Dash whispered harshly, looking around the room anxiously for any sign of the pink pony. A noise abruptly erupted above them. The two magical ponies glanced at each other. It was like two infants howling in fear.
She’s here, Twilight mouthed to Dash, realizing the need to be as quiet as possible if they were to find her and stop her surreptitiously. Dash was about to respond snidely when something on the wall behind the purple unicorn’s horn caught her attention.
The sight was utterly unbearable. The pegasus’ crimson eyes were wide with a terror unbeknownst to any pony who ever lived to tell about it. She was frozen in absolute horror at what hung on the wall. Only then did she realize that the ground was slicker than normal- that it was wet and sticky. Twilight took a step toward her friend, concerned. One hoof landed with a slight splash. The unicorn looked down slowly, afraid of what she would see. The liquid under their hooves was hard to see in the dim light, but the consistency was enough to give the substance away. Twilight knew that they needed to stay focused to save the babes who were still howling upstairs, but morbid curiosity got the better of her, and the unicorn followed Dash’s gaze. The streetlight flickered on once again and the visage before them was clear and real as a nightmare during sleep.
On the wall hung the bright blue body of Mrs. Cake, a cleaver embedded in her skull, nailing her to the wall. Blood was running in streaks down her face and body, pouring out onto the floor like a hellish waterfall.
Twilight Sparkle let out a deafening shriek of terror. The shriek snapped Rainbow Dash back to reality, and the Pegasus slapped a hoof over Twilight’s mouth, looking into her terrified eyes as if to tell her to be quiet or Pinkie would hear them.
It was too late. The babies’ cries from upstairs had died down and once again there was an eerie silence. It was, as they say, too quiet. Rainbow Dash and Twilight turned to the staircase, waiting to see the psychotic earth pony descend to investigate the mysterious shrieking. They knew the best thing to do at this point would be to run for their lives. But they were paralyzed. The world stood still for what seemed like a torturous eternity; the only sound audible was the laborious breathing of the two ponies in the foyer of Sugar Cube Corner as they awaited the arrival of what would surely be their demise.
After what seemed like days of silence, the two magical ponies heard the creaking of steps and the clinking of hooves slowly trotting down stairs. Pinkamina descended the steps with curiosity, but a smile was still plastered on her face. The two ponies by the doorway were still frozen, staring up at the pink mare, whose face was now splattered with Mrs. Cake’s blood. “Oh, hi, Twilight- Dashie.” She nodded towards each pony respectively. “I don’t remember inviting you to my party?” The mare walked with great poise towards the corpse on the wall. The Pegasus and unicorn stood trembling, yet unmoving, as the murderous pony approached the bloody body. “I was throwing it for Mrs. Cake, here!” To emphasize her pun, the pink mare reached up with one hoof to jiggle the cleaver a bit, turning back to see her “friends’” reactions. All she received were shocked looks and a gasp from Twilight.
“S-she’s still moving!” Twilight whispered, noticing how the body twitched when Pinkamina touched the lodged knife.
Curious, the pink earth pony turned back to face Mrs. Cake, jiggled the knife a bit, and chuckled at the reaction of the dead body. “Oh, silly! That’s because my cleaver is embedded in her nervous system! Look! I can make her dance!” And with that, the pony’s hoof came down on the handle of the cleaver over and over again, like a game at an arcade. The carcass jerked and leapt, limbs flailing about with each slight pressure Pinkamina put on the cleaver.
“S-stop!” Twilight took a very daring step closer, trying desperately to ignore the squishing noise under her hooves. The sight had ridden Rainbow Dash completely immobile and unresponsive, but Twilight needed to do something! If only Celestia were here! Her consciousness seemed to be fading, her breathing becoming heavier, but the purple mare was determined. “Why are you doing this, Pinkie Pie?”
At that, Pinkamina suddenly dropped her plastic smile. In less than a millisecond, the mare was next to the unicorn. “My name is not Pinkie!” Suddenly, the pink mare struck out, bucking Twilight hard in the side, sending the unicorn flying. With a loud bang, the pony hit the wall, falling into a purple heap of hair and hooves in the pool of blood pouring out of the corpse beside her on the wall. Twilight groaned for an instant, then ceased, her consciousness fading into oblivion. The loud noise of Twilight’s impact with the wall snapped the Pegasus back to reality, and she whipped around to face Pinkamina. A sideways glance showed Twilight’s crippled body on the ground, covered in somepony else’s blood. It was infuriating. The blue mare’s bright crimson eyes glowed red with hatred. She screamed in agony and flew faster than a speeding bullet at the insane pony. One moment, the Pegasus was hurling herself at Pinkamina’s side, the next, her back hooves.
The air had been punched out of the pegasus’s lungs by the pink earth pony’s forceful buck. Rainbow Dash gasped, clutching her stomach as she tumbled through the air, falling painfully against the counter. The small bell atop the counter dinged lightly from her impact. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move. Pinkamina’s bright blue eyes grew closer in the darkness, accompanied by a glint of metal from a knife she had found. This one was more of a bread knife, complete with serrated edge. “Dashie, if you really wanted to help me make cupcakes, you could’ve just asked!” With that statement, the pink pony stabbed through one of the blue mare’s wings, nailing her to the counter so she wouldn’t try to fly away.
Rainbow tried desperately to catch her breath. When a few gasps of air proved fruitful, she managed to let out what would almost definitely be her last words before the butchering began.
“Y-you..’re…. a psy…cho….”
Pinkie blinked, then smiled, “No, I’m not! I’m a chicken!” and she let out a very loud chicken noise.
Thinking this was just one of the pony’s sick games, Rainbow’s eyes grew wide and cold with fear. Would her “psycho” comment be the end of her, if she wasn’t dead already? Why was she trying to be funny? Rainbow Dash was once again unable to move, although she struggled under the knife, willing to tear her wing, if necessary. The pink pony blinked again.
Her blue eyes darted in confusion. “Where were we?” She asked softly to herself. “Ah, yes, that’s right!” The earth pony reached over the Pegasus and took another, long, slender knife from the tabletop. She grinned wide at the trapped Pegasus.
“P-please, Pinkie! You don’t want to do this!” Rainbow’s voice cracked as she choked from the tears of pain and fear rising inside her.
Again, the bright blue eyes before her blinked; the pink mare furrowed her brow. “Of course I don’t, silly! But I don’t really have a choice. After all, Pinkamina’s kinda hard to control.” She smiled sweetly at her friend, and started placing the hoof in which she held the knife back on the table. “Hey, Dashie,” she continued, “if Pinkamina comes back, you should probably run. OK?” Pinkie Pie was about to grasp the handle of the breadknife that was pinning Rainbow Dash against the counter with her teeth, when she again blinked.
“What the hell are you doing, Pinkie?! We said we could take care of this! They aren’t your friends and they never will be!” Pinkamina was growling to herself, eyes rolled up seemingly to the ceiling. Frantically, Rainbow turned her blue head to try and get a hold on the knife in her wing. Angrily, Pinkamina switched her head back down and jammed the knife in deeper with a hoof. “Tsk, tsk, Dashie! It’s not time to play hide and seek. Let’s play Peek-a-Boo, first!” In one movement, the knife from the counter was back in her hoof as the crazed mare grinned sadistically, holding the tip of the knife close to the pegasus’ wide, crimson eyes. “That’s right! Keep your eyes open, then I’ll just take them out!” Rainbow moved at the wrong moment, her head shooting up and away from the knife. Pinkamina missed her eye, but managed to graze over her cheek and jaw. “I don’t think you know how to play this game.” Pinkamina seemed disappointed. Still holding the knife, the pink mare crossed over the shadows on the floor, wading through the blood below her without a second thought. She appeared to be thinking. The Pegasus again began struggling.
“I can’t think when you make so much noise! Maybe I oughta cut out your throat. No, that would kill you too quickly….” The crazed pony paced about the dark room, fading in and out of darkness as she crossed by the window where the lamplight streamed in consistently for a while. In the shadow, she began muttering: “Maybe we should take care of the Unicorn, first. If she wakes up there could be trouble.” When she crossed into the light, her demeanor seemed to change as she argued with herself: “Why do you have to kill them at all? Maybe you should just go back to Nurse Redheart and Doc-“ “Nonsense! You know what they did to us! We thought we were human! It was a lie. We’re here, now, and we must exact vengeance!” Pinkamina cursed.
“But Twilight and Dash didn’t have anything to do with the asylum! That was all Mrs. Cake and Nurse Red-“ Pinkie Pie pleaded.
As the pony paced, Rainbow Dash slowly moved to try and take out the bread knife as discreetly as possible. She grasped the handle with her teeth. That movement alone sent a shot of pain through her nerves and she struggled to keep her hold on the knife and keep from attracting attention by crying out in pain.
The pink mare began waving the silver knife about in frustration as she argued.
“Yes…. The Doctor and his Nurse. The only reason we’d have to EVER go back to them is to kill them. They had no right to try and ‘fix’ us! We aren’t broken. Are we?”
“I don’t think you’re a very nice pony,” Pinkie imitated her captor and continued waving the knife about. Rainbow Dash pulled gently on the knife, wincing as each tug sent another jolt of pain through her. Blood began to seep from the wound, dripping slowly down her cerulean feathers. “In fact, I think maybe you are broken! How could you do this to my friends?!”
“Friends?!” Pinkamina was fuming now. She stopped pacing, now, waving her hooves about angrily. The knife glinted as it passed between the shadows and light. The light from the window was now only lighting half of the pink pony as she had placed herself between the window and the door, facing Rainbow Dash, but seeing nothing before her. “These ponies don’t even exist! We are all that is real, Pinkie Pie!”
“No!” Pinkie Pie stomped her empty hoof down fiercely into the pool of blood, splashing some onto her fur, “I refuse to believe that! Nopony should have to die for my own insanity!”
Rainbow finally removed the knife completely. The handle was too slick from blood and saliva for the Pegasus to hold it. It slipped and fell with a loud clink onto the floor. She looked up to see if the crazed mare would react to the noise. However, it was as if the pink pony couldn’t see anything at all, as if she wasn’t even in the same world as Rainbow Dash. A muffled whimper came from the wall beside Mrs. Cake’s carcass and Rainbow Dash limped over to Twilight, who was now struggling to wake herself. The Pegasus helped Twilight onto her hackles, leaning against her to keep the fainted pony erect. While this was happening, the oblivious Earth pony leapt onto a nearby table and raised the knife.
“We can’t let them live! They’ve seen too much!” Pinkamina pleaded with herself.
Pinkie Pie’s friends turned groggily to watch the pony on the table.
Those bright blue eyes blinked again. “Yes…” she whispered to herself, holding the knife out over the edge of the table. “We have seen too much…. And there is nothing we can do… but prevent it from happening again.”
Twilight’s purple eyes shot wide open as she watched the knife move closer to her friend’s body. “Pinkie Pie!” With all the strength she could muster, the unicorn hurried across the slick ground towards the table, crawling with fearful determination. “Pinkie Pie, stop!”
---------------------
“G’AAAAAAH!” She let out a loud cry of anguish. Looking down, she could see the knife had flown true, sticking out of her gut. She knew now that it would all be over. She wouldn’t have to cause anypony any more pain. Her eyes were blurring, but the strangest thing was happening. As she focused on the knife, her hooves seemed to morph, splitting five different ways…. They weren’t hooves at all! They were fingers; fingers wrapped around the handle of a butter knife; fingers covered in bright red blood that was now oozing from under her pale blue hospital gown. Her mind was finally clearing. In fact, it seemed almost crystal clear. She could crisply hear a voice calling to her, and she could remember this body…. She was human, wasn’t she?
“Diane! Oh, God!” It was Twilight’s voice. “Help! Someone, please get help! Oh, Diane!”
“Twilight?” she looked puzzled at the knife inside her, “I was always human, wasn’t I?” Her blue gaze lifted heavily up to look at the girl with purple bangs reaching out to her. Feeling rather faint, she began to sway on her two feet. A second later, her back was being supported by her friend, who had sunk to her knees and was cradling the wounded girl.
“Yes… Oh, Diane! I’m so, so sorry! I’m so sorry….” Her voice choked with tears as she held her dear friend in her arms.
“Don’t be sorry….” She said dreamily, fading away with each breath, “Everything’s going to… be… Okee… do.. kee.. lo…..” Her eyes began to darken, falling down to stare at whatever happened to be behind Twilight. It was a pink object, laying on its side beside the tray of food Nurse Redheart had brought in not three minutes earlier. The more she concentrated, the more she recognized the small figure. Twilight was crying more, but she couldn’t hear her. All she heard was laughter. Smiling, she whispered to herself, “We can all sleep now….”
---------------------- ((Be sure to read the epilogue!!!))
“And you’re sure there is nothing here that might have set her off?” The doctor tried to control his anger as medics and orderlies worked to remove the girl’s body from the white room. There was a bright red stain on the ground; splotches of color in the pale room.
“Nothing, Doctor,” Nurse Redheart said, a bit anxiously. “All that was in here would have been the tray of food I gave her, like I usually do. Only-” she gasped, clasping one cupped hand around her mouth, wide eyes locked on the pink object lying harmlessly on the soft floor beside the metal tray of uneaten food. The Doctor wordlessly followed the woman’s gaze. At the sight of the object, he grabbed her wrist firmly, shaking her a bit.
“What the hell is that doing here?! Who brought it in here?!”
“I- I don’t know, doc-“
“Dammit! Pick it up!” He threw her wrist down, causing the nurse to fall onto her knees only inches from the figure. “We have a dead body to clean up, now.” And with that, the Doctor turned away from the nurse and led the rest of the personnel outside the room before letting the metal door clang shut. The nurse winced at the loud sound, then slowly picked up the object.
It was a toy; a plastic pink horse with bouncy mane and tail, small balloons painted on its flank, a pleasant smile carved into its face. She smiled sadly at it, a single tear rolling down her cheek. “I hope you’re sleeping safely, now… Pinkamina Diane Pie.”
