MLP: The Spirit of Secession. Part 1

It was currently 8:00 at night, and a majority of Ponyville's civilians had taken refuge within their homes after a rather, and thankfully, uneventful series of daily routines. Those that hadn't surrendered to the night were either preparing for their oncoming fatigue, or were the inhabitants of Twilight's library.

Whilst her guests sat in the lounging section of the library and conversed amongst eachother over this evening's events, Twilight herself had excluded herself from the group and sat at a nearby desk, completely unmoving. She was lost in thought from considering her actions and they're consequences, overwhelmed with guilt from using her magic for, what was potentially, an unnecessarily violent purpose, especially against her own friend.

As she brooded to herself in the corner of the library, Applejack and Rainbow Dash had begun explaining the basic outline of Pinkie Pie's morbid dilemma to her sister, who had every intent to listen ever since witnessing her sibling's destructive capabilities for the first time. "So she becomes Pinkamena when she gets upset?" Maud questioned curiously, her voice remaining a soft whisper.

Rainbow Dash answered "Well, according to Twilight's theory, when Pinkie Pie's angry, Pinkamena becomes a voice in her head. But sometimes, Pinkamena will become a completely separate personality and they'll started fighting for control". "And when… Pinkamena wins, she takes over my sister's mind?" Maud asked in disbelief, her breaths growing heavier from panic. Applejack intervened to explain "No, wait! Pinkamena doesn't always win, y'know. Pinkie Pie has sometimes kept control, and Pinkamena would disappear for at least a while".

"But wait a second. Pinkamena and Pinkie Pie were apparently… friends when she was a filly, weren't they?" Twilight asked, wandering from the desk towards the group, and Maud merely nodded in confirmation. Twilight raised her eyebrow in confusion and continued "Then, I find it so weird how Pinkamena would usually attack others; but she always claiming that she does it to protect Pinkie Pie". Twilight had begun to lose her sense of propriety as a hostess and grunted "Ugh! Pinkamena is an unpredictable maniac, despite being a second personality! It makes no sense!"

Rainbow Dash considered this comment for a moment, before saying "Well, if you think about it, Pinkamena's probably not as much of a threat as she seems". In unison, Maud and Twilight turned to stare at her as if she was psychotic in her own rights. "What!? What about any of this is not dangerous to us!?" Twilight questioned quizzically. Applejack simply shrugged and replied "Well, Pinkamena claims to protect Pinkie Pie from us, which is why she hates us. So, at least she's not a threat to Pinkie Pie herself".

Maud was silent, but Twilight answered "Well… that's one good thing about all of this". "Yeah… Pinkamena and Pinkie Pie are always talkin' all friendly like, so it's a good thing that she doesn't wanna hurt Pinkie Pie" Applejack claimed, before stopping to consider her statement. A truly terrifying scenario then bloomed from her imagination, featuring Pinkamena staggering through the Ponyville streets whilst the surrounding buildings were ablaze and slowly crumbling. She shivered at this thought and muttered "Although… it doesn't really change much".

Maud lowered her head and exclaimed "It's so weird. On paper, split personalities sound completely ridiculous. But…" her voice cracked suddenly, before she continued "But now… I've seen it! It's in my sister, and I've seen what it can do. It's absolutely terrifying!" Maud then sighed miserably to herself before a single tear fell from her cheek and onto the carpeted floor.

"How did I not notice it?" she grimaced. "My sister was losing her mind while none of her family were paying any attention. She was so desperate for a friend, she befriended herself" she cringed, before crying out as a flood of tears rained from her eyes; "HOW COULD I BE SO STUPID!?" she wailed in self-pity.

"Hey, hey now! It's not as bad as it seems, y'know" Applejack exclaimed in an attempt to calm the storm. Maud raised her head to face the southerner and yelled "Are you kidding!? How could it be any worse?! For all we know, she could be Pinkamena and attacking others right now!" Twilight, in a fit of desperation, responded "That's impossible! Pinkamena has already had her time in control. I doubt she's come back after I…" before falling eerily silent. Twilight's guilt over her own involvement had returned as she fell to the couch and sighed in defeat.

"This is bad. This is very bad; if I have to electrocute her to keep her under control" Twilight cringed before grunting in pain from the throbbing injury on her neck, while the rest of her injuries had finally returned to their previous health, "I need to find another way to keep her docile without hurting her". "Hey, Twilight! If it weren't for ya, none of us would've stopped her. And besides, I would've done it too if I could've" Applejack admitted, before realizing how poorly her statement was executed.

"That doesn't matter! I should never…" Twilight exclaimed before sighing in resignation, "Whatever. The damage is done". With that, Twilight then announced meekly "I'm off to bed now. You girls can sleep here it you want; I don't mind" before jumping from the couch and swiftly made her way up her spiraling staircase to her private retreat. "Wow. Twilight's always been skeptical about her decisions, but this is something else" Applejack considered, unfortunately out loud for the others to hear. Maud Pie then replied "Well, can you blame her? She's just electrocuted my sister!"

---

Meanwhile, in the nearby streets, lay the local hospital of Ponyville. A depressing sight to behold for a foreign eye, particularly for the sights to witness inside; but was unfortunately the abode of Pinkie Pie for an unforeseen amount of time yet to come.

As of this moment, Pinkie Pie resided in one of the many wards of this dismal establishment, recuperating from her injuries inflicted during this evening's events, which unfortunately ended in her electrocution and comatose condition. She constantly tossed and twitched uncomfortably in her bed, though whether from her current state of health or from the lack of comfort provided from the bed she slept in was unknown.

However, as the clock chimed 12:00, Pinkie Pie slowly stirred into consciousness and sat up in the bed, slouching forward and sighing wearily. Pinkie Pie's eyes slowly opened to revealing a bloodshot, soul-piercing gaze, while her mouth twisted into a large grin. She stepped out of the bed before grunting from the uncomfortable pain in her back. "Ugh! First their robes are always too small; and now their beds are so stiff, that they may as well be filled with sand. And they call this a hospital?" she sneered before staggering her way from the ward room into the main hall.

However, as she meandered through the following corridor, a doctor spotted her and recognized her as a patient, prompting him to quickly run to her and ask "Miss, where are you going?" Pinkamena turned to face him and replied "Anywhere that I wanna!" before turning to continue towards the main entrance. Suddenly, the doctor stopped her in her tracks and stated "Miss Pie, you must return to the ward room". "Get away from me, freak!" she howled madly before pushing the doctor over and rushing passed him towards the main entrance of the building.

She pushed the doors open recklessly and shouted "FREEDOM! WAHAHAHAAAAH!" before running off into the streets. She soon spotted a nearby alleyway and bolted for it, diving into the narrow passageway and stopping to catch her breath, until she exclaimed "Well, I dunno about you, cherub; but I couldn't stand another second in that place".

She peeked out of the alleyway to find multiple staff members of the hospital, clearly searching for a crazed runaway patient of her specific stature. "What do you say we head home, Pinkie Pie? Y'know, grab something to eat, and have a little rest and relaxation?" There was no answer, not that she was expecting one, and she soon made her way back to her alter ego's home to revitalize herself.

Once finally at her house, Pinkamena burst through the door and breathed in the surrounding air, savoring the fresh scent of sanctuary. "Haahhhh… I love this place. Very quiet, and the neighbors respect your privacy here. Saves dealing with prying eyes. Eh Hehehehe…" she boasted before staggering into the kitchen for a meal. As she shifted through the contents in Pinkie Pie's fridge, she soon came across a tray carrying a certain collection of petite pastries. "Cupcakes!" she screamed with delight before pulling the innutritious treats from the fridge and eyeing them with insurmountable desire.

"Oh… These take me back!" she grinned before grabbing one and greedily stuffing it into her mouth, sighing in bliss from the delectable taste. Her eyes shut lazily as she muttered "These are so good… I knew Pinkie Pie was a good cook, but she's really outdone herself with these". She soon gazed up to the roof and called "If you can hear me, Pinkie Pie, I love your cupcakes and I always have!" before a dumb, content grin spread across her cheeks.

However, much like earlier, there was an ominous absence of a response; however, unlike then, Pinkamena had taken notice of it by this time. "Pinkie Pie? Are you there?" she questioned into the cold night air, before listening carefully for a reply. The following silence had begun to concern her, tempting her to ask once again "Cherub? Can you hear me?" Unfortunately, the lack of an answer had confirmed her suspicion. Despite this, Pinkamena shrugged and mutter "She must be still asleep" to herself.

"Maybe... I should sleep now too. She might come back tomorrow" she assumed before stumbling from the living room to the upstairs bedroom. As soon as she entered the bedroom, Pinkamena's slowly turned her head in various positions to relieve the welling strain as she lay herself in the bed, mumbling to herself "I hope Pinkie Pie comes back by tomorrow. It feels… heheheheh… kinda lonely" before shutting her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

---

The next morning, Pinkie Pie remained in bed even after 8:00 chimed from the wall-mounted clock. Soon though, she eventually stirred into consciousness and sat up from the bed, yawning lazily and rubbing her eyes of the excess sleep. Once she had a sense of her position, however, she realized that something was wrong about her current situation.

She was still Pinkamena.

She tugged on her lank hair in shock and shouted "What the- Why am I still here?!" She soon stumbled out of the bed in a panic as a flood of questions assaulted her at once. "Pinkie Pie!? Cherub!? Are you there?! Say something!" An uncomfortable silence followed, and Pinkamena screamed "PLEASE, TALK TO MAAAAEEEEEEEEEE!" Pinkamena held the sides of her head as beads of sweat poured from her temple. Too many unanswered questions. Why was she still in control? Why hadn't Pinkie Pie come back yet? Was she still there anymore? What if she wasn't?

"NOOO!" Pinkamena screamed in horror, "She can't be gone! SHE CAN'T BE GONE!" Pinkamena continued to panic as a knock on the door interrupted her hysterical fit, followed by "Hey, Pinkie Pie! Are you there?" Pinkamena quickly recognized the voice as Pinkie Pie's sister, who was possibly visiting Pinkie Pie about leaving the hospital. "Ack! It's her sister! She can't see me!" she muttered to herself nervously, before plotting a way to hide herself.

Eventually, she decided to disguise herself as her alter ego, reminiscent of her ploy with Pinkie Pie's friends in the café less than 5 months ago, before Maud Pie slowly entered the house without any permission. Pinkamena desperately wanted to call her out on this intrusive action, but believed that Pinkie Pie wouldn't be bothered about such petty concerns, and abandoned the desire. She rustled her hair until it resembled its alternate appearance and strutted into the hallway to greet the visitor.

"Hey Sis, how's it going?" she greeted with a fake expression of glee, only to be answered "Pinkie Pie, what are you doing here? I thought you were in the hospital!" Pinkamena raised an eyebrow and asked "Well, what are you doing looking for me here instead of there?" until realizing that she may have endangered her cover from this statement. "I was just there, and the doctors are looking for you because you ran away!" Maud informed, leaving Pinkamena in a trap of her own making.

"Well, that's not what I remember. I woke up here" Pinkamena replied, now relying on her split personality to cover her track. She wanted to portray that Pinkamena ran away from the hospital and Pinkie Pie had woken up in her house, instead of her being Pinkamena on both occasions. This explanation was so complicated to type that the writer spent an hour searching for the appropriate way to explain it. "But, oh well. How are Twilight and the others? I hope I- no, she… wait, no- I didn't hurt them" Pinkamena stuttered nervously.

"They're more worried about what happened to you. Ever since Twilight shocked you with lightning, she's-" Maud explained before Pinkamena suddenly shouted "SHE DID WHAT!?" Maud then fell into a state of panic and attempted to explain "Well, she needed to stop… um… Pinkamena. So she… shocked you with lightning and knocked you out. She's been stressing herself over it for the entire morning".

"Please go".

Maud tilted her head in confusion and asked "What? No! We need to take you back to the hospital. For all we know, you-" Before she could conclude her exclamation, Pinkamena suddenly slammed the door shut and locked it in one swift motion. Ignoring the calls and pleads of her alternate personality's sister, she leaned against the door, rasping heavily to herself from overwhelming shock. "No! Pinkie Pie, please!" she whimpered weakly, truly unbefitting of her reputation, before wrapping her arms around her legs and curling up against the door.

Maud peered through the window that lead to the kitchen and noticed this act, growing steadily more worried for her sibling's health. Despite her emotional desires, she decided against conversing with Pinkie Pie during this current episode and chose to return to Twilight's library, intending to allow Pinkie Pie a chance to regain her composure.

However, upon turning away from the window and taking her leave, Maud failed to notice Pinkamena slowly rise from the floor and shakily stumble her way up the staircase and towards her bedroom door. She stepped into her bedroom and locked the door, before crawling onto her bed and simply laying unmoving against the backrest. She shut her eyes and shook her head slowly.

"Pinkie Pie… don't leave me here by myself".

To be continued…