MLP: The Simple Pleasures. Part 2

It was 9:00 at night, and Rainbow Dash had finally reached Pinkie Pie's house, hoping to find a solution to this war that waged between her best friend and this monster that had manifested within her subconscious. She stood before the front door, her head resting against it in consideration, as if to help her find the right words to say. Remaining wary, she twisted the hand and open the door slightly, a faint creak emanating from the hinges. "Hey Pinkie Pie, are you home?" she called through the half open doorway.

No answer came, but instead came a loud rustling sound from the upstairs window, connecting to Pinkie Pie's bedroom. Rainbow Dash took this as enough evidence, but then she wondered why she didn't answer her when she asked. "Sure… Rainbow Dash… hehe… I'm in my room" a voice called from above. The very moment Rainbow Dash stepped into the house, she already was witness to a truly grizzly sight.

Most of Pinkie Pie's furniture was either tarnished or missing; perhaps thrown out the windows, the only possibility. She carefully stepped through the vast wreckage and climbed up the stairs, before finally reaching the door to the bedroom. She suddenly became reluctant to open it, in case Pinkie Pie was not in her proper state of mind. Before she could, however, the door swung open rapidly, revealing a disturbing grin and a pair of soulless eyes. Rainbow Dash screamed in surprise before slamming the door.

Bracing herself against the wooden frame, she worriedly tried to piece together this unexpected event, along with the best course of action. "Oh my- what do I do, what do I do, what do I do?" she whispered to herself repeatedly. Pinkamena leaned against the door, licking her lips with anticipation, "Are you talking to yourself, Rainbow Dash? That's not good for you, y'know! Heh Heheheheheee!" Pinkamena leaned back and rammed her shoulder against the door, repeating this action over and over until eventually, Rainbow Dash's only defense fell freely and landed against the floor.

Rainbow Dash stammered in fear "You're… You're Pinkamena!" as she backed away from the encroaching psychopath. A loud cackle erupted from Pinkamena, followed by "Hmhmhmph! At your service. And I wouldn't run away if I we're you, since you should know that I can outrun you". It was true; Pinkie Pie was known for following Rainbow Dash and arriving where the latter intended to arrive, with no difficulty in doing so.

"If you've done anything to Pinkie Pie, I'll-" Rainbow Dash threatened before coming to realization of the details of the situation and slapping her forehead, utterly in awe of her own stupidity. "Pinkie Pie is safe enough in the mean time! Hehehehe!" Pinkamena grinned smugly, "In fact, I should be thanking you, Rainbow Dash. If it hadn't been for you, all of this would not have happened. I couldn't have done it without you".

This is a mind game now, and Pinkamena was winning vastly. Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth as she began welling with her internally contained guilt. Pinkamena then jumped upwards towards the ceiling and hung from the overhead support beam, hoisting herself up and crawling along it like some form of predator.

"Are you still trying to 'help' her? Because, it's too late for that now" Pinkamena lectured, "You may think I'm a monster living within her mind; but if not for me, who knows where she'd be? Without me, she be in horrible danger" she continued. "That's not true and you know it!" Rainbow shouted towards the ceiling hanging psychopath.

"Wouldn't you like to have a… 'Significant Other' in your mind if you needed guidance through problems? Because, according to my diagnosis, a voice warning you to restrain yourself would do you some good" Pinkamena sneered as she leapt towards the support beam to her left. Rainbow Dash shook her head to banish this thought; but to no avail, as Pinkamena's words were sadly accurate.

"I can help her, and I already have" Pinkamena grinned evilly, "After all, many years on a rock farm has taught both my cherub and me to enjoy the simplest of pleasures". Rainbow Dash stared at Pinkamena with an expression of defeat on her face, as Pinkamena asked "Haven't you tried all you can to help her?" before rolling her eyes, "But then again, I forget who I'm talking to!"

Rainbow Dash was beginning to lose her patience and began yelling "I have been a better friend than you have ever been! Hurting her for your own needs, and threatening her real friends!?" Rainbow Dash had by now forgotten that the real Pinkie Pie was possibly hearing all of this too. "Hurting her for my own needs?! So the pot calls the kettle black, does she?" Pinkamena accused, dropping from the ceiling and landed on her hooves, growling menacingly at her inferior rival.

Pinkamena was using the hypocrisy of the situation to her advantage, "I… I… Ugh…" Rainbow Dash mumbled before staring at the ground in despair, whimpering from the emotional pain churning within her body. "We all have our own little problems, in one form or another. I'm well aware of my problems, unlike you; But still, your never gonna hurt while I'm here to protect her!" Pinkamena snarled. Tears began pouring from Rainbow Dash's eyes, one by one falling to the floor; she gritted her teeth and answered weakly "The only thing she needs protecting from is you".

Oddly, Pinkamena actually considered this last comment for a moment, before returning to her prior malevolence without a second thought. "Then perhaps… it's time I paid her 'friends' a few friendly visits" Pinkamena cackled, stepping passed the cowering opposition and preparing to head out with sinister intentions. With that, Pinkamena left the house; leaving Rainbow Dash as a broken, tormented mess.

-Pinkamena made her way through the streets of Ponyville, keeping her eyes open for any familiar faces. Unfortunately for her, most were already asleep, as she discovered by the town clock chiming 10:00. She stared up at the laminated representation of time and huffed in disappointment, "Oh dear. Hehehehahahaha! Oh well, beggars can't be choosers" she snickered creepily. She then climbed her way to the rooftop of a nearby pawn shop, before spotting a certain yellow pegasus wandering in a nearby street.

Fluttershy rarely wandered at night, so this was a unique opportunity for Pinkamena. She had to be quick, and make sure she didn't escape. Pinkamena leapt from rooftop to rooftop to stalk her prey; Fluttershy slowly and nervously made her way across the pathway. Suddenly, the streetlamps that aligned along the road she walked all went out simultaneously, each having been punctured through their glass cases. Fluttershy was surrounded by darkness, unable to explain this unexpected phenomenon, but she understood one fact; she wasn't alone.

Pinkamena stared down at her target from her perch and chuckled malevolently, loud enough to be heard by the pegasus. Fluttershy turned to face the source of this noise, only to find nothing upon the rooftop from which it was emitted. She began to tremble in fear as she nervously backed away from the road, only to find herself halted by an unknown obstruction.

"I GOTCHA!"

Fluttershy's heart leapt from her chest as she screamed and backed away in a wild panic, before sighing in relief "Oh, it's just…" and suddenly pausing in surprise, "…you". Pinkamena slowly stepped towards her with her unmistakably evil grin. Fluttershy's relief vanished and was replaced with caution once again, Pinkie Pie's unsettling appearance having caught her attention.

"Pinkie Pie, is that y-you?" she asked fearfully, only to be met with a sinister chuckle as a response. Pinkamena licked her lips before sneering "Sorry, Fluttershy. Pinkie Pie's away from home". Fluttershy attempted to scream but found herself incapable of doing so, and Pinkamena giggled "What's the matter? Eh Heheheheheee!" "P-p-p-pi-pi" Fluttershy stammered, barely able to form words from the stiffness in her chest.

"Pi-pi-pi-pi-PINKAMENA!? That's the name now, remember?" Pinkamena shouted hysterically, before changing to a more serious smirk. "Now, if you could come with me, I would be most thankful. Hehehehe! I would say 'I would prefer it if nopony got hurt', but what kind of fun would that be?"

"Pinkie Pie?" called a voice from behind the consultants, soon to be identified as Applejack, Twilight and Rarity. "Well, well, well! Isn't it way past your bedtimes?" Pinkamena asked before grinning. "We heard Fluttershy scream, so we thought she was in trouble!" Applejack explained, unaware of distinguish Pinkamena's features from the surrounding darkness.

Pinkamena thought about the situation at hand. Apparently, the ponies didn't recognize her as Pinkamena yet; and after considering this fact, she decided to take advantage of the situation. She did her best to copy Pinkie's usual, cheerful expression, and rustled her hair to resemble its previous appearance.

She hastily answered "I… I thought we might go somewhere nice tonight… like the café, maybe" in her best attempt to mimic Pinkie Pie's voice. The ponies looked at eachother in confusion, "We've already been there today, haven't we?" Twilight reminded her. "We have? I mean- uh… Well, we don't have to if you don't want to…" Pinkamena pouted.

Pinkamena's silver tongue had successfully slithered its way into the ponies' emotions. "Okay, Pinkie; we can go. We wanted to make it up to ya, anyway" Applejack offered with a small smile. As they headed on their way to the café's residential district, Pinkamena leaned over to Fluttershy and whispered "Not a word about me to any of them, or you'll wish you hadn't!" to which Fluttershy hastily nodded in obligation.

"Say, uh… Where's Rainbow Dash?" Twilight questioned, to which Pinkamena hesitated to find a good answer; "Um… uh… She came to see me tonight…but… she's not in a good mood" she explained, "She's… upset, but doesn't want anypony to see her".

Later, once they arrived at the café, the misfit group all ordered their typical meals. However, try as she might, Pinkamena had no clue of what to order, since she never had the chance to learn what meals Pinkie Pie enjoys. She scolded herself for this fact; she thought to herself "I can't believe I dragged myself into this mess!"

"Hey Pinkie Pie, about today…" Twilight muttered from across the table. Pinkamena diverted her attention towards the unicorn and quickly stammered "Oh! Um… don't worry about it, I just… haven't been myself for a while". Applejack then stated "I don't blame ya, Pinkie Pie. This whole thing with… Pinkamena…" she paused for a second before continuing, "I'm really sorry for ya".

Pinkamena hadn't expected such a response, and thus was becoming increasingly confused. Why were they not acting the way she had expected? Why hadn't a single notion of a deceit or wrath been aimed at Pinkie Pie yet? Why weren't they openly abusing her as she had predicted of them? To their knowledge, she was Pinkie Pie; and yet, they seemed to be treating her with a level of care and devotion to her alter ego that she did.

"No!" Pinkamena thought to herself, "It's a trick! Some kind of lulling tactic! They're trying to trick Pinkie Pie by being nice so they can hurt her more!" As the others chatted amongst eachother, Twilight noticed a certain oddity to Pinkie Pie's behavior, "You didn't order anything, Pinkie Pie?" she asked. All of her colleagues stared at her, waiting for some form of response. Pinkamena failed to hear the question, but noticed the observing eyes of her consultants and refocused her attention, "Uh… huh? What was that?" she muttered.

Suddenly, she felt something wrap around her, causing her to tense in surprise she shifted her gaze to the left to find the culprit. She was astounded to find that Applejack had her arms wrapped around her and had pulled her into an embrace. Taken aback, Pinkamena became puzzled to the relevance of this action, as well as what purpose it signified. She began to feel more uncomfortable the longer she remained in this position, but her embracer refused to release her grip. "What's the matter, Pinkie Pie!? You're actin' incredibly odd now. It's really scaring me, ya know; and… I wanna know. I wanna help! Why won't ya let anypony HELP!?"

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Pinkamena screamed in a frantic panic, before she fell from the table clumsily and ran for the front door. Once outside, she bolted for a nearby alley and stopped to catch her breath. What the heck just happened? Why did that one pony act so dramatically towards her? Whatever it was, Pinkamena remained convinced of the groups true nature.

While she tried to regain her previous composure, she suddenly felt a strange buzzing in her head. It felt like a soft vibration; soft, but no less irritating. "Grrgh, what is going on!?" she grunted to herself. When she looked back at the café, she noticed her 'friends' wandering towards her, to her dismay. "Hey, Pinkie Pie! Please, stop running away!" Applejack cried out.

"STOP! IT'S NOT PINKIE PIE!" cried a voice from the sky. All ponies looked up to find Rainbow Dash flying down in between Pinkamena and the others. "Stay away! It's Pinkamena!" she yelled. "What!?" erupted from the ponies, followed by a sobbing Fluttershy admitting "I wanted to tell you, but she told me not to, or else".

Applejack stared in horror at Pinkamena, saying "It can't be… You seemed… so much like her…" Pinkamena couldn't help but laugh at this statement; and since the secret was out, she no longer had anything to hide. "Bahahahaha! Of course it's me. You couldn't… cou… uh…. … what?" Pinkamena stopped mid-sentence and looked around in different directions.

"What? How are you…? How did… stop ta… stop!" The ponies stared with confusion as Pinkamena stumbled around screaming at herself and clutching her head. "You won't… stop! Stop…I SAID STOP! STOP IT! STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT! Stop talking to me! Stop… stop… sto…" Pinkamena began to swoon before collapsing into Twilight's awaiting arms. With that, she passed out from either panic or stress, or perhaps both at the same instance of time.

The other ponies laid her against the wall, where she twitched and fidgeted in her fitful comatose state. "Is she alright?" Rarity asked, to which Twilight answered "I honestly don't know. But it's good that it happened, before she did something dangerous". "Well, that's good at least, but still…" Applejack replied. "Grrgh!" emanated from Pinkie Pie's throat as she tossed about restlessly. The other ponies watched her with both fear and curiosity.

Just what was going on in her head right now?

-White; pure white.

While in her senseless, lifeless state, Pinkie Pie had eventually lost her sense of time, therefore unable to understand how long it had been since it began. Eventually, however, Pinkie Pie slowly opened her eyes, having finally recovered possession of her bodily actions, to found herself laying in a bed, before rubbing her eyes and sitting up.

When her eyes adjusted to the bright light and surrounding color, she found that she was in her bedroom. Oddly, all of the furniture was back to normal and nothing was missing, not that Pinkie Pie seemed to notice. What happened while she was asleep? How long has it been? How did she get here? Did her friends bring her here? Where are they now?

Pinkie Pie stood up, got off her bed and made her way downstairs. Upon reaching the first floor, she was overwhelmed by the scent of freshly baked pastries, thankfully aiding her sensorial regeneration. She stepped outside and scanned her vision across the surrounding streets for anypony to talk to, only to be disappointed by their apparent vacancy.

Left without an alternative, she wandered her way to the café to see multiple ponies and pegasi wandering around; clearly, nothing had exactly changed from the norm. "PINKIE PIE!" suddenly called a cluster of voices from behind her; she turned around to find the source, but was immediately tackled by a wall of embrace.

"Pinkie, are you alright!?" came a voice from the bombardment of affection. "Yes! You- I am! Ow!" she muttered before being released by the five culprits. "Sorry! We were so worried! We thought ya had a fit or somethin' and ya wouldn't wake up!" Applejack howled. "Yeah… for a while, so did I" Pinkie Pie replied, rubbing the back of her neck.

"This should never have happened to you, Pinkie Pie! You too nice, you shouldn't have happened to somepony as good as you!" Rainbow Dash screamed before hugging Pinkie Pie again. Rainbow Dash began sobbing into her shoulder, and Pinkie Pie chuckled to herself. "Rainbow Dash, what's all this then? Your usually more emotionally controlled" Pinkie jokingly teased

Rainbow Dash peered into Pinkie Pie's eyes with mild sorrow. After hugging for a while, Pinkie Pie said "Hey Rainbow Dash?" to get her attention. Rainbow stared intently at her friend, expecting something of relative importance to be told.

"I'm kinda hungry".

The silence.

"GRHERAAAHHH! After all- You- You had- You- We- I-…" Rainbow Dash suddenly erupted. Pinkie Pie had apparently broken Rainbow Dash's mental capability of coherent speech, before "Sure thing, Pinkie Pie. Where would you like to go?" calmly passed through the latter's clenched teeth. The others snickered at this event before all eventually agreed on the place to go.

"Well, everything's back to normal finally!" Twilight sighed with relief. Her companions' thoughts on this comment indirectly conflicted, but all settled to leave the topic well enough alone for the time being, as such matters were not welcome at the present time of celebration.

After the breakfast at the café, the rest of the day was surprisingly, and thankfully, uneventful. By the time the group disbanded, it was 6:00 pm; so Pinkie Pie decided to head home for the night. She decided not to have any dinner, as she believed she would explode if she even tried to eat anymore.

While in bed, her churning stomach cost her of much of her sleep; she tried to play a song in her head to help, but was too unfocused and distracted to think of one. However, as time passed, a song began playing in her head that she recognized immediately, and she snuggled into her bed with satisfaction. But then, something crossed her mind about the song that she heard; particularly the voice that she could hear.

Why was it her own voice?

The End?