Twilight slept well enough. She was wrapped in warmth that seemed to squeeze her like a foal squeezes a teddy bear. It was a good feeling. Twilight pressed herself against the warmth so that she could get it to cover the parts of her that were still cold. Instead, Twilight was hit with a nearly overwhelming scent of blood and sugar.

Twilight opened her eyes and found Pinkamena’s smiling face just inches away from her own. Back in Ponyville, Pinkie Pie’s smile was always warm and friendly, and while this wasn’t untrue for Pinkamena, there was something about her pointed teeth that gave her smile a hungry look to it, like the pony behind the smile was calculating the best way she can slice your throat. Now that they were so close together, Twilight saw the hunger that this smile hid better than ever before.

Twilight pushed against Pinkamena to try and get away from her, but Pinkamena had her arms locked around Twilight’s middle and Twilight was unable to break her grip. Twilight tried to wriggle free, but it was no use. Pinkamena just kept lying there smiling her hungry smile. Twilight’s heart thumped hard and fast in her chest. Twilight’s breathing also sped up and she could feel needles beginning to poke through her limbs.

“Pinkie, I know you have certain urges, but think of all the things...” Twilight stammered. She was interrupted when Pinkamena snored loudly into her face. “we’ve been through? Pinkie?”

“Of course, Rarity, I would like another waffle hat.” Pinkamena said faintly.

Twilight let out a sigh of relief. It took a moment for Twilight to get her heart rate down, but when she did she was able to wriggle herself free. It wasn’t easy, a hug from Pinkie Pie is not something that one can simply break free from, but Twilight managed to slip through her grip by sucking in her gut and pulling herself out of Pinkamena’s embrace.

Once free, Twilight checked to make sure that she didn’t wake her friend. Sure enough, Pinkamena seemed not to notice Twilight’s struggle.

“Looks like you’ve absorbed Rainbow’s sleeping habits.” Twilight said. Her stomach twisted when she said this, and Twilight wished that she hadn’t.

Twilight went over to check on Fluttershy. At first she didn’t noticed anything unusual, Fluttershy was lying in the same position she had been before Twilight went to sleep. However, after looking over Fluttershy twice, Twilight noticed that her body had moved slightly to the left.

Twilight laid a hoof on Fluttershy and gently shook her, “Fluttershy, can you hear me?”

Fluttershy didn’t respond. Twilight was sure that somehow Fluttershy had moved slightly while she and Pinkamena were asleep. She tried to open Fluttershy’s remaining eye to see if it would respond light, only to remember that there wasn’t much light for it to respond to.

‘What do you think you're doing?’ Twilight’s conscience asked, ‘Don’t you know better that bother ponies while they’re sleeping?’

“I just want to see if she’s waking up?” Twilight whispered, “What’s the harm in that?”

Twilight couldn’t think of a counter of a counter argument, but decided not to bother Fluttershy anyway. Instead, Twilight went over to the counter and pulled out a small bag of coffee grinds, a bottle of water, and a filter. Twilight poured the water into the coffee pot and set it up to brew.

While the coffee maker was doing what it was made for, Twilight paced back and forth across the mess hall, wishing that she had a book to read. She considered turning on the television to pass some time, but dismissed the idea because it might attract unwanted attention. Besides, the thing probably didn’t work anyway.

Minutes later, the coffee machine signaled that Twilight’s drink was ready. Twilight poured her drink and began looking for something to eat.

“No, Mom, I don’t want to go to school.” Pinkamena said in a barely conscious tone.

“Pinkie?” Twilight asked.

Pinkemena’s eyes flew open and she bolted upright. “I’m up, I’m up,” she said as she looked around the room wildly.

“Are you alright?” Twilight asked.

Pinkamena scratched behind her left ear and said, “Yeah, I’m fine. Just having a nightmare; a really weird nightmare.”

“Do you wanna talk about it?” Twilight offered.

Pinkamena shook her head, “No, it’s not that big a deal.”

“Alright then. Want some coffee?” Twilight gestured toward coffee maker.

“Only if we have cream.” Pinkamena answered.

They found a can of whipped cream, a bottle of syrup that was full, and a bag of sugar cubes. Pinkamena poured half a cup of coffee, dropped three sugar cubes into it, drowned the concoction with syrup, and topped it off with the cream.

Pinkamena drank the coffee in a single gulp. The cream formed a white mustache on her lip, which she licked off with satisfied smile.

Twilight searched the cabinet for something to eat. She settled on a bag of trail mix that was tucked between some chips and what looked suspiciously like dog food. Pinkamena decided to have a honeybun and some of the chips.

The two of them ate their breakfast on the futon. Pinkamena tried to turn on the television, but after a few minutes of playing with the knobs she gave up.

“Well that’s no fun.” Pinkamena said, dejected, “I was hoping that might be able to get it to play cartoons. Oh well.”

“What kind of cartoons did you used to watch?” Twilight asked, trying to make conversation, “Before, you know.”

“Mostly comedy shows. But there were a few slice of life series, I remember this one show about these kittens that all lived in a clock tower. Forget what it’s called… What about you? Was there anything you used to watch?”

Twilight thought for a moment, and then answered, “Not much. TVs never really took off in my world. Scientists couldn’t figure out how to make them cheap enough that ponies could afford them. Movie theatres were pretty popular though. You could pick a two hour drama, or a fifteen minute comedy.” Twilight laughed a little, “There was this one theatre that tried selling these chocolate pickles, and they were constantly advertizing them. No pony bought them, and even the workers snuck them into the trash when they thought no pony was watching, but that didn’t stop the theatre from selling them. No pony in the theatre’s management seemed to realize that they were a bad idea.”

Pinkamena laughed, “That’s nothing. You should see what happens when the Cakes (the ones I knew) tried to get experimental. Three words; chocolate, covered, garlic. They tasted horrible AND gave you bad breath. I sometimes wondered if they were on drugs when they came up with those ideas.”

Twilight and Pinkamena exchanged different stories of all the ponies they knew were completely incapable of creating new foods that tasted good. After a particularly funny story about how Spike once tried to eat plastic, thinking that it was a diamond, Pinkamena sighed and asked, “Twi, when was the last time we talked like this?”

Twilight thought for a moment then answered “I’m not sure. What do you mean?”

“I mean…” Pinkamena paused as if to search for the right words, “I mean talking about not so serious stuff. Small talk I guess you’d call it. It seems like every other time we’ve talked it was either one of us explaining something, or us using each other as psychologists. That’s not how friends talk normally.”

“We talked about dreams at least once, remember?” Twilight asked.

“Did we?” Pinkamena asked, “I don’t remember. When was this?”

Twilight thought back to exactly when they discussed dreams. “I think on my third day in Sleipnir. The same day I fought Sam.”

“Sam.” Pinkamena said, “I think I remember that name. He was some kind of monster, right.”

“Yes, he was definitely a monster.” Twilight answered.

Pinkamena furrowed her eyebrows. “I think I remember, sort of. It’s kind of blurry, like I’m looking at it through a foggy window.”

“Well, Dread mentioned that that poison the Administrator gave you might’ve caused some brain damage...” Pinkamena winced when Twilight said this, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just a little freaked out by the idea of brain damage.” Pinkamena shuddered.

“Well, you’re not a vegetable right now, so I doubt the poison did anything major.” Twilight said, trying to be reassuring.

“Yeah, I guess that’s something to be thankful for.” Pinkamena said. She looked down for a second then made a face like she had been hit, “Wait a minute, did I ever make you call be Diane?”

Twilight shifted uncomfortably, “Um… Yes. Before you ate that poison, whenever you ate some pony, you…” Twilight was sure exactly how to phrase this.

“I what?” Pinkamena asked. She was trembling now.

“You turned into another pony.” Twilight said. She closed her eyes and waited for Pinkamena to have a nervous breakdown.

It never happened. All Pinkamena did was ask a simple question; “What?”

Twilight opened her eyes. She had expected Pinkamena to either be angry or shocked. Instead, the mutated pony simply looked confused.

“I turned into another pony, how?” Pinkamena asked.

“Not literally,” Twilight explained, “you had dissociative identity disorder, meaning that you had…”

“Meaning that I had multiple personalities.” Pinkamena finished, “I know what that means; I watched a cartoon about it once. I didn’t know that it was a real thing though, I thought it was just something that writers used as a story device. Never even crossed my mind that I might have it. Why didn’t any pony tell me?”

Twilight struggled to find an answer. “Dread might’ve told me at some point, but I don’t remember. I think it was something about not scarring you, but I could be wrong.”

“That doesn’t sound right.” Pinkamena said, “But it does explain a few things, like why I’ve got a few holes in my memory.”

“Holes?” Twilight asked, suddenly concerned. “You never mentioned having bad memory before.”

Pinkamena giggled, “It’s nothing serious, it’s just that sometimes I’ll think that I was going to Dread’s office for the twentieth time and find out when I got there that it was my twenty fourth time. I guess I don’t get to keep my memories from other personalities.”

Twilight smiled, “You’re taking this pretty well. Most ponies would be having panic attacks right now.

“Well after having conversations with a robot, meeting ponies from other worlds that walk on four legs, and becoming a cannibal, finding out that I have a mental disorder is actually kinda relieving.” Pinkamena’s eyes suddenly started tearing up, “I wish that this was all a mental disorder.”

“Pardon?” Twilight asked before noticing Pinkamena’s eyes. When she did, an alarm went off in her head.

“I wish that none of this was real. That I never killed Rainbow Dash, never hurt Fluttershy, never became a monster.” Tears were now rolling down her cheeks. “I want to wake up and find out that this was a dream. A very, very bad dream. I want to throw parties and sing and eat cake and… and.”

Pinkamena started crying. Instinctively Twilight tried to hug her, but Pinkamena pushed her away.

“Don’t touch me!” Pinkamena cried, “You don’t want to touch me, I’m not clean.”

“I just want to help.” Twilight said, “Pinkie I…”

“Don’t call me that!” Pinkamena shrieked. Her face contorted into a glare.With her eyes red from crying added with her already pointed teeth, she looked almost demonic. “Pinkie Pie was a nice pony! She never would’ve hurt her friends!” Pinkamena’s screaming softened to a near whisper, “Pinkie Pie died with Rainbow Dash. The moment I gave Rainbow that drugged cupcake I had already stabbed Pinkie Pie in the heart.”

Twilight once more tried to hug Pinkamena, this time she did not push her away.

“I’m sorry, Twilight, I didn’t mean to go off on you like that.” Pinkamena said. She started to stop crying now. “I know that you were just trying to help. I… I don’t know what came over me.”

“It’s okay,” Twilight said, “it’ll all be okay.”

“Except, I don’t think it will be.” Pinkamena said, “How can it? I killed and ate one of my best friends, and tried to do the same thing to another. How can things be okay after that? And should they be? Do I deserve to live a happy life after what I’ve done?”

Twilight didn’t have an answer to this so instead hugged Pinkamena tighter and started stroking her back.

“And it’s not just what I’ve done in the past either.” Pinkamena said. Already Twilight could feel tears rolling down her back. “I liked killing her. I like eating ponies. I want to eat ponies. And I know how sick and disgusting that is, and I hate it. But I don’t think I can help it.”

No longer wanting to be so close to Pinkamena, Twilight let go and backed away a few feet.

“I don’t know how to help you.” Twilight said. “I wish I did, but…”

Pinkamena raised a hoof. “It’s fine. I shouldn’t have put all that on you. I guess I just needed to let that out. I’m sorry. We were having a nice conversation and I went and ruined it with my issues. I didn’t mean to trouble you. Or scare you.”

It was Twilight’s turn to raise a hoof. “You didn’t scare me, not much anyway.”

Pinkamena sighed with relief. “I was afraid that all this talk about cannibalism was making you uncomfortable.”

Twilight had to suppress a laugh, “This isn’t the first time we’ve talked about your dietary habits. I’m used to it by now.”

The fur on Pinkamena’s face turned bright red, “Oh, right. I forgot about that.”

After a few more minutes of talking about various parts of Pinkamena’s past (most of them things they had discussed before and were simply reviewing), Twilight asked her how she felt about Fluttershy now that she had been around her for a while.

“I don’t know.” Pinkamena answered, “I mean; I’m glad that she’s alive. Thrilled actually. It’s just that… It’s just that…” Pinkamena lowered her head, “I’m not so sure that she should.”

“What do you mean? You want to try and kill her again?” Twilight wasn’t sure how to feel saying something like that so casually.

“No!” Pinkamena answered quickly, “I mean, kinda. I don’t know.” Twilight was about to say something to this when Pinkamena added, “I’m not going to try to kill her again if that’s what you’re about to ask. It’s just that I don’t think she should be alive. I mean look at her!” Pinkamena pointed at Fluttershy. “She looks like a chewed up ragdoll. How is she going to live like that?”

“Well, a skilled surgeon can probably fix her skin.” Twilight said, “As for the eye…well she can wear an eye patch.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Pinkamena replied, “I don’t mean live as in living society, I mean live as in... Crap, I don’t even know what I mean.” She shook her head a little then continued, “I guess what I’m trying to say is how is she going to take it when she wakes up. How’s she going to react?” Pinkamena’s ear fell flat, “She’s going to hate me. Hate me or fear me. Maybe both. I’m not sure I can blame her.”

“She seemed just fine when she woke up before,” Twilight said. She explained the conversation she had with Fluttershy several days ago, as well as the reasons why she was put back to sleep.

“She really doesn’t know?” Pinkamena asked when Twilight finished.

“As far as I could tell, no.” Twilight answered then blushing slightly added, “I also may have told her a little fib, kinda.”

Pinkamena’s eyes narrowed, “You lied to her?”

Twilight took a deep breath. “Yes, I lied to her. I wasn’t sure how to explain to her what really happened, or prepared to handle her reaction. I thought that lie would be easier to take.”

Pinkamena shrugged. “All right then, but I’d hate to be you if Applejack finds out you’ve been lying to your friends.”

Twilight smiled. “I’d hate to be you when she finds out that you ate one of your friends.” Almost immediately she regretted saying this and was about to apologize when, to her surprise, Pinkamena smiled.

“She’d probably react the same way she reacts whenever someone does something wrong.” Pinkamena giggled.

“Which would be?” Twilight asked, already knowing where this was going.

“A sit down on yonder hay stack and a starn talkin to.” Pinkamena said, over exaggerating Applejack’s accent.

Twilight laughed. “That’s nothing to how Rarity would react. She’d probably worry about bloodstains before realizing exactly what you did.”

“Oh daarrling, I do hope that you didn’t get any blood on my new carpet. I just bought it five years ago after all.” Pinkamena said. “Wait, are you wearing Rainbow’s skin? Pinkie Pie, that is so uncouth!”

Both Twilight and Pinkamena laughed at this joke. Part of Twilight was guilty that they were technically making fun of their friends, but the thought never crossed her conscious mind. Twilight probably wouldn’t have cared anyway, she hadn’t had a good laugh in long time.