Author's Notes:

Please tell me if you see any errors, such as grammar, spelling, or left off letters. Comment and check out my other stories if you liked this one, thanks for reading!

Lots of ponies say things like ‘ I was born this way,' or ‘Celestia made me like this,' but that’s wrong. Nopony is the way they are because they were born like that, high class or low class. Who you are depends on three factors, how you're raised, who raises you, and your environment. For example, if rich ponies raise a rich pony in a rich environment, they’ll act as they do. Snooty, greedy, like they know everything. But if raised by poor ponies, they’ll act differentially. They’ll be hard workers, appreciate every little thing, and be kind in hopes for that kindness to be repaid. That’s why you never see snooty poor ponies. This goes for everywhere, even different dimensions.

Though there are…exceptions. There are specific mental disorders you're either born with or develop with trauma and unpleasant experiences, that make you have certain traits or think a certain way. While some can be cured, but mostly through extreme amounts of therapy or medicine, not all can. Some disorders or syndromes, no matter how you're raised, where, or by who can’t be changed.

There’s few, but there’s more than just disorders and syndromes that dictate who you’re going to be when you’re born. These things aren’t marked as disorders or syndromes but as abnormalities. Killer instinct, natural talent for everything, a constant morbid thinking, and a few more rare things. Like disorders or syndromes, nothing can change these things, and nothing can prevent them. Though, it’s not impossible to cause it. With genetic engineering, trial and error, and chance, some of these things can be produced. This both was and was not the case of Pinkamena Diane Pie, as you will learn in her story.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After getting off the train, Pinkamena and Twilight, along with guards in a formation around them, began to walk towards the castle. While walking through Canterlot, they received many strange looks, as there hasn’t been an arrest ever since the Nightmare Moon era, and never somepony so important. Many started whispering to one another when they noticed them, some spreading rumors about why they were arrested, others just watching in shock as somepony so crucial as Celestia’s star student was being escorted like a prisoner through Canterlot.

But, most were focusing on the other pony, the one that used to be called the Element of Laughter, the causer of the changeling massacre when the changelings attacked, Pinkamena. It wasn’t her appearance that made them notice her, nor was it that she was also being escorted, it was the look on her face. It was the widest smile they’ve ever seen on her face, even before her transformation. This smile was evil and dark, similar to the look of excitement in her eyes, both were full of malice and lust. Bu,t what it was also full of that scared them, was something they've never seen before, and they hoped would never see pure darkness again.

Twilight, on the other hand, looked entirely different. She was looking down, with multiple emotions on her face. Confusion, worry, and fear. She seemed to be so lost in thought that she was barely able to keep up with the guards, eventually having to focus on other things. Pinkamena stopped her smiling, now having a scowl on her face. Either from annoyance or boredom, that scowl remained on her face all the way to the castle. While Twilight decided to focus more on her surroundings, and think later.

What Pinkamena had been thinking was as dark as it seemed, maybe more. At first, she had thought about killing the guards, leaving Twilight injured, but alive to report to her master, that is what gave her the dark grin on her face. But, then she realized how annoying it would be to be hunted down by the entire Canterlot guard, and the thought of how boring that would be is what put the scowl on her face. While Twilight had been thinking of a variety of things, some good, some bad.

The spat she and Pinkamena had on the train made her think about a lot of things, but she was thinking about more than just that. She was wondering why Celestia wanted both Twilight and Pinkamena to be escorted by several guards; she wondered why her friend changed so much and what happened to her. She was thinking about what she said on the train, and many other things that got her lost in thought.

Eventually, after walking through all of Canterlot, gaining the attention of almost everypony on the streets, they got to the castle entrance. As expected, there were guards on both sides of the gate, prepared to get rid of any unwanted visitors. But even the guards were slightly surprised at sight in front of them, they were informed of what would happen, but it was still relatively new to them. They’ve never seen anything like this before, both the two ponies getting arrested, and the look on their faces. One of hate and annoyance, and another of innocence and fear.

The group of guards that had been escorting them to the castle had left, saying their job was done and just to go in. They also said if they got lost, only to ask one of the many guards in the castle, then they walked off. They trusted Twilight to be able to direct them to Celestia, as she has a photographic memory, and had been in the castle many times. But most of all, they just wanted to get away from the other one. Never in their life had they seen such a pony, nor did they ever want to. Records of a different time, where Equestria was a crime filled place, says criminals think and act differently than regular ponies. The guards didn’t understand what that meant at the time, but now that they’ve met the closest thing to a criminal they would ever get, they wished they hadn’t.

It took a short while for Twilight to get to where Celestia was, both because the castle had been under renovations due to the changeling attack, and because it was hard to get Pinkamena to follow her. But when they got to the door that led to the royal courtroom, or at least, what Twilight hoped was the royal courtroom, Pinkamena seemed to stop wandering off, and just went with it. When they opened the door though, it was Twilight who had needed the motivation to go in the room.

In the room, was only two ponies, no guards, no prankster gods, just those two. Luna was sitting beside Celestia ‘s throne, with a blank look on her face. Though, she didn’t look very well. She seemed slightly pale, and her eyes were bulgy like she had been busy and was physically and emotionally exhausted.

Celestia was something else though, and she’s what made Twilight reconsider. Never in her life, not when Nightmare Moon returned, not when the changelings attacked, not when Discord was released, not even when The Crystal Empire came back, did Twilight see this look on her face. That look, it was filled with disappointment, anger, frustration, spite, and so many more emotions Twilight didn’t even recognize with so many of them in her eyes. The look wasn’t even intended towards her, and it was filling every inch of her body with fear and dread. The one it was intended to was Pinkamena, and Twilight gave up on trying to read her emotions a long time ago. Then, the unexpected happened.

“Nice stare you got, Fluttershy teach you that?” Pinkamena said smugly, noticing the tension, but just not caring.

The look on Celestia’s face didn’t leave, in fact, it seemed to get worse, Twilight would have face hoofed if there weren't so much tension in the room. A smug look came on Pinkamena’s face after her remark, utterly unfazed by the death stare she was receiving from a literal god.

“HOW DARE THOU MAKE FUN OF-“ Luna suddenly lunged forward, with a look of anger on her face, which just made Pinkamena smile a little wider.

Celestia put her hoof on her sister's shoulder, giving her a kind look that couldn’t have been more different than the one she just had.

“Calm down, Luna, I know you’re angry, I am too. But this is a dire situation; we need to remain calm. If you can’t control your emotions, then I’m going to have to ask you to leave.” Celestia said, her voice calmer than what her eyes were telling.

Luna almost had another outburst but decided against it. She sat there and remained silent, choosing to stare at the ground and collect her thoughts. Celestia returned her gaze to Pinkamena, who still had that smug look on her face, which infuriated the sun goddess. Twilight appeared calm, despite being full of dread, she remained standing there.

“Twilight,” Celestia said with a voice that gave no emotion, not removing her gaze from Pinkamena, who still had the sardonic grin on her face. Though her eyes gave away entirely different emotions. Defiance, frustration, and emotions Twilight had never seen before, but it...unnerved her.

“Come and sit by Luna, don’t say anything unless I ask you to. This is a grave matter, between me and that thing!” Celestia said at nopony in particular, her voice raising getting louder and angrier.

Pinkamena’s smile grew even larger and more smug, glad that she was annoying her to this extent, though, she’s not sure why she’s so angry. As far as they know, she hasn’t done anything that bad, unless killing your clone is illegal. Besides, even if it was, there’s no way they’d know about that. The only one who would even have a chance of knowing about her clone is Zecora, and she would know better than that. Both because of what Pinkamena would do to her if she did, and it’s doubtful anyone would trust her about anything other than alchemy and zebras.

“Thing? Really Tia? Don’t you think that’s a bit c-“ Pinkamena started sarcastically, but was interrupted.

“SHUT UP! YOU DO NOT GET TO SPEAK! You are here for one reason and one reason only, you speak only when spoken to, and no more of your sarcastic remarks!"

Everypony in the room was shocked silent, except for Luna. Celestia had never had an outburst like that, and certainly never used the royal canterlot voice. In that outburst, some of her emotions slipped out, frustration and anger came out as her face scrunched into a scowl towards Pinkamena. But, that wasn’t all, there was still plenty of emotion in there that words could never express, Pinkamena would know.

Twilight had never seen her teacher angry, or even frustrated! Not even during all those times she failed during spells or did stupid things, never! She was immensely confused and curious about what could have possibly pushed her to such an extent. Luna, on the other hand, had seen her like this once before and thought this might happen. Once, a very long time ago, the circumstances were much worse back then. But, the situation right now probably reminded her of back then, and she reacted in a lesser, but similar way Luna feared she would.

Celestia calmed herself, not wanting to fall to her emotions after she just told her sister to do the exact opposite. She went back to the look that made The Stare look pathetic, trying her best to keep her emotions from showing on her face, she didn’t want to bring any more satisfaction to Pinkamena.

“Twilight, please, come sit by Luna,” Celestia said, her voice slightly shaky with anger.

Twilight hesitated, not entirely sure what to do. While Pinkamena may be different, she was still her friend, and she wanted to stick by her. But Celestia seemed to know something about her she didn’t, and was both her friend and mentor, and was giving her order. Twilight was full of fear and confusion and slowly moved over to Luna.

Luna barely seemed to notice Twilight sit beside her, as she was startled when she did. But, after seeing the tension in the room, she decided to pay attention in case things got…heated.

“Now, we may begin. Do you know why you’re here?” Celestia said towards Pinkamena, trying her hardest to hold back her emotions.

Pinkamena’s face was blank, finally starting to get serious. The room was silent for a few seconds, as she began to evaluate.

“Well, I know I’m not under arrest, as I would be taken to a prison cell. And I know I’m not being interrogated, if I were, it wouldn’t be by you, it would be someone more…experienced. So, I take it you brought me here to question me about something more…off the record? I just don’t know what, or why you wanted Twilight here.” Pinkamena said, talking more like an analyst than a culprit.

Twilight had a slightly surprised expression on her face, as she had come to a similar conclusion. Luna’s face, on the other hand, scrunched up, knowing exactly how close she was. Celestia just seemed to get further annoyed and frustrated, though her body language gave it away, not her face.

“Don’t you dare play your mind games with me, you know why you’re here, it’s because I know what you are, Meotrizen. I know you’re from Meotrize, though, I thought they were all dead from the war. Obviously, they weren’t. I don’t know why you’re here, or why you’re posing as an Element of Harmony, but I will stop you. If you so much as breath without my permission, I will destroy you like the rest of your species, understand?” There was silence in the room, as Celestia’s words left her mouth, showing only how serious she was.

Her gaze had not left Pinkamena, the emotions remaining in her eyes. Luna’s face remained blank until the war was brought up, which gave a cringe to her face at the memory. While Twilight had a look of utter confusion on her face, there hadn’t been a war in Equestria in an incredibly long time, and even then it was concise and didn’t include anything other than ponies and known species. But a ‘Meotrizen,' as Celestia put it, wasn’t a species Twilight had ever heard if before, she’d have to research it when she got home, and this place called Meotrize.

Pinkamena though was different. She was also confused; she didn’t know a single thing she was talking about and didn’t understand why she was being accused of these things. But, what confused her the most wasn’t the accusations or the whole situations she’s in. It was the foreign feeling that was coursing through her, one she’s gone so long without experiencing, fear. But what made it unfamiliar, was that it didn’t feel like it was her fear.

“Um…ok? I mean, I don’t really have any idea what you’re talking about. I don’t know what a Meotrizen is, or what war you’re talking about. Wasn’t the most recent war that whole thing with Sombra? If you’d even count that as a war, and tell me I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure I wasn’t around a millennium ago. So, are you mistaking me for something else? Because I’m just a bit confused here.” Pinkamena replied, sounding very confused.

Now both Celestia and Luna and confused, as they both knew Meotrizens were proud, but admit when they were caught, depending on what it was they were found with, they were somewhat honorable So, either this one was different, or they were wrong.

“You, You’re not lying?” Celestia said, with mixed emotions. Pinkamena looked back at her, with that look that honestly made Celestia believe she was telling the truth.

“Should I be?” Pinkamena replied, her voice as innocent as someone like her could get.

Celestia looked deep into her eyes, looking for any signs of either she was lying, or if she was right. What she saw in there was the mind of a mad genius, a bloodlust that couldn’t be sated, a darkness that used to be the brightest of light, but not what she was looking for. But that look in her eyes was a familiar one, she’s seen it in the eyes of monsters, villains, and her sister, but never on an Element of Harmony.

She has seen this look too many times for it to bother her anymore, and she knows exactly what will happen if she were to let it be. No doubt that bloodlust that she’s trying to hold back will break her will one day, it’s a miracle she’d kept it distracted to this point, and when she does, she’ll kill without hesitation, and without a stopping point.

But, there was nothing Celestia could do about it, she couldn’t just have her arrested because she was suspicious, she needed reason, proof, and she didn’t have any. The closest thing she had was the memory of the nightmare Luna had, and that can’t be trusted by everypony. While Celestia had forgiven her, that doesn’t mean everyone in Equestria automatically forgives her. Celestia nodded towards her sister, who was looking at Celestia eagerly for an answer, her nodding indicated Pinkamena was not lying.

Luna responded by looking towards Pinkamena, with a look that said she now had more questions than answers. She had felt it too, the presence in that dream, there was no mistaking it, it was a Meotrizen. Twilight was more confused than any of them; she didn’t understand anything that was going on, though she was certainly trying. Pinkamena was also confused but didn’t really care either way.

“Well, that was…unexpected. Either you’re the best actor I’ve ever seen, or you’re telling the truth. While it’s true I am the ruler of Equestria, but, like everypony, I make mistakes. But this one wasn’t one without reason, Luna showed me something that made me believe you were, and I apologize for that. But, you’re still very much under questioning for what she showed me.” Celestia said to Pinkamena, her voice now returning to the more calm and neutral one.

Luna’s face had a flash of fear at the memory, but not wanting to show weakness, she tried to hide it. Pinkamena decided to think more about it now, and decided just to listen; she did notice the strange fear was now lowered, but not gone. Twilight remained immensely confused, but now with curiosity.

“Really? What did she show you that put me in your crosshairs?” Pinkamena said sarcastically, hoping her royal ass hasn’t found out about her little playtime with The Mirror Pool.

“As you know, Luna can see the dreams of everyone in Equestria. Sadly, this is only limited to once a month, but yesterday was that day.” Celestia said, trying to be as vague as possible, Twilight was still in the room, and she's already seen and heard too much.

The gears in Pinkamena’s mind were trying to piece together what she meant, and how it concerned her, Twilight was doing a similar process, but she had fewer pieces of the puzzle.

“What most ponies don’t know, is she can go into nightmares also, and keep herself completely hidden. She could be there for the entire dream, and you would never notice her presence. Yesterday, Luna was looking around for the dream of a pony who needed help, and she stumbled upon not a dream, but a nightmare. This nightmare belonged to someone she knows, or knew, as the Element of Harmony she knew would never have a dream like the one she saw.” Celestia continued, really not wanting to recall the details.

Luna’s face contorted to one of shock, at the memory of the horrible nightmare she’d seen. Celestia sat there quietly, wanting the culprit to come to their own conclusion. Twilight was still trying to piece it together, but simply had no idea who she was talking about. Pinkamena, hearing the hints she was given, realized what she was talking about, and with that realization came fear, this time, her fear.

“You… did you see?” Pinkamena spoke with more fear than she knew, she now understood exactly why she was here.

“Your dream? No, not personally. But Luna did, and she was able to transfer the memory of the dream right before you woke up. Neither Luna nor I have any intention of giving details; I think you’d agree, we want Twilight to stay as ignorant about this as possible. I only brought her as a guarantee you won’t try anything, because no matter how much you’ve changed or try to deny it, some part of you still cares.” Celestia replied, noticing her fear, and internally smiling.

Twilight was now more confused than ever, and slightly hurt they wouldn’t tell her anything.

“HEY! What are you guys talking about, why can’t I know?” Twilight nearly screamed, both sick of the tension, and hate being in the dark.

Twilight was trying to get them to tell her, but the only one paying attention to her was Luna. Celestia and Pinkamena were in a staring contest, with death glares on their faces. Neither of them speaking, as neither had anything to say.

“So? What, is it illegal to have dirty pleasures? Is that it?” Pinkamena was trying to play it calm, but she was filled with emotions.

She knew she wasn’t going to get arrested, or she wouldn’t be standing here. But now that Celestia knew about her dreams, she’s going to be watching her. Which meant she couldn’t go to The Mirror Pool, and if she didn’t find some release for her bloodlust, well, she didn’t know what would happen, she’s never felt the urge to test her call.

“No, that’s not it. If I arrested people for having negative thoughts or dreams, we’d have to build multiple prisons. But you, in my entirety of ruling, I have never once come across a dream like yours. I brought you here to let you know how serious I am, and that I know. Obviously, I’m going to be watching you. I’ll have guards watching you twenty-four seven. They’ll be hidden, of course, we don’t want anyone else finding out about your ‘dirty pleasure’ do we?” It was Celestia who had a smug look on her face this time, as she had known she'd won.

Pinkamena kept a calm look but was filled with more fear than she had before. Twilight was trying as hard as she could to get them to pay attention to her, so she could get her questions answered. The scientist in her was burning to have her curiosity sated, and the friend in her wanted to help Pinkamena, as she used to call her a friend. Then, with an annoyed face, Luna turned towards her.

“Does Thou really want to know? Fine, I shall tell thee about-“

“LUNA! DON’T!” Celestia suddenly said to Luna, very aggressively.

Luna suddenly tensed up and decided to stay quiet. Usually, she would argue or ignore her. But the things she saw, and the memories of the war, it’s had her emotionally shocked. Twilight had also tensed up but looked at Luna’s face with a pleading face, which convinced her to try to convince her sister.

"But, Tia, doesn’t thou think-“

"NO! Luna, I understand your want to tell her, I want to also, but we can’t. If we tell her, she’ll tell her friends. And if she does that, knowing how they’d react, Pinkamena’s only emotional anchor will be gone, and I don’t know if I could stop her before she does something!”

Luna flinched back, with her ears down, she hated to admit it, but she was right. Twilight couldn’t have been more confused and curious; she was fairly sure she hadn’t been more confused and curious in her entire life. Pinkamena cringed at Celestia’s words, knowing exactly what she meant.

It was true, she had realized it not that long ago, but Rainbow Dash was the only real reason why she hasn’t started on a killing spree. It wasn’t that she was afraid of getting caught or getting killed, those were just excuses she told her herself, she didn’t care for either of those things. The only reason she hasn’t is that of how Rainbow would react, how she would think of her, and how she would hate her. If Rainbow were to find out about everything, and she truly would hate her, any restraint she puts on herself every time she thinks about killing a pony would be gone, and she didn’t know if she would be able to stop.

Celestia looked back towards Pinkamena, noticing the look on her face, as she too realizes what would happen if she had nothing to hold her back. Celestia realized it at that moment, that while she had an insane mind, an intense lust for blood, and disturbing dreams and thoughts, she wasn’t entirely evil. Whatever had caused her transformation, whether she was born that way or trauma, the part of her that made her the Element of Laughter was still there.

Celestia wanted to smile at this but knew it wasn’t the time or place for smiling. Twilight would have argued and said she wouldn’t tell her friends, but if this were as serious as she thought it was, she probably would. So, she just sat there quietly, not wanting to increase the tension in the room.

“You both may leave, and continue living your life like you normally would, Twilight can anyway. Twilight, you will get your answers, but not until this whole thing is over with. So, please, remain patient, and you will be rewarded. But for now, both of you, go home. It has been a long and confusing day, and my sister and I need to rest.”

"But, Princess I-“ Twilight tried to retort, hating the situation that was being explained to her.

“LEAVE! NOW!”

Celestia didn’t want to snap at her, but it truly had been a long and stressful day, and she had been dangerously close to telling Twilight everything. Both about Pinkamena, and the war. Luna understood this and nodded at Twilight. Twilight, not wanting upset either of them any further, began to walk out. Pinkamena had already left after Celestia asked them to.

After leaving the room and shutting the gate behind them, Pinkamena and Twilight had walked to the train, bought tickets back to Ponyville, and waited. They did all of this without saying a single word; both had too much on their mind to talk at the moment. And even if they did, they would have nothing to talk about.

When Celestia was sure they were gone, and Luna had left after Celestia told her to get some guards to watch her as soon as possible, she allowed her emotions to take over. She was feeling more than just negative emotions towards Pinkamena, much more. The presence of that thing that monster had brought her the memories of the living Tartarus both her and her sister went through.

The Meotrize war, the only real conflict Equestria has ever been in, and yet so little know of it. The things she had to do, the lives she had to take and sacrifice, ponies aren’t ponies on the battlefield. Then again, not everything that was battling was a pony. It filled her with guilt and regret, emotions she hoped never to fill again. She sobbed by herself, not wanting to share her pain with anypony else, nopony else would be able to.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Pinkamena was walking through the town, with a very frustrated look on her face. After getting off the train, Twilight had said she was going to research Meotrize and find out everything. She wasn’t sure if it was a threat or a promise but didn’t care either way.

By the time both of them had returned, it was already nighttime. Almost everypony was asleep, which is probably why they weren’t bombarded with questions the second they got back. Neither of them would be sleeping all that much that night. Twilight would be up all night looking through her library for her answers, which knowing how well organized and determined she was, she would get through all those books in one night. She’d use the process of elimination and search through books related to what she was looking for, species, history, wars, and get through them all in one night.

Pinkamena though didn’t think the answers would be in books. If what Celestia said was true, then there would be no record of this war. Nor would there be a record of Meotrize, nor who or whatever lived there. But, that didn’t mean there wasn’t a way to get answers, every question had an answer, or it wasn’t a question. Someone, somewhere, had the answers she was looking for. No secret is kept forever, not even secrets that are better off staying hidden.

But, if this was a secret Celestia herself tried to keep hidden, no one in Equestria would know about it. Although, not everyone in Ponyville was from Equestria. They weren’t on the best terms, and it wasn’t a guarantee she even knew anything, but she was positive she could get answers out of Zecora.

Pinkamena walked through The Everfree Forest like she normally did every day, except this time was for a different purpose. She wasn’t being watched, she knew otherwise. It didn’t matter how urgent her situation was; it had been too long since any of the guards had to do such a task, they wouldn’t really know what to do. Most of the guards that are awake are mainly just for night shift, and too tired to be able to watch her. This was her last night of freedom before she’s going to be observed by the best and brightest.

Lost in thought and not paying much attention to her surroundings other than the path, she got to Zecora’s hut sooner than she thought. And just as she had expected, the lights were still on, meaning she was still awake. Zecora was somewhat nocturnal; she preferred to do her work in the nighttime and sleep in the day. Unless she had to collect herbs or other plants, then she goes out in the daytime to obtain them. As there are many dangerous creatures out in the nighttime, it would be stupid to try collecting herbs when there are things like timberwolves and manticores looking for food.

Pinkamena walked up and knocked on the door, patiently waiting for it to be answered. Which it was, Zecora opened the door with a welcoming smile on her face. Zecora wasn’t aware of Pinkamena’s ‘activities’ in The Mirror Pool, but she was aware of her change in personality. But, being the friendly Zebra she is, she treats everyone with kindness, no matter how twisted they may be.

“Hello, Pink one! Welcome to my home!
But why are you traveling in such a dangerous place alone?”

Pinkamena pushed her aside and entered her home, not really in the mood to deal with her rhyming.

“You don’t have to do that around me, Zecora, I know zebra’s don’t actually talk like that. I don’t mind you doing it to indulge others and be mysterious, but it just annoys me.”

The smile on Zecora’s face disappeared, replaced by a look of seriousness. She thought Pinkamena knew more than what she let on, just not to this extent. She didn’t know how Pinkamena knew she was just acting, but from the tension coming from her, now wasn’t the time to ask.

“I can sense you’re tense, would you like some tea?”

Zecora had spoken to her, her accent and habit to rhyme going. The atmosphere of the room was entirely different the second Zecora spoke, now both of them are serious. This isn’t the first time they’ve had a conversation after Pinkamena became who she was, this was just the first one where there was so much tension.

Pinkamena had already sat down in the chair in front of the table Zecora always kept; she guessed Zecora would offer tea, she didn’t mind.

“Sure, make mine green preferably, thanks.”

Pinkamena didn’t specifically dislike tea, but she wouldn’t go of her way to get some. After a few minutes of waiting, which she spent looking around the hut, trying to figure out one Zebra would need so many potions. Eventually, she just gave up and decided to try to piece together a theory of everything while she was waiting.

Before she could really start though, Zecora had returned with two cups of tea, one in her mouth, and the other in between her hooves. She put the one in her hooves in front of Pinkamena, and the other in front if the chair opposite of the one Pinkamena was sitting in. Zecora then sat in the chair and began to drink her tea. Pinkamena, not particularly thirsty, decided to wait.

“So, pink one, why are you here?”

Zecora said, after putting down her teacup, with a voice that only had curiosity.

“A lot of reasons, but before I tell you them, I have a few questions to ask. The first one, why do you speak in rhymes and do all the things you do? Zebras don’t actually talk like that, or do a lot of the things you do, except potions and alchemy.”

Zecora was silent for a moment, thinking of exactly how to answer that.

“Well, it’s fun. I’m the only Zebra in all of Equestria, which means however I act, is how they’ll see Zebras. So, just because I don’t have a lot to do, out here in The Everfree, I find it enjoyable to indulge them in their rumors and such, is it really that strange?”

Pinkamena seemed to relax, glad the reason was good nature, and that she wouldn’t have made a new enemy.

“No, I was just curious. But, onto a more serious question. Do you know anything about The Mirror Pool?”

Zecora suddenly had a dark look on her face, one of fear. She didn’t say anything; she didn’t have to. Pinkamena was paying close attention and saw her reaction.

“That’s what I thought. You do know about it, good; I was uncertain. I never could figure you out Zecora, why you were here, why you lived in The Everfree, you were just such a conundrum. But then, I started putting the pieces together. I always wondered why ponies thought zebras spoke in rhymes, it was just a rumor, right? Well, yes, but as the saying goes, every rumor and myth has some truth to it, yours is no exception. So, I’d like to make a deal with you, you tell me everything about The Mirror Pool, and I’ll tell you how I know about it, and what I’ve been doing with it. By the way, this isn’t the main reason I’m here; I just want to get this out of my way. So, after this is done and discussed, I have one more thing to ask of you.”

Zecora said nothing, too full of fear. Never once had Zecora been more intimidated in her life, this pony not only found out about a millennium old secret, but was going entirely off of theory and speculation alone, plus, she was an Element of Harmony.

“Under one condition, I want your promise that you won’t tell Celestia or any other royalty about this. If you do, you will have no idea what you’ll be putting in motion. I won’t speak another word until I have your promise.”

Pinkamena sat there for a few seconds, with a huge smile on her face. Like she was on good terms with Celestia, or any royalty for that matter. It’s not like anypony would believe her if she tried to tell them there was a magical pool in The Everfree forest that can clone ponies, who would? Besides, even if by some miracle somepony did believe her, she would just be exposing herself. But Zecora didn’t need to know that.

“I promise.”

Zecora relaxed a little, not really sure how much credibility her word is worth. But, most likely, she was going to get answers out of her one way or another, and Zecora would much prefer the non-violent way.

“Ok, then I’ll start. A long time ago, long before Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon, Equestria was booming, but the land of zebras wasn’t so lucky. We went through an era of poverty; there were little resources, money and food were scarce, it was horrible. But, the leaders didn’t want to see their people suffer like this, so they resorted to magic. There was no way to make resources or money with magic, but copying wasn’t impossible.

So, we decided to create a spell that would clone objects, which we did. But, the spell could only clone one object at a time and was gone too quick. We needed something better, something that could clone multiple objects at once. But for such a thing to exist, we would need a location teeming with magic. The land of zebras had no place, and we didn’t have enough skilled magic users to create an equal amount of needed magic, but Equestria did.”

Pinkamena looked up at her, with realization in her eyes.

“The Everfree Forest.”

“Yes, exactly. So, we made a deal with Celestia. The leaders said that there was an herb that was needed that only grew in The Everfree, which wasn’t a lie, as there were much florae that grew there, but that wasn’t the main reason. With a combination of benevolence and pity, she allowed a few to live in The Everfree, which is a deal kept to this day, it is how I am here, in this hut. But, what she didn’t know, was that who we sent to live there were our best spellcasters.

But, they didn’t start right away, of course. While it was true, The Everfree was a dangerous place, which did not mean any venture in it. So, they wanted to cast the spell in an out of sight, safe area, in case something unexpected happens. After a month of navigating and venturing throughout The Forest, they found a cave. This cave was perfect; it was secluded, deep in the forest, and large. They spent a week preparing, collecting the proper things needed, used magic enhancing potions in case what they had wasn’t enough. But, when they did, it was better than what they thought it would be.

Like the original spell, it was able to clone objects. But, unlike the original, it was able to copy them multiple times. For example, if you were to throw in one rock, two would come out. If you were to throw those two back in, four would come out, then eight, then sixteen, and so on.”

Pinkamena already knew that, but it would have been nice to know beforehand, would have saved a lot of time.

“They were also very cautious. In the incredibly unlikely scenario, someone would stumble upon The Mirror pool, as they dubbed it do to both its pool and mirror-like features. They wanted to make sure not just anyone could use it, so, they put another spell on it. To make sure only they would be able to use it; they made it to whoever would want to use the pool, would need to do so with a rhyme. They did this because it was so silly and unexpected, no one would be able to guess how to use it. For example, in your case, the rhyme would be, ‘And into her re-“

“And into her own reflection, she stared, yearning for one whose reflection she shared, and solemnly sweared not to be scared at the prospect of being doubly more. Yeah, I know, I also know that the rhyme varies by gender and species. It’s completely different if it’s an object though, found that one out the hard way.”

Zecora looked at her with a look of absolute bafflement and disbelief.

“How, why do you know that?”

“Finish the story, and I’ll tell you.”

Zecora looked like she was going to retort, but decided against it and just to continue the story.

“Anyway, after the creation of The Mirror Pool, the land of zebras was booming. There were no longer resource or money issues, not nearly as much muggings and robberies, and best of all, starvation was at an all-time low. But, there’s always a bad to every good. One of the leaders had his family killed by a robber during the poverty, but never could get revenge. He used The Mirror Pool to clone himself and kill the one who took his family away. Others tried to arrest him, for the murder of a zebra, which they had no evidence was one who killed his family, but he seemed sure. He killed everyone who tried to stop him, with his army of clones.”

“Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Pinkamena said, gaining the rise of an eyebrow from Zecora.

“Yes, well, luckily, he had heart cancer. Which seemed to transfer to all of his clones, and him with them. While this was good, it showed that The Mirror Pool could be used for more evil than the good can outweigh. The remaining leaders decided the risk was too high, and to shut it down. So, they got as many resources as they needed out of it, and never used it again. They never told anyone about it, and never went near it. The only ones who knew of its existence were the leaders and the guardian. The guardian was the one they sent to watch over The Mirror Pool and make sure nothing similar happens again. But, obviously, someone got past. I trusted you too much, and let you and the others do whatever they wanted in The Forest, which I will not do any longer. But, the question is still there, how do you know about it?”

Pinkamena had her eyes closed, and her arms crossed, in deep thought. Her tea having been empty, as she had drunken all of it some time through the story. Then, she opened her eyes and looked at Zecora, with eyes of satisfaction.

“So, that’s the story, huh? Thank you Zecora, you scratched an itch in the back of my mind that’s been bothering me for a while. But, to answer your question, family. As a filly, my grandma told me many myths and fairy tales; this was just one of them. I only came out here to look for it out of boredom; I had no idea if it was real or not. I have no idea how she knew about it, and I have no way of knowing, as she is very dead. I’m just as curious about it as you are, but, I guess neither of us is finding out, huh? And, about what I do there, well, I think telling you wouldn’t be good enough. How about instead, I show you it tomorrow. I’ll come to your hut, and we can go together, sound good?”

Zecora had a mix of emotions on her face. Disappointment at the lack of answers, frustration at the cocky attitude Pinkamena had, but mostly confusion.

“Yes, that’s fine. I would argue, but we’re not quite done here, are we?”

Pinkamena smiled, she was really beginning to like Zecora.

“No, we’re not. As I said, I have one more question and favor. Now, this next question is personal to me, so I want you to think very hard about this one. Have you heard of anything called Meotrize? Or anything that it sounds like or might mean in another language?”

Zecora sat there for a moment, trying to think of anything that might connect. Spells, names, dates, places, words in other languages, plants, species, anything. But, she couldn’t think of anything. Neither names nor species or anything in other languages.

“No, I’m sorry. I can’t think of anything, where did you hear about it?”

Pinkamena closed her eyes, disappointed, but unsurprised.

“I see, well, that’s what I thought. It doesn’t really matter where I heard it if you don’t know what it is, does it?”

Zecora looked back at her and realized she was right.

“No, I suppose not. But, that still leaves the favor you want.”

Pinkamena was silent for a few moments; then a smile stretched across her face.

“Well, it was going to be where I just beg you for it. But now, knowing what I know, it’s blackmail.”

Zecora had a face of anger on her, as she slammed her hooves on the table.

“BLACKMAIL! You’re going to threaten to my entire species for your own selfish reason, AND YOU’RE AN ELEMENT OF HARMONY?”

Pinkamena hadn’t flinched, expecting this response.

“Well, that’s a complicated situation, but yes. Basically, if you don’t make me a potion that cures poison, paralysis, and magical stunning, I will tell Celestia.”

Pinkamena still had the smug smile, knowing she’s won.

“What makes you think I can get ma-“

“Because I did some research on potions, with the right plants, you can make such a potion, especially since you’re a zebra. I would like it to be in a pill, small as possible.”

Zecora’s face got even angrier, veins popping all over her face.

"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU A-“

Pinkamena slammed Zecora’s head against the table, knocking her unconscious almost immediately. She had stayed patient to get her answers, but now her patience was running low. She never liked getting yelled at, but there were certain situations where she tolerated it, this wasn’t one.

“Huh, first time hurting someone else, I like it. But, I can’t go any further, I need her potion making. Sucks, we were getting along so well, in the beginning, guess I lost another friend.”

Pinkamena got up and began to walk out, leaving Zecora to ‘nap’ on the table, feeling very relaxed. On her way home, her mind still wandered. While she had got answers to some of her questions, not the ones that were more recent and personal. She didn’t mind getting the answers she did; she just didn’t like loose ends.

The reason she wanted the potion was due to recent events, with Celestia who was going to be watching her and Twilight looking for answers, she’s probably going to be needing it. Though in the scenario guards were to subdue her, the potion wouldn’t really help. But, it’s unlikely that would happen, considering how the populace would react.

When Pinkamena got to Sugarcube Corner, the first thing she did was run up to her room, jump into her bed, and closed her eyes. It had been a long, tiring day for her. Both physically and mentally, she’s interrogated a zebra, been interrogated by god, fought her clone and was barely able to hide her wounds thanks to pink bandages and makeup, and lots of thinking.

“I’m so glad I finally get to-“

*Hey Pinkamena, can we talk?*

“Buck.”