Author's Notes:

I wanted to go ahead and give a heads up about this chapter, after the previous one, one of the scenes from the prologue plays out, and then this scene happens after that. While its not necessary, I would recommend reading that scene. Other than that, enjoy!

After Pinkamena’s declaration, an awkward silence, exchanged glances, and short conversations, Celestia declared that she had other things she needed to attend to and that they can leave until they were called back. Which was half right, there were many preparations she had to make under the threat of a changeling attack; she also didn’t want Pinkamena in the same room as the others. Ever since she found out about her mental state, she needs to keep an eye on her and make sure she stayed away from the other elements. Either out of fear of what she would do to them, or she might corrupt them.

She was okay with her not talking; she was only there on the slight chance she would know something. But when she did talk, and the things she did, Celestia realized just how deranged she was. To speak like that not only in front of The Elements of Harmony, but to also take such a disrespectful tone towards the most powerful being in Equestria. That wasn’t just insane, that was fearless! It was hard to believe she wasn’t a Meotrizen because she certainly acted a lot like one. She sent them out of the throne room, telling them she’d call them back if anything happened. And to be on their guard, the changelings could attack anywhere, at any anytime.

“Well, that shined some light on the situation.”

Immediately after the massive doors behind them closed, Pinkamena made a joke, breaking the awkward silence. This wasn’t the first time she’s done this, even after her personality change, she always tried to crack jokes to break the silence, even if they were occasionally dirty. But this time, it seemed they really weren’t in the mood.

“What the hay is wrong with you?!”

Rainbow Dash quickly flew right in front of Pinkamena, her hooves thrown up in the air and an angry look on her face, Pinkamena wasn’t too surprised by this, she partly expected a response like this. But, surprisingly, none of the others did their usual reactions. Fluttershy would try to hold Rainbow back; Twilight would usually avoid getting involved, preferring to observe the relationship than to get in a situation that could become potentially violent. Applejack and Rarity were often the ones who diffuse the situation, and Pinkamena usually just cracked jokes and didn’t take anything seriously. Often, things didn’t get violent. Ever since the whole Canterlot Changeling incident, they’ve been reluctant to resort to violence.

“Sorry, I would offer a list, but I left it at home.”

Pinkamena retorted back sarcastically, she could have done better, but she was exhausted from last night’s endeavors. This seemed to make Rainbow even angrier, the veins on her head popping to the point of being visible, but Pinkamena remained unfazed. But then, surprisingly, she calmed down. Her wings retracted, and she hovered to the ground, she had a look of…worry on her face.

“Pinkie, I’m tired of getting angry with you. I never wanted to get angry with you; I don’t like being angry. Sure, me and Applejack argue all the time, but that’s because we care about each other. And despite everything, I still care about you, we all do. We’ve talked it over, and we’ve all agreed to help you. I’m not sure what happened to you, or why you feel you can’t trust us to help you, but that’s okay. You don’t have to tell us anything.”

Rainbow put her hoof on Pinkamena’s shoulder, a genuine smile on her face, while Pinkamena had a shocked one on hers. The others behind her also had smiles on their faces, even Twilight, though hers looked less genuine. She wanted to believe this was a trick, but she could tell from the looks in their eyes, it wasn’t. She felt a warmth through her body, a feeling she had thought she forgot, happiness. Parts of her straight mane started to curl up, her eyes began to tear up, she was close to becoming Pinkie again.

Then, suddenly, a darkness consumed her. There was no emotion that could describe it, no words, just darkness. It felt evil like something was possessing her, but it also felt familiar. It overshadowed the warmth, as if it was never there in the first place, replacing it with an unsettling coldness, a feeling she knew well. Her hair went back to being straight; her eyes were no longer teary, she no longer felt the happiness. Pinkamena scoffed, knocking away Rainbow’s hoof with her own, any signs of her giving in seeming to disappear.

“Trust you? Do you really think it’s that easy just to trust you? Because it’s not!”

The smile on their faces disappeared after she said that, as the hopes, they had that the Pinkie they loved would come back left them.

“Maybe before what happened I trusted you, but now? After everything that’s happened, I’ve learned trusting others doesn’t work! Trust isn’t something that’s given to someone because of their job or social status! Trust is something earned! You earn it through actions and time spent together; I’m not going to give you my trust just because we were friends once, that’s not how it works!”

She yelled at them ferociously, some of them cringing in response. This was the first time they’ve ever truly heard her angry. Frustrated and annoyed? Sure, but never angry. While some were afraid, others, like Rainbow Dash, were worried. Worried that something was hurting her to the point of anger, she knew she wasn’t angry at them; she couldn’t be, not with that kind of look in her eyes. No, something else was wrong with her, something painful.

“Besides,”

Pinkamena looked down, her mane covering her face, her tone now a sadder one than before.

“Even if I were to tell you, it wouldn’t make any difference; you couldn’t help me. The thing that’s wrong with me isn’t something you can just fix, it’s not that easy, and it’s far too late. I’ve done things, horrible things none of you even know about. And even if I were to be happy and normal again, the guilt that I would feel for all the things I’ve done would destroy me.”

She said, barely more than a whisper, but somehow, they all still heard her. She didn’t sound angry anymore, she just sounded sad and hurt, like someone who had been betrayed. She turned around quickly as if she was preparing to leave. Rainbow was about to stop her but decided not she; she felt that Pinkamena wanted to be alone.

“I…need to go, I have things I need to do. Please, just stop trying to help me, you’re only making it worse.”

With that, Pinkamena ran down the hallway, leaving Rainbow and the rest by themselves, worried for their friend.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“YOU CAN’T DO THAT!”

In a black space, like the void, two figures stood in it. They seemed to be floating, or maybe that was because there was no ground. The figure on the left had no shape; it wasn’t even corporeal. It was visible but looked like very thick fog. It had a dark blue color to it, which made it the brightest thing in there. On the right, across from the blue figure, was one almost identical to it. The only difference was shape and color, it seemed to be bigger than the blue one, and had a redder color to it, dark enough almost to be black.

“Do what? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Their voices were also impossible to identify; they sounded like dozens of male and female voices overlapping each other, making it hard to tell the gender of the speaker.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about! You can’t just do that to her! She had a chance for happiness, and then you just overlapped it with your bloodlust!”

The blue figure seemed to spike when it spoke, almost as if its emotions affected its physical state. The red figure remained unfazed.

“I had no choice, if I left her the way she was, she would have become that immature idiot again. And if that happens, there’s a good chance she’ll stay that way, and I can’t have that.”

The blue figure seemed to spike even more after that, while the red one remained calm.

“Why? Because of some selfish reason, you won’t tell me?”

The red figure spiked slightly as if it was annoying.

“If she’s happy and goes back to the way she was, then you won’t be able to take her over, which means you’ll fade away. And if you fade away, then so do I! I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan on disappearing from existence because you didn’t feel like hurting her feelings. I refuse to go out like that!”

The red figure spiked, but as soon as it happened, it was gone. The blue one noticed this, and shrunk in size in response, not wanting to make it mad.

“S-still, that doesn’t mean you can just take away her happiness like that! She has a life of her own! Just because you’re selfish, doesn’t me-“

Suddenly, the blue figure was silenced. The red one had outstretched a part of itself, almost like a hand.

“Selfish? I’m doing this partly for you. Besides, I have too much planned for her; I won’t let her give up now. I much prefer her the way she is, instead of that bumbling idiot she was. I want her to stay like this so I can see how she can progress, and, when the time is right, you will take her over. Now, leave me, before I decide otherwise.”

The red figure pulled back, and as soon as it did, the blue one disappeared from the room, leaving the red one by itself. It seemed to stay there for a moment, just thinking to itself. An image then appeared above it, lighting up that part of the place. It showed the streets of Canterlot, passing by buildings as if it was looking through the eyes of a pony. Every now and then, pink hooves could be seen under them, as if they were running.

“Oh Pinkie, I have so much planned for you.”