MLP: Rainbow Favored. Part 2
Dusk was approaching, and most of Ponyville's citizens had left the streets, providing plenty of room for a certain blue pegasus to roam. Rainbow Dash grumpily stomped her way through the streets, and had done so for several hours to overcome her frustration. As of late, everything had been going wrong for her, and she could barely comprehend the circumstances of each complication.
"Well, that is just perfect! I botch my flight presentation, I'm ridiculed for it by my friends, and now Pinkie Pie is in the hospital". She grumbled to herself as her eyes teemed with frustration. She shouted to herself "How could things get any worse!?"
"Get outta my way!" yelled a voice from behind her. Before Rainbow could react in any fashion, however, she was suddenly pushed to the ground by an unnoticed passer-by. She simply laid in the dirt for a few seconds as she listen to the sound of hoofsteps fading into the distance.
Finally, she jumped to her hooves and snarled angrily through her clenched teeth. "Right! That's it!" Rainbow announced, having finally lost her sense of rationality. Without a second thought, she rocketed into the air and raced after the culprit, with an intent to give them what was due.
Rainbow soared through the winding streets and flew between houses. After a short search, she eventually spotted the perpetrator and descended from the air, halting when she was only several feet away from them.
Intending to gain their attention, she shouted "Hey you, chump! Who do you think you're butting heads with!? If you ever do that again, I'm gonna-" before abruptly losing her voice.
Her heart ceased its natural rhythm as she finally realised who it was that she had confronted. The culprit turned to face Rainbow, revealing herself to be Pinkie Pie, although there were several noticeable differences about her appearance.
Pinkie Pie's hair was hanging downwards over her shoulders, the left of her fringe covering the left half of her face. Her skin was somewhat paler than it's more natural healthy glow. But her face was the most diverting aspect of her features. Her eyes were wide open and her pupils had shrunken to disturbing measures. Her grin covered a majority of her cheeks, showing a large, white smile.
Suddenly realising who it was that she was prepared to relieve her welling stress upon, Rainbow became utterly petrified and quickly attempted to avoid a drastic confrontation between the two of them.
"Oh… uh… y-you're not who I was l-looking for. It must have been somepony else" she nervously mumbled. Pinkamena stared at the impulsive pegasus with cold eyes and a disgusted sneer, clearly unconvinced by this poorly executed statement. "Get outta there!" Rainbow Dash's long-absent rationality screamed within her mind before she rocketed off into the sky.
As she prepared to fly away, she looked back for a quick second to find that Pinkamena was still standing motionless, staring at her with burning eyes. Rainbow Dash's breath ceased as she realised the reason why, Pinkamena was waiting for her to try and hide from her.
No matter how far she flew away or where she would hide, Pinkie Pie could always outrun her and beat her to her desired destination. Pinkamena was probably intending to do the same.
Despite this, the tension became overwhelming for her, resulting in her soaring off as fast as she could in a fit of impulse.
Rainbow couldn't believe her luck could descend to such a level, "That was Pinkamena! I can't believe it!" she stammered nervously. This was the first time in a long while that she was truly scared her own health, and from an understandably threatening predicament.
Soon enough, a thick overgrowth of woodland entered her field of view and she immediately dove into a small gap within the treetops. She dug her way through the swaying branches and landed among the wilderness of vegetation and plant-life. The light of the sun had passed from view, shrouding her environment in an atmospheric darkness.
She quietly looked around for any sign of Pinkamena's presence, pleased to find naught but the sound of birds and the rustling of the branches overhead. She leaned against a nearby tree and sighed with relief.
However, as she became relaxed by her solitude, she tensed from a warm gust of air against the back of her neck, paralysing her with fear. Suddenly, she felt a soft and wet surface against her neck, and she jumped away in a panic and turned to face the culprit. Pinkamena smiled mischievously at the pegasus, her tongue sliding across her teeth in satisfaction.
"Well… If it isn't the girl that made my cherub so miserable".
Rainbow Dash remained silent, slowly stepping back as Pinkamena approached her. "I've wanted to see you again" the sinister persona admitted, flashing a large grin and exhaling with excitement. "You already used Pinkie Pie for your amusement before" Pinkamena reminded, "I hope you don't also abuse her when you're angry… because that's how it looks to me".
"What! No!" Rainbow Dash blurted out in denial, "I'm just… having a bad day today… And I didn't realise it was you, I swear!" Pinkamena raised an eyebrow as she kept a sceptical expression on her face, before turning away to consider the situation.
"Actually…" Pinkamena soon began, Rainbow listening intently as Pinkamena turned to face her again, her sinister gaze piercing into the pegasus' soul. "You already have to make it up to Pinkie Pie for that prank of yours" Pinkamena explained, "So now… I guess…. You have to make it up to me for threatening me".
"So… you want a favour?" Rainbow Dash questioned, seeking clarity on Pinkamena's intent, "What do you want me to do?"
Pinkamena then snapped "I DON'T KNOW! I DON'T NEED YOU FOR IT YET!" before regaining her composure. With a deep breath, she snarled viciously "So you're fine… for now".
Pinkamena then turned and disappeared into the darkness of the woodlands, before concluding "When I need you for that favour… I know where to find you". Rainbow Dash continued to stare into the darkness that Pinkamena disappeared into, completely baffled by her situation.
She realised that despite learning of Pinkamena's return, she couldn't fathom what would have triggered the anomaly's reappearance. At no point during the week did Pinkie Pie behave strangely, neither was she wronged in any way that would prompt Pinkamena's return. The only clue she had for this outcome was this morning's incident in the café.
Perhaps there was more to that than she realised.
Night finally fell on Ponyville and Rainbow Dash made her way along the streets, lost in thought of today's unrelenting series of problems. However, as she was making her way through the marketplace, she happened upon a familiar face, a certain purple unicorn approaching her.
"Twilight?! What's wrong?" Rainbow Dash called out across the streetway, Twilight stopping before her and catching her breath as an expression of panic on her face had met Rainbow Dash's eyes. "Pinkamena's back again! We need your help" Twilight explained, "She attacked Applejack and ran off!"
"What?! Is applejack alright?! Where is she?!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed is shock, before Twilight intervened and answered "Applejack's just fine, she was just roughed up a little. She's at her farm, but she should be better soon". Rainbow Dash sighed with relief knowing that Applejack had escaped harm, but then asked "Well, what are we gonna do about Pinkamena now?"
Twilight explained "Well… Pinkamena's in Sugarcube corner right now, but we can't tell what she's up to". "We? You mean the others are there?!" Rainbow questioned, and Twilight replied "They're fine. Pinkamena hasn't left the house and their keeping an eye out".
Rainbow Dash and Twilight then walked alongside eachother through the winding streets, before finally reaching Sugarcube Corner. From outside, Rainbow Dash spotted Rarity and Fluttershy hiding from behind a nearby wall, and she approached the pair alongside Twilight. "Is she still inside?" Twilight asked, and Rarity answered "Nope. She hasn't left yet".
"So what are we gonna do?" Fluttershy asked, "I don't think we'll be able to talk to Pinkamena". "We'll have to try" Rarity admitted before considering a solution, "If worse comes to worse, me and Twilight can cast a charm on her".
The group of four slowly approached the front door, remaining out of the indoor light cast through the windows. Rainbow Dash carefully crept up the stairway to the front door, twisting the knob slowly and opening the door. She stepped inside and looked around the room for any sign of the occupant, the living room appearing vacant. Rainbow Dash turned behind her and whispered "Quick! Get Inside!"
The others enter and began searching around the house, before Rainbow Dash stated "I'll bet she's up in her bedroom". From this, the pegasus crept up the staircase and walked along the hallway towards the bedroom.
"… would be a lot of fun, don't you think?"
Behind one of the doors, they heard a familiar voice and fell silent to hear what she was saying.
"But what about the house? ... Well, we can each have two halves of it, cherub. … And the bedroom? … We can get a double bed, and repaint the bedroom while we're at it. … And maybe we can get two closets, one for each of us. … That's a great idea! So where should it be, cherub? In the woods or by a beach? … Oh, the woods definitely. I hate the smell of seawater! … That makes sense" the pair of personas conversed with delight.
"What is she talking about?" Rarity whispered, wary of Pinkie Pie hearing them. "I think she's planning to move away!" Fluttershy exclaimed in sudden realisation.
Pinkie Pie then said "And we'll find somewhere far away from this place. … No kidding! It's a problem when phonies are constantly leeching off of your back. … I'm so sorry, Pinkamena! You were always trying to tell me, but I didn't believe you. You were right all along. … I know, I heard the whole thing. They were so rude to you! … I thought that they could be so mean to me, but this was something else entirely".
This was incomprehensible for her friends to hear; they had never heard this from her in the time they've spent with her. Was what she was saying now what she really thought, or was it just Pinkamena poisoning her against them; either way, Rainbow Dash couldn't bear the thought that these circumstances could be the reality.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the ragtag team of infiltrators, Pinkie Pie had stopped talking and the house became silent. The group soon realised this and each had redeveloped their sense of dread.
However, after eventually mustering enough courage, Rainbow Dash slowly twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. They all individually stepped into the room, but were met with a surprise; strangely, Pinkie was nowhere to be seen.
"Where'd she go?" Rarity asked fearfully, but was met with no answer. She then understood the reason for the lack of conversation, as the other three were too distracted by the state of the room itself. Pinkie Pie's room seemed relatively the same as always, but the furniture had been rearranged since the last time they saw it.
There was two of everything in her room; the left side had a book shelf and a collection of toys and stuffed animals aligned along a window sill, and the right side was symmetrically identical, down to the very millimetre. In the centre of the room was Pinkie Pie's bed, covered with a pink and violet quilt cover and a matching pillow.
"W-what's this all about? Why is there two of everything in here?" Fluttershy asked, bewildered by the bizarre layout of the furniture. "Perhaps it's for both her and Pinkamena to have one?" Twilight assumed curiously. "That's pretty out there" Rarity admitted, "This is just getting stranger and stranger".
The moment this was said, Pinkamena stepped through the doorway of her bedroom and watched the ponies meander. She turned away and carefully shut the door before locking it, prompting Fluttershy, the closest to the door, to turn and find the source of the sound.
Within moments, Fluttershy felt her hair pulled towards the door and a pressure against her throat, forcing her to elicit a shriek of fright. Immediately, the trio turned to face Fluttershy to understand what was the matter, and were each frozen to the core with fear as they could see the cause.
"I knew you'd all come here!"
There, standing in a bipedal stance with Fluttershy held as a hostage, was the dual-personality pony herself. "Pinkie Pie, w-" Fluttershy began before a sudden tight pressure against her throat silenced her.
Twilight and Rarity were at a loss, with their friend in peril of potential harm. "Pinkie Pie, why did you bring Pinkamena back?! I thought-" Twilight began, before she was quickly interrupted.
"Pinkie Pie didn't bring me back, I came back on my own!" Pinkamena exclaimed, "I had after what you said to her this afternoon!" Rainbow Dash prepared to speak, before she paused to consider Pinkamena's statement, "What?"
"'You've always been useless, Pinkie Pie!' 'You don't deserve any recognition!'" Pinkamena growled under her breath, her voice poorly imitating her friends. "DO ANY OF THESE RING A BELL!?" she shrieked in rage, though her voice also displayed a hint of despair.
Rarity stepped in and asked "At what point did we say anything like that?" Before Pinkamena had the chance to answer the question, Twilight answered "Never! We'd never say that to you, Pinkie Pie. NEVER!"
"STOP LYING TO ME!"
This brought a silence to the argument; an atmospheric, almost deafening silence. The entire group, even Pinkamena herself, seemed shocked by this sudden outburst. Most likely because Pinkamena's wasn't the voice that shouted this accusation, but was Pinkie Pie's instead.
Pinkamena shut her eyes tightly and groaned in frustration, "Pinkie Pie, just calm down" echoed within Pinkie Pie's mind. "Why? After all they did to us? You were right about them the whole time! They're all liars!" Pinkie Pie shouted maniacally to herself. "You don't know… I mean, they might be telling the truth this time!" Pinkamena replied, out loud this time.
Pinkie Pie stood silently in the middle of the room, considering what this last sentence could mean, before replying "But that doesn't make sense… then you'd be lying". Pinkie Pie then released Fluttershy from her grasp, the latter turning to face her and backing away in terror.
"But I didn't lie! … You lied to me, didn't you? … Cherub, just calm down. … I trusted you, Pinkamena! … Stop being stupid, Pinkie Pie. I'd never lie to you! … I attacked and hurt Applejack for a LIE?! … Pinkie Pie, stop getting angry! … SHUT UP! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! I HATE YOU! Get… get… … ou…".
Sweat trickled down her neck as she suddenly lost all strength throughout her entire body. She fell to her knees as she slowly lost her senses, while her friends quickly rushed in to help her. She slowly fell forward and collided against the carpet floor, rapidly losing the energy to stay awake.
She couldn't understand what her friends were screaming to her, and didn't seem to care. Once again, darkness had engulfed her senses, and all control had slipped away from her for a second time. She shut her eyes and slipped away into unconsciousness.
Unbeknownst to her was while she was rendered motionless, her friends had carried her to her bed and left her to recover. After a few hours had past, she eventually did return to a portion of her former health, while awaking to a familiar sight.
She was currently laying in her bed and was comfortable laying in her bed. She turned to her clock to confirm the current time, the clock reading 3:00 am as its ticking faintly echoed faintly.
"Where did everypony go?" she asked into the cool night air, the question echoing throughout the room. Although she wasn't actually expecting an answer, an answer seemed to have been expecting her.
"Everypony's alright" answered a familiar voice from somewhere in the room. Pinkie Pie scanned her eyes throughout the room, and a certain blue pegasus to her left. "Everypony's gone home, and I offered to stay and keep an eye on you" Rainbow Dash explained, "What about… Pinkamena?"
Pinkie Pie tensed at the mere mention of the name, answering "She's gone now… She's done such bad things… to everypony". She sunk into the pillow and muttered to herself "Poor Applejack. I hope she didn't hurt her too badly". Not wishing to discuss the matter further, she sighed before dozing off and laying back into her bed.
Rainbow Dash laid next to her bed and pondered Pinkie Pie's dilemma, attempting to fit the pieces together. Up until now, Pinkamena simply seemed to be a persona Pinkie Pie created in order to compensate for her loneliness. But as of now, Pinkamena had revealed itself to be something of an entirely different nature.
Also, according to Pinkie Pie, she had her split-personality since fillyhood, and they were apparently cooperative and relatively neutral. This only proved to confuse Rainbow Dash ever further, and fill her head with more questions to consider.
But by this time, a wave of fatigue swept over her as she finally fell asleep.
Ever since that night, Pinkie Pie's life seemed to return to normal, or at least, as normal as she and her friends could comprehend. Weeks passed without any mishap or incident, and for a while, everything in Equestria was in proper order.
Twilight theorised that Pinkie Pie suffered a hallucination due to the stroke and misinterpreted what her friends said, solving a large portion of the puzzle. Applejack recovered from her attack, but Pinkie Pie could never get over her guilt. Pinkamena never resurfaced at any occasion for the following weeks, and Pinkie Pie returned to her typical, loud and excitable self.
One day, however, Rainbow Dash had come back home from her daily routine and was looking forward to some rest. She enter her home and felt a sense of security as the door shut, though this sense was short lived.
As she entered the living room, she noticed a small letter resting on a seat, and scanned the envelope itself. Oddly, there was neither a name nor a postmark, meaning that it was delivered singlehandedly by the sender. She pulled out the paper from the envelope and unfolded it, and what she read froze her to the core with terror.
'Don't forget the favour.'
The End?