MLP: A Guest of Honor? Part 2
Somepony was knocking on the front door, and everypony in the living room turned to face it. "Who might that be?" Applejack asked, looking between each of her friends for a suggestion. "It's probably Fluttershy… or Rarity, I assume" Twilight replied as she left the living room and approached the front door.
Before she opened it, she gazed through the door's window, finding naught but a completely unknown pony awaiting permission to enter the premises. "Who is it?" Rainbow Dash asked from the living room, Twilight shaking her head and replying "I don't know, I've never seen this pony in my life".
Soon enough, Twilight twisted the doorknob and opened it for their guest, greeting "Hello" politely. The pony nodded her head and stepped inside, neglecting to offer any explanation of her purpose or even a detail of her identity. Rainbow Dash and Applejack entered and examined the pony to identify her, only to be as clueless as the unicorn.
The pony was within their age range and sported glamourous facial features, particularly her turquoise eyes. Her purple mane had a fringe that hung above her eyes and a neat ponytail, which contrasted from her blandly grey coat. She wore a standard jumper with a lowered hoody.
"Forgive us" Twilight began with a curious glance, "I'm afraid we don't know you". The visitor turned to the unicorn and replied "I've been looking for somepony here in Ponyville. Her name is Pinkamena Diane Pie". At first, Twilight and the rest became worried, before Twilight asked "You mean Pinkie Pie?"
The guest simply nodded and answered "I've been told by some of the ponies in town that she lived here. Can you tell me if she's in the house?" Applejack became suspicious and asked "Why? What do ya want her for?" The guest turned to the southerner.
"She's my sister".
All were taken aback by this revelation, as the guest concluded "My name is Maud Pie". Meanwhile, from the living room, Pinkie Pie was as equally surprised by what she heard, and immediately left her state of rest to enter the main room. She then stopped, her eyes transfixed on the guest as the latter did likewise.
"It can't be…" Pinkie thought to herself, unable to comprehend the sight she saw, though she couldn't deny the possibility. She stepped towards Maud, who replied "Pinkamena…" with an equal expression of disbelief. Pinkie Pie was finally stopped before her sister and studied her appearance, before deciding her next plan of action.
Suddenly, Maud found herself trapped in a tight embrace by her sister, who screamed with joy "MAUD! IT'S BEEN SO MANY YEARS SINCE I'VE SEEN YOU!"
Maud, for her part, was surprised by this act and didn't know what to respond, until Pinkie Pie finally released her. "Yes, it has been quite a long time, hasn't it?" Maud replied in a monotone fashion, though Pinkie ignored this. "I… I don't think I've seen you since we were little!" Pinkie Pie beamed with overwhelming excitement, "We'll have so much to talk about! Where've you been?! How have you been?! What brings you here?!"
For the following hours, Pinkie Pie was helping Maud get comfortable in her home, while also introducing her to her friends and explaining her career.
"Wait… you're a comedian and a shopkeeper here?" Maud inquired, intrigued by how far Pinkie Pie had come since she had seen her last, "I can honestly say… I never expected this from you". Pinkie smiled as she replied "It's great, isn't it?! I love making pastries for ponies in town!" as she and Maud reached her bedroom.
However, Maud never expected Pinkie Pie to ask "So how have you been?"
Maud frowned slightly as she grew silent, "Nothing, really". Pinkie's smile collapsed as Maud continued "I ran away from the rock farm… and tried to find a better life somewhere else". Pinkie Pie was astounded by this, in more ways than one, and Maud finished "But… I ended up just wandering around Equestria without finding anything for myself".
Immediately as she finished her sentence, Pinkie Pie hugged her a second time and stated "You can stay here with me! Everypony in Ponyville will like you". Maud remained silent as she considered the offer, and Pinkie simply smiled with joy from this family reunion.
"I can't believe you're warming up to her so easily".
The excitable extrovert's eyes widened from these words as fear surged through her body. Without warning, she jumped off of the bed and quickly informed her relative "Oh whoops, I forgot! I'm working on something and can't have distractions!"
Maud followed her off of the bed and asked "What do you mean?" in confusion, but Pinkie replied "Sorry, Maud. But I need you to leave". "What?" was all Maud could say before she was hastily led outside of Pinkie Pie's bedroom. Without another word, Pinkie shut the door and locked it, leaving Maud to descend the staircase and join her friends on the first floor.
"Why are you back, Pinkamena?!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed in distress, having recognised the voice in the very instant she heard it. "You act like you've known her all your life" Pinkamena beckoned within her mind, "Did you forget what she said to you on the rock farm?" Pinkie prepared to respond, but found herself at a loss, so Pinkamena found her chance to fill in the blanks.
"She called you insane. She berated you! Insulted us both right in front of us both!" she explained, "She was as bad as the rest of them!" Pinkie Pie gritted her teeth and rebutted "She's not like that anymore! She's clearly changed!"
"Just leave her alone for a while" Rainbow Dash advised the curious Maud, "she hasn't been… herself for a while".
"What? Not been herself?" Maud asked with a tilted head and raised eyebrow. Twilight stepped forward and answered "Yeah… she under some stress. So sometimes she needs to be… left alone". Maud thought about the situation before questioning "She hasn't been… talking to herself, has she?" Twilight and the others looked to eachother in surprise before Twilight answered "Well… yes".
Maud turned away from the group and sighed in dissatisfaction.
"This is about her imaginary friend, isn't it?"
"What the…? How do you know about that?" Rainbow Dash asked in shock, the others remaining expectant for Maud's answer. "She's been having these problems as a filly" Maud explained, "Every day, whenever she could, she would just spend the whole day stumbling around, having conversations with herself".
"At first, I thought it was just her trying to have fun. After all, the rock farm was a pretty uneventful place" Maud continued as she paced within the living room, "But when I last saw her, she seemed like… a completely different pony". Twilight then explained "That imaginary friend came back recently, but now… it's a split personality".
Maud's ears perked as she turned to face the unicorn with a confused face, "A split personality?! That's impossible". "It's true" Rainbow Dash intervened as she stood up from the sofa, "She would sometimes turn completely into Pinkamena and Pinkie Pie would disappear".
"What?!" Maud exclaimed with a sneer "I've never heard something so ridiculous! That doesn't make any sense at all". Maud looked towards the staircase and announced "I'm gonna talk to her about this!" before stomping her way upstairs, "I thought she was passed this rubbish!"
Maud continued through the hall and stopped outside Pinkie Pie's door, before landing several sharp knocks upon the wood, "Pinkie Pie! Open up!"
A silence fell, before Pinkie Pie replied "No! Maud, please leave me alone!"
Irritated, Maud demanded "Pinkie Pie, let me in now! I know about Pinkamena!" From this, the door slowly creaked open and Pinkie poked her head through the gap, only for Maud to quickly push her way into the room. Astonished by this, Pinkie stuttered "Maud! Please! You shouldn't be in here right now!"
Maud merely answered "You've caused those ponies some grief, but you can't scare me. I never believed you" as she stared intensely at her sibling. Maud shut the door and faced Pinkie Pie directly, "There is no Pinkamena… only an excuse".
Meanwhile, the remaining trio stayed in the living room, astounded by how inconsiderate Pinkie Pie's sister had exposed herself to be. "How rude of her! We've been trying to help Pinkie through her problems, and she thinks it's all just some ridiculous fairy tale?!" Twilight ranted openly among her friends.
Rainbow Dash, entirely in agreement with Twilight, added "How could she possibly think that! We've known Pinkie Pie for so long, and she hasn't seen her in years!" Applejack, the more considerate of the three but overall in alignment alongside the others, stated "And now she's gone upstairs to give Pinkie Pie a mouthful when she's done nothing wrong".
"That's it!" Twilight announced, currently fuming with pure concentrated anger, "I'm going up there to give her a piece of my mind". With the others following close behind her, Twilight made her way up the stairs and walked down the hallway to Pinkie Pie's door, the voices from inside growing ever more audible.
She stopped outside the room and heard the conversation that took place, completely confirmed in her speculation on the nature of Maud's intent. She heard Maud discussing the matter and Pinkie Pie only responding occasionally, and was prepared to interrupt their conversation.
"Put an end to all of this, Pinkie Pie. You don't need to have imaginary friends anymore".
Twilight paused as she prepared to open the door, before leaning in closer to door once her friends joined her outside.
"No! Maud, you don't understand! I can't…" Pinkie Pie stuttered nervously, intending to quell the raging storm within her mind. "Pinkie Pie, you've made so many real friends while you've been here! Why is Pinkamena still even a thing?!" Maud questioned with expressed skepticism.
"If only she knew I can hear her… the irony is stunning" the voice sneered within Pinkie Pie's straining mind. Pinkamena had been speaking within Pinkie's subconscious ever since the conversation began and had hindered Pinkie's concentration greatly, much to Maud's obliviousness.
"Pinkamena is real, Maud. I swear! And she's dangerous too! She wants to hurt ponies!" Pinkie explained, exposing a detail the Maud hadn't expected. "Pinkie Pie, I understand why you ran away from home, and I knew something like that would happen. Something happened with Mom and Dad, didn't it?"
Pinkamena whispered "She has no idea, does she?" upon hearing this. "You ran away from home just because it was too boring for you. Not because of Pinkamena!" Maud claimed, "And I don't blame you! It was rough for us both, so I ended up running away as well!"
"When did you last see mom and dad?" Pinkie Pie asked, trembling from anxiety. "Me? Well, right after you told me about that 'Pinkamena' mumbo-jumbo. So I haven't seen them either" Maud confessed. "Well… you shouldn't have…" Pinkie exclaimed before a sudden throbbing pain had bloomed within her temple, "She's… gonna hurt you too!"
Pinkie Pie soon felt a relentless agony in her head, followed by constant, schizophrenic twitching.
"And what makes you think … Pinkamena is so dangerous to me?" Maud questioned, having only now noticed her sister's peculiar behavior.
"BECAUSE SHE'S INSIDE MY HEAD RIGHT NOW! GRREAAAAHHAAAAH! SHE WON'T SHUT UP!" she screeched in agony as her head had begun straining from overwhelming pain.
By this time, Maud had finally realized the struggle Pinkie Pie was currently undergoing while she remained oblivious. "Pinkie Pie, what's happening?!" Maud Pie asked in horror as her sister began quaking uncontrollably.
Immediately, Twilight burst through the door and shouted "Maud! What's going on in here?!" before halting to witness this terrifying scene. Rainbow Dash ran to Maud and shouted "What did you do to her!?" Maud Pie answered "Nothing, I swear!" before backing into the nearby corner, her lower jaw quivering worriedly.
Pinkie Pie soon fell to the floor and leaned against the bedpost in submission. Twilight then stepped between Maud and her schizophrenic sibling, "Pinkamena is a real thing, you idiot! We've had to deal with it for half a year now!" she exclaimed furiously. "But that doesn't make any sense!" Maud whined before facing the unicorn.
Twilight simply remained silent as all eyes focused upon her, a blank and expressionless face greeting them in return. Finally, Twilight fell forward and landed without preparation for the landing, Pinkie Pie standing behind her in a vastly altered state.
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.
Pinkamena flashed a sadistic grin as she turned her piecing gaze to the intact trio, shouting "Yes! YEEEAS! I'M BACK IN CONTROL! HEEHHEEHEHAAAHAAAAH!" She gave one final glance to the unconscious unicorn and remarked "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that, Twilight!" before refocusing her attention.
Rainbow Dash and Applejack became fearful but knew to stand their ground, aware that their combined efforts could be advantageous in a conflict. Pinkamena could see their strategy and remained stationary to plot a plan of action, all while the pair kept eye contact on her every move.
Maud was completely paralysed with incomprehension, unable to believe what she had just seen her sister do to somepony. "Pinkie Pie would never do a thing like that…" she muttered to herself as she stared at Twilight's form, "You're… Pinkamena". Pinkamena simple rolled her eyes and sarcastically replied "Nothing seems to get passed you, Maud" before chuckling cruelly.
Maud sat ungraciously as she rambled under her breath "I never believed it… I thought she made it all up…" before sobbing, "It was true…". Maud always knew that her sister was often irrational, but never violent; "I'm… so stupid" Maud sobbed before hanging her head in shame.
"It took you a while to realise it" Pinkamena snickered, before changing to a more professional tone and informing "Well, if you'll kindly excuse me, I have some unfinished business to attend to". Applejack and Rainbow Dash both asked "What are you talking about" in unison, remaining ready for any sudden attacks.
Pinkamena turned away from the trio as she admitted "You know, Maud… I forgot all about you too. It's really convenient that you happen to come back". "Convenient? Why?" Maud questioned, her glistening eyes watching her former sister approach the nearby counter. Pinkamena reached for the desk and armed herself with a wooden shaft.
"You see, you ponies seem to have a certain-".
Before she could even finish her villainous monologue, Applejack had identified her intentions and taken her by surprise. She jumped behind her and grasped the shaft, attempting to pry it from the lunatic's grip. The pair began tugging against both ends of the shaft, Pinkamena growling "Let go, you stupid…".
To Applejack's surprise, Pinkamena presented a level of strength that greatly exceeded her own, and she was suddenly swung across the room and impacted against the bedroom wall. Disoriented, Applejack was unprepared for Pinkamena striking her against the back of her head with the broad end of the shaft, and collapsed into an unconscious state.
"NO!" Rainbow Dash screamed in despair, before impulsively leaping behind Pinkamena and attempting to subdue her.
Before she could react, Pinkamena found herself laying against the floor with Rainbow Dash's hooves hooked around her arms, pinning them to her sides. She thrashed and shifted wildly to escape, though Rainbow Dash proved to have her immobilized by her front hooves, though her legs were free to retaliate.
Pinkamena kicked violently and sent Rainbow Dash tumbling forward, freeing her hooves from her grasp. Pinkamena turned and ran shoulder-first into the pegasus and pummeling her against another bedroom stumbled into the center of the room as Rainbow Dash fell to the floor, groaning from the pain in her wings from the impact against the wall.
Rainbow Dash proved incapable of provoking Pinkamena any further, allowing the maniac to finally turn towards her final and favoured target, the inept Maud.
She grabbed the shaft from the floor and pointed it towards her in a threatening display, though Maud had entered a state of incomprehension of her situation. She simply sat in the room and made no attempt to escape, and Pinkamena took this a mere convenience for her.
As this occurred, Twilight had begun recovering from her unconsciousness and struggled to sit up from the floor, while focusing her sight to understand her position.
She soon focused on Pinkamena, the lunatic looming over her sister and prepared to complete her deeds of violence on a high note. She could clearly see both Applejack and Rainbow Dash incapacitated in separate corners of the room, further representing the urgency of the matter.
No matter how she tried, she couldn't find an alternative, "Sorry, Pinkie Pie" she spoke before she began to cast her chosen spell. Her horn began Her horn began glowing brightly as a loud, deafening crackle echoed throughout the house.
"Instantum Illuminarus Abraxas!"
After the hectic events that took place in Sugarcube Corner, Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Applejack recovered from their trauma, and Maud had been snapped from her state of inactivity.
Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, hadn't faired as luckily, as she had suffered severely from the power of Twilight's electrical shocking spell. Without delay, she was rushed back to the hospital by her friends, and transferred by the staff to the emergency room for immediate attention.
The head doctor approached Twilight as they remained in the waiting room, questioning how Pinkie Pie's fate had come about."I was practicing a study of spells based on electricity…" Twilight lied to the doctor, "Pinkie Pie just came in at the wrong time".
Thankfully swayed by this answer, the doctor stated "Well… Pinkie Pie will need to recover overnight, but you're free to see her in the ward for ten minutes".
The ensemble entered the ward and came by Pinkie Pie's bed, ironically the same bed she occupied earlier today. Maud remained speechless as tears well in her eyes, and Twilight held her shoulder to comfort her. "I can never say sorry enough for this…" she grimaced, "I couldn't think of anything else fast enough".
"Well, it can only get better from here" Applejack stated in an effort to bring light to this dark situation. "I'd like to know how" Maud Pie sighed before hanging her head in shame of her own negligence. Twilight then added "Well, it definitely couldn't get any worse than this, to be sure".
Maud looked over her sister one final time, finding that assessment to be fairly agreeable. Eventually, the group decided to leave Pinkie Pie to recuperate, Maud deciding to take up residency within Sugarcube Corner as her sister suggested.
In all the years she had spent alone, she had never felt so lonely.
The End?