MLP: Conquering the Odds. Part 2

Almost three hours had passed since the pair fell asleep, and the sky shifted into a black void that shrouded the land. As she snored ungraciously to herself, Applejack lounged on a luxuriously stylized sofa, before she began awakening to the sight of the night sky. She sat up and stretched her arms as she yawned, before muttering "Night time already? How long have I been asleep?"

She stepped off the sofa and asked sleepily "Hey Pinkie Pie… Are you awake?" before gazing around the spacious library. She immediately felt adrenaline when she realized that Pinkie wasn't anywhere in the room.

"Pinkie Pie!?" Applejack called out into the room, "Are you still in here?!"

As she suspected, there was no answer, meaning Pinkie Pie was possibly somewhere else in Canterlot, though her current activities remained unknown.

She left the library and trotted her way through the hallway, the stars of the night sky glinting against the tiled floors. She turned the corner and continued to thoroughly search every hall in the hopes of finding her pink companion, unfortunately to no avail.

However, finally, she happened across a patrolling suitors pony and approached him, the suitor stopping to listen.

"Excuse me?" she greeted, the suitor replying "Yes, miss Applejack". Pleased that the suitor recognised her, she explained "My friend's somewhere in Canterlot and I can't find her. Have ya seen her around?" The suitor replied "If you're referring to Miss Pie, then yes I have. I was just heading to her Highness's private suite to inform her of Miss Pie".

Applejack's ears fell as she questioned "What's happened? What is she doing?" The Suitor replied "Miss Pie is currently trespassing the royal dressing room, and appears to have been conversing aloud to herself". Applejack immediately ran passed the suitor and made her way to the dressing room, while the suitor continued his way to the Princess' abode.

Applejack wasted as little time as she could and ran swiftly through halls and around corners, before finally making spotting the door to the dressing room at the end of a corridor.

She stopped and stealthily crept up to the door, leaning her head against the frame and listening carefully.

"…hy did you come back now?!" echoed faintly from within, confirming Applejack's suspicions. Against her better judgement, she carefully opened the door and looked inside, and was greeted with an ominous sight.

Pinkie Pie could immediately be seen as the door creaked open, stumbling and staggering around the room as she screamed to herself. The walls was entirely aligned along the walls and cast multiple different reflections of her. Realising that Pinkamena could see the reflection of her in the mirror opposite to the door, she carefully closed the door shut and continued to listen in.

"What will it take to stop you, Pinkamena?" Pinkie screamed openly, startling Applejack with the sharp tone of her voice. "For the last time, I'm telling you not to trust them!" spoke a second voice, and Applejack immediately became evermore fearful.

"Will nothing convince you?! … I've been telling you from the beginning! It's all just a trick! … My friends love me, and you can't convince me otherwise! … They hate you! … THEN WHY AM I STILL HERE?! … THEY ONLY HELPED YOU TO KEEP TOYING WITH YOU! SICK CREATURES! … SHUT UUUUUP!"

Suddenly, the sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the hallway, frightening Applejack to death and convincing her to finally enter the room. She quickly opened the door and stepped into the room to observe the situation, though Pinkie Pie was preoccupied to notice and continued her argument against her sinister shadow.

"I've been telling you for so long! I don't need you! I have real friends now! … They're just using you! You just can't see how evil they really are! … I hate you! … Don't say that! … I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU! … STOP YELLING! … You are cruel and violent! You are insane, delusional and wrapped up in your own selfishness!"

The pink psychopath fell silent as she said this, before Pinkamena questioned "I'm selfish?" She tensed with rage as she yelled "I gave you everything I could to you, Pinkie Pie! EVERYTHING! … I didn't mean that. … And how did you repay me?! … Please. … You abandoned me! … Stop. … YOU LEFT ME TO ROT SO YOU COULD BE HAPPY!"

Suddenly, Pinkamena turned to the door and noticed Applejack, standing is shock of what she had seen. Before she could react, at almost anomalous speed, Pinkamena a rushed up towards Applejack and tackled to the floor. Applejack landed painfully as the back of her head collided with the tiled floor, instantly sending her into a daze.

"I should have known somepony was watching us. … Pinkame- … SHUT UP! I'M DONE WITH YOU! I'M FINISHING THEM ALL OFF, AND I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU SAY!" Pinkamena shouted at the top of her lungs. Applejack turned her head as she lay in the doorway, and saw a purple blur growing larger from within the hallway.

"I've had enough of you siding with them! … Pinka- … Shut up! Let me do my… m- my…" Pinkamena ranted before finding herself unable to finish her sentence, a wave of exhaustion fell upon her and she struggled to stand, sending her stumbling around in the hallway. She looked towards the source and found twilight, her horn glowing as her face expressed great surprise.

"No. She's… gonna…" were Pinkamena's final words before she finally collapsed to the floor, lost in a deep sleep. With the immediate threat neutralized, Twilight ran to Applejack and lifted her from the floor. "Applejack, are you okay?" She questioned, the southerner struggling to answer.

After several moments, Applejack recovered from her daze and explained the whole ordeal to the unicorn. "So Pinkamena stopped listening to Pinkie Pie?!" Twilight asked worriedly, and Applejack merely nodded. They glanced towards their sleeping colleague and Twilight admitted "I hope Pinkamena still likes Pinkie Pie at all… Otherwise this can be really bad".

The pair left the dressing room and stopped beside Pinkie Pie, Twilight lifting her with a levitation spell and preparing to take her back to the library. Before they could however, they were stopped by the sound of approaching hoofsteps.

"What in the name of Equestria is going on in there?"

A feminine voice, followed by the elongating cast of a shadow on the tiles at the end of the hallway, made the pair of ponies become suddenly nervous. From around the corner, Princess Celestia was approaching to investigate the situation, likely from the suitor Applejack met earlier.

"What are we gonna tell her?" Applejack asked, though Twilight was quick to answer with "We tell her the truth". Finally, Celestia rounded the corner and approached the dressing room door, exclaiming "Twilight, Is Pinkie Pie still in the dre-". Celestia's question was silenced as she looked upon the scene with surprise.

She saw Pinkie Pie, lying unconscious on the floor, and immediately asked "Twilight, what happened?!" Twilight bowed respectably and answered "Forgive me, your highness, but allow me to explain", and Celestia became intent to listen.

"Pinkie Pie has been suffering… mental problems recently… and I've been trying to help her" Twilight explained. She turned back to Pinkie who was now in the arms of Applejack, her head against the southerner's abdomen as she snored softly. Celestia turned back to Twilight and offered an expression of confusion.

"Why didn't you tell me about this, Twily?" the Princess questioned as concern seeped into her voice, "I could have helped her much earlier". Twilight squirmed as her confidence degraded, answering "They hadn't been such a problem… until now". Celestia shook her head in disapproval as her horn began glowing with a golden light.

Before the pair, Pinkie's limp body began levitating and was carried to the Princess's side, as she announced "We shall take her to my suite". She turned and began to make her way back to the master bedroom, the others following from behind as she concluded "Let me see what I can do to help her".

Upon arriving, the royal alicorn stepped into her bedroom, her pupil and her friends following after her as stopped beside her bed. She cautiously lay Pinkie Pie on the closest end of her bed, allowing the tormented pony whatever comfort it could provide. Soon, the princess turned to Twilight and asked "What kind of mental problems is she having?", though Twilight was stuck deciding how to explain it.

"Well… uh…" she began, "She's been hearing voices in her head… and it's been stressing her out". "Voices in her head?" Celestia repeated as she watched Pinkie Pie sleep peacefully, "In that case, I should read her mind and find the source of it".

If Applejack was nervous about this plan, then Twilight was practically petrified with fear, and expressed such as she abruptly blurted out "Are you sure that's a good… idea?"

Celestia faced her pupil and asked "Do you doubt my efforts, Twilight?" with genuine curiosity, Twilight's mouth falling agape in surprise as she answered "No… it's just…". Twilight was on the spot, and quickly made up an excuse for her behavior, "It's just… she my friend. And I would… would hate for…".

Celestia hushed her pupil and reassured "Do not worry yourself. Pinkie Pie won't be harmed". Soon, the Princess's horn glowed and her eyes shut, her vision becoming enveloped in darkness as she cast her spell.

She delved deep into Pinkie's unstable subconscious and immediately sensed a disturbance, as she heard faint echoes of voices emanating within this mind. "…can't believe you'd act that way to me. … I've had enough of you not listening to me, cherub. It's really making me angry. … Do you hate me? … What?! No! Of course not! I don't hate you… You just… made me angry that one time".

Celestia was astonished by this discovery, and she thought to herself "That's not just a voice… That's a whole other personality! A split personality!" As soon as she could, she ceased casting her spell and disappeared from the deranged realm.

"Cherub… did you hear something?"

The alicorn's eyes snapped open and she immediate exclaimed "Twilight! Why didn't you tell me that she had a split personality?!" Twilight focused her attention on her teacher and stepped back in fright from this outburst, though she hadn't the need to answer.

Celestia sighed and wiped her brow, before explaining "In all my years, I've never encountered a split personality before. This will be trickier than I thought". "I have faith in you, your ladyship" Twilight assured, "Let me know if you need help". With this said, Celestia delve back into Pinkie's mind as she grimaced "What madness will you offer, Pinkie Pie?"

The moment she re-entered the pony's mind, she began searching the vast ocean of thoughts. She could sense her imagination, and all fictional creations this mind had provided, along with her memories of her past experiences. Suddenly, she could hear the two voices conversing from somewhere in this space, including the one voice the alicorn hadn't recognised.

"…ounded like… the Princess. … Princess? I've never heard about any princess. … She's got magic powers and is Twilight's teacher. … And you think you heard her voice? … Well, yes. … You don't think she's… in our mind, do you?" beckoned the two voices. "Yes. I am, Pinkie Pie" Celestia whispered into the void of the extrovert's subconscious, "I am reading your mind as you sleep".

"What! Why would you do that?!" Pinkie suddenly objected. Celestia answered "In know you have a split personality. I'm trying to search your mind for a way to remove it" as she continued through the streams of Pinkie Pie's consciousness.

"Great. Yet another phony who's taking advantage of us, Pinkie Pie. … Pinkamena! … She can go right ahead, cherub. I want her to prove me right!" Pinkamena exclaimed.

"I've never heard anything like this before" Celestia admitted, "This… Pinkamena girl. How long have you had her?"

Pinkie answered reluctantly "Since my fillyhood".

"Your fillyhood?! All that time?!" Celestia questioned in amazement, "Then I must search you memories".

"NO! PLEASE!" Pinkie suddenly screamed, her voice echoing loudly throughout the space. Startled, Celestia asked calmly "What's the matter, Miss Pie? Don't you want to have to have your mental problems cleansed?"

Pinkie Pie was silent, but answered nervously "It's just that… I have… secrets". Celestia could sense the sheer terror in her voice, and became fearful that she could cause more problems for this young pony than she would otherwise solve. But soon enough, she decided to offers reassurance.

"I promise, your secrets will be safe with me".

Princess Celestia had begun gathering Pinkie Pie's memories in order to examine them, ordering them appropriately for preparation. However as she did this, Pinkie and Pinkamena were forced to await her progress, incapable of preventing or even witnessing her actions.

"I can see your fillyhood memories" Celestia stated, her voice echoing suddenly within the void. Pinkie Pie was the first to answer and said "I… I prefer to keep my fillyhood… a secret. But… I trust you, your ladyship". Pinkamena, on the other hand, was not convinced, "Cherub, you better be ready for when this lying hag reveals them to everypony".

Celestia had to restrain her outrage from this use of slang, as it would potentially prove catastrophic for any positive results of this study. Finally, she had selected a memory and viewed it, finding Pinkie Pie sitting beneath an old, withered tree. "Celestia's heart ached as she could hear the sounds of sobbing, "I had no idea that you had such a sad life".

"Blame our family for that" Pinkamena sneered suddenly, "Especially our parents. … I loved my mom and dad! … They were horrible! Stop lying to yourself". Finally fed up with Pinkie Pie neglecting her, out of spite, Pinkamena decided to remind Pinkie of the truth.

"Hey, princess! I think I know what you wanna see".

Suddenly, Celestia found herself a witness to a specific memory. "What is this?" She questioned as she concentrated on it, watching as it began to take shape.

Soon it resembled the inside of an old farmhouse, and a young pink filly setting up decorations. Upon further inspection, the filly girl could be heard talking to herself, astounding Celestia with their conversation.

"The two of you used to be friends?" The princess inquired, and Pinkamena was quick to reply "I was an… ugh… imaginary friend back then. I came back as a split personality a couple of months ago". Celestia was fascinated by this entire situation, but soon focused on the memory and listen as the young Pinkie Pie conversed.

"Pinkie Pie? … Yes? … Are you sure this is going to work? … What? Pinkamena, I would give anything for a party and to have fun. Why shouldn't they? … Well, it's not because I find them boring, which they are; but they just seem so… distant. … Distant? … They don't really seem to care about… anything, really. Not even us".

The young filly continued to converse with herself in her high-pitched filly voice. "I love my family! … Your family sucks! … What are you talking about?! … These are the worst folks anypony could ever have! … Well, we can make them better!" Pinkie smiled proudly.

Just then, the door was unlocked and slowly opened. Pinkie Pie stared intensely as the door creaked opened, revealing an elder pony couple and her siblings, Quartz and Limestone. Upon examining the room, the relatives stopped and stared in surprise at the current state of their house, all while the constructor waited anxiously for some form of approval.

Her dad then fixed her eyes upon her asked "What is all of this, then?" in a rather stern tone. "While you were out, I set up a party for when you came back! Do you like it?" She squealed with joy, truly proud of her labors.

"My blankets!"

All attention was quickly focused upon the mother, who held onto a streamer; "You ripped up our blankets to make streamers!?" A shocked Pinkie replied "J-just the ones you d-don't use" in an attempt to defend her honor. "Look at all of this food! How are we gonna eat it all?! It's all gonna go bad now!" shrieked Limestone, as she threw her arms in the air for emphasis on the severity of her question.

Her father hung his head and grunted in disapproval, scaring the observing Pinkie into backing away. "Pinkie Pie, go to your room; now!" he growled maliciously, resulting in his daughter's eyes to begin welling with tears. She quivered in fear before wailing "Dad, please! It's not that bad! Just try the-".

"GO TO YOUR ROOM NOW!" The father yelled loud enough for his fury to echo throughout the room. Pinkie Pie ran to her father and held him by his leg, pleading "Dad! I made all of this for you! For once, have some fun!" before slapping her mouth shut. Unfortunately, it was too late; what'd been said had been said, and her father boiled with overwhelming rage from this unintentional insult.

Her father twisted his neck in preparation and it emitted a loud 'Crack!', immediately signaling a sinister method of punishing his daughter. Pinkie Pie cowered before her father as his temper slowly dwindled; until finally, only irrational thinking dwelled within his mentality. The last sound that Pinkie could remember was a loud 'WHACK!'

Instantly, Celestia had ceased casting her spell and found herself back in the real world, stumbling backwards in shock from what she had just witnessed. "What in Equestria did I just see?!" She exclaimed loudly, puffing heavily from her surprise and trying to steady her breathing.

"What is it?! What happened?!" she heard a voice beside her, and turned to find Twilight with concern in her eyes. The princess straitened her posture and sighed "It's fine. I've met Pinkamena, and have found what could be the source of the split personality". Twilight was no less than delighted as she asked "Really?! What is it?!"

As she was about to answer, she looked down towards Pinkie Pie and remembered what she had said to her. "Sorry, Twily" the alicorn began with her unmistakable nobility, "But I promised Pinkie Pie to keep it secret". She then turned back to her pupil and explained "Which is why she will be staying here with me for the night".

She then approached the bed and threw the covers over Pinkie Pie's body, before explaining "I'll speak to her in the morning and tell about the new arrangements I'll make for her". Twilight simply nodded in agreement, knowing that Celestia's aid in this matter would prove to be extremely helpful.

Eventually, Applejack and Twilight were shown to the front entrance of Canterlot, the night sky shrouding the yonder pathway to Ponyville in darkness. "We should be fine to get home" Applejack assured, to which Twilight nodded in agreement. "Now don't worry about Pinkie Pie. You can come visit her tomorrow morning" Celestia offered.

The trio bid their farewells to eachother and the pair of young ponies made their wade back to Ponyville, all while Celestia made her way back to her bedroom. She approached her bed and watched the sleeping occupant, before stroking her hair lovingly.

"I'm gonna get you through this, Pinkie Pie. I can promise you that too".

The End?