Oh geez, the Clone Wars Season 5 finale… I can fix this. I'll think of something to make it fit this fic. …And it gives me an awesome idea for a future scene in a future Book…
Sorry about the wait; writer's block and a new video game kept me typing at a snail's pace.
Also, the Teana's Travels series is now on DeviantArt! As of this posting, I'm in the middle of putting Book 1 up, one chapter at a time. Come see!
PLEASE SEE CHAPTER ONE FOR MOST DISCLAIMERS
PLEASE READ & REVIEW, AND TEND TO THE TROPE & CHARACTER PAGES
-CHAPTER START-
Pinkie Pie's Birthday
Preparations for the pink pony's party were performed. The inside of the barn at Sweet Apple Acres had been turned into a party palace for Pinkie's 18th birthday. It had been tough working keeping Pinkie from finding out, and there had been a few close calls. But now, everything was ready, and Rainbow Dash had been sent out to retrieve Pinkie and bring her to the barn, where the rest of the Mane Group, Spike, Trixie, the Crusaders, Gamma Team, Aqua, Erika & Timmy, and Mr. & Mrs. Cake were waiting.
"Oh, I can't wait!" Twilight said giddily. "Pinkie Pie's gonna be so surprised and happy!"
"This'll be her first ever surprise party, right?" Marie asked the Cakes, who nodded.
"Hey, I think I hear movement outside!" Sweetie Belle, near the door, said.
"Guys…" Ahsoka chimed in suddenly, a serious look on her face. "I think something is very wrong. I can sense… pain, resentment, anger… hatred… I've got a very bad feeling about this…"
"I sense it, too" Shion replied, looking equally worried. "Something's not right."
The barn door opened, and a pink-hued figure was tossed in. Some of the attendees shouted "Surprise!", but to those more observant it was immediately apparent that something was wrong. Pinkie's colors were darkened and faded, and her mane & tail were limp and straight. But most concerning was her expression: Pinkie looked furious. Her teeth were bared slightly, her eyes were fixed in a truly frightening enraged and contemptuous glare, and the outer edges of her eyes' irises were starting to turn a corruptive golden-yellow. The happy grins on the faces of some of the partygoers rapidly faded as Pinkie's hateful gaze focused on them. No-one dared say anything. Mr. & Mrs. Cake, in particular, felt deep concern at seeing Pinkie in her straight-mane mode for the first time in years.
"Yeah, I found her like this" Rainbow Dash said as she walked in.
"I figured she'd be more excited…" Applejack said quietly to Twilight.
Applejack then flinched as Pinkie's glare focused on her, eyes burning into her soul.
"Excited?" Pinkie snapped. "You thought I'd be excited about an anti-Pinkie party?-!"
"W… What are you talking about?" Twilight asked, sounding confused and distressed. "This isn't an-"
"Don't you play dumb with me, you insensitive, obsessive-compulsive bitch!" Pinkie shouted. "You all have been making excuses and ignoring me all day! Avoiding me, lying to me, running away from me! I finally figured it out, and interrogating Spike gave me proof! That you don't want to be my friends anymore!"
Several of the would-be partygoers let out shocked gasps, unable to believe just what they were hearing.
"A-And you know what?" Pinkie continued, tears starting to come to her rage-filled eyes, as the gold of corruption slowly spread inward across the irises. "I'll bet you were never my friends to begin with! You just kept me around to laugh at or out of convenience! None of you could ever really stand me! I was just an annoyance to you! That's how it's always been! No-one ever tries to understand me! No-one takes me seriously unless they have to! I'm just a pain in the ass and a big joke to all of you!-!"
"Pinkie…" Rarity slowly walked toward her from the side, reaching out. "Sweetheart, that is all utter nonsense. We would never-"
"Touch me and I will snap your horn off!" Pinkie snapped at her. Rarity, eyes going wide with genuine fear, backed away quickly.
The group in attendance was now very, very worried. Not only were they scared for Pinkie, some of them were actually scared of her as well. To plan a big surprise party for their close friend's 18th birthday, only to have this kind of thing happen…
"P… Pinkie…" Rainbow Dash's tone was almost pleading as it fully sank in just how bad things were. "Please, I…"
"No!" Pinkie shouted. "You don't get to lie! Not anymore!" The irises of her eyes were now a solid golden color, her Heart's Darkness taking hold.
As she stared at the unstable girl, something clicked in Ahsoka's mind. Some of Pinkie's unique abilities were undoubtedly magic, but others, particularly her precognition, were something else. It finally hit her: Pinkie Pie was a semi-latent Force-Sensitive. And right now, consumed by rage and pain, she was in the grip of the Dark Side.
"I trusted you all…" Pinkie said, voice trembling with sadness and fury. "I gave you girls my love… and this is how you repay me?-!"
There was a pulse of power accompanying her shout, and the others could feel her pain and anger, and they felt a mixture of sorrow, guilt, and terror as a result.
"Pinkie, please calm down and listen to us!" Twilight begged as she walked up. "If you would just give us a chance to expl-"
Twilight was cut off as Pinkie hit her with an uppercut to the torso that knocked the breath out of her, followed by a full-power Earth-Pony-strength hoof-punch to the face that sent her flying back into the table that had been set up to hold the cake and other snacks. Paper plates and bags of chips went flying, though miraculously the cake was unharmed and remained in place. Everyone was in horrified shock at what they'd just witnessed, disbelieving their eyes, praying that this was all some horrible dream.
Pinkie walked up, letting out a low, feral snarl under her breath. She stood over the cowering unicorn, who was trembling in terror as she shielded her bleeding face with her forehooves. Pinkie raised a hoof to strike down… when the cake slowly began to slide off of the table. Twilight caught it with her magic, holding it between her and Pinkie, and the aggressor's eyes widened in deep shock as she saw the pink-frosting caricature of her 'normal' self, along with the icing words "Happy 18th Birthday, Pinkie Pie."
"W… What…?" she mouthed.
There was a sob from Twilight. "This is what we've been t-trying to tell you" she whimpered. "What all this is about. W-We wanted to t-throw you a surprise party for your birthday…" The cake was lowered just enough for Pinkie to see Twilight's face – blood from her nose, a quickly-forming black eye, and tears streaming down her face. "This was all for you" she sobbed out. "We h-had to make excuses to protect the surprise. B-But we didn't notice how h-hard you were taking it, and… and… Oh Pinkie, I'm so sorry! I c-could never hate you! None of us could! We love you! You… You're one of m-my best friends! I… I never meant to hurt you! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry, Pinkie! I never wanted to… to…"
As Twilight lost the ability to speak coherently, Pinkie took a few shaky steps back, her eyes returning to their normal blue. As she looked around, seeing the scared, remorseful, teary faces of the others, all while hearing Twilight's crying, her breathing became faster and more shallow as it sank in just what she'd done. She could feel something clawing at her from within. She held her head between her forehooves as tears started falling from her eyes, which were wide as can be. Her heart beat faster and faster, and then…
Blackness.
Everyone got yet another unpleasant shock as the light left Pinkie's eyes, and she keeled over. Immediately everyone who was in shape to move rushed over to her. She was still breathing, and her heart was still beating, but she was totally unresponsive.
"What's wrong with her?" Mrs. Cake cried out, a mother's worry eating away at her.
"Oh no…" Aqua murmured, her magic reaching deep into Pinkie, scanning. "It's her spirit – her Heart. It's… damaged. All of this turmoil, the encroaching Darkness… It's like what Master Yen-Sid said happened to Sora when Xehanort interrupted the Mark of Mastery Exam."
"How do we help her?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"…The same way Riku helped Sora" Marie suggested. "The same way we helped Kanade."
"We dive into her Heart…" Mai said as she healed Twilight's face.
"And help fix the damage we inadvertently caused" Rarity finished.
"Erika and I can probably only bring around five others in with us" Aqua said. "The rest of you will have to settle for the Vetus-system 'Dream Diving' spell."
Immediately, the other Element-Bearers stepped forward.
"This is our fault" Twilight said, having composed herself. "We need to do whatever it takes to make things right."
Within a minute, preparations were complete. Aqua and Erika, shifted to their normal human forms, held their Keyblades high. They and the five conscious Element-Bearers formed a circle around Pinkie's prone form, magical energy coursing through all seven of them in a loop. At the same time, everyone else was gathered around Teana as she incanted the Dream-Diver spell, a Vetus magic circle appearing beneath her. Magic swirled and built up, the air thrumming with power.
There was an all-encompassing flash of light.
-Mini-Break-
Pinkie's Heart
(MUSIC: Kingdom Hearts 2 OST – "Dive Into The Heart -Destati-")
When everyone opened their eyes, they were standing upon a massive circular platform floating in a realm of black nothingness. However, there was another platform right next to it, and upon closer inspection the two were connected by a proportionately-small section, like a cell that was in the process of mitosis but had not yet completed it. Both were heavily polluted by malignant Darkness, and the parts not hidden by the tendrils of inky blackness were dull and faded in color. And sitting in the middle of the side of the dual-platform everyone now stood on was a single dull-pink pony, mane & tail hanging loose and straight.
"Pinkie?"
As the seven who'd dived into their friend's Heart got closer, the transparent slightly-glowing forms of the Dream-Divers close behind them, the figure raised her head to look at them, surprise flashing across eyes that looked to be filled with sadness. As she got a good look, Rainbow Dash noticed that something was off. For one thing, her Cutie Mark's colors were reversed – two yellow balloons on the outside and one blue on the inside.
"You're not Pinkie, are you?" she asked.
"…I sort of both am and aren't, actually" not-Pinkie replied, a low, quiet, almost mournful tone of voice. "I'm parts of her that she refuses to feel, that she represses. I'm her traumas, her dark memories, her sadness and fears. Whenever she feels those things, she represses them, pushes them deep down, forgets about them, buries them deep. I'm formed from all of that." She looked at the confused Mr. & Mrs. Cake. "Though she still vaguely remembers where she came from, and how you two found her, the memories are muddled, incomplete, and faded. But I remember it all, as clear as day.
"My and her separation wasn't always this… advanced. We were still one pony, one Heart, just with internal divisions. But today's incident, Darkness' effects and Pinkie's breakdown, accelerated the process by a massive degree. You can see the fractures left in our Heart from the sudden dramatic division earlier today" she pointed at black and grey cracks visible in both platforms/Hearts. "I… I have my own mind now, separate from hers. I didn't this morning, and now I do. It's… sorta frightening, actually."
"So w-what happens now?" Erika asked.
"You find Pinkie" the girl replied. "She should be over there" she pointed to the other platform. "Get her out of the Darkness threatening to consume her."
"Come with us" Twilight offered.
"What?" the girl was surprised. "I-I can't!"
"Why not?" Applejack asked.
"W-What if meeting me or touching me somehow makes her feel everything I am – all the repressed hurt and bad memories – hit her all at once? Or what if she freaks out and accidentally hurts herself? Or what if… what if…"
Rarity gave a comforting smile as she laid a hoof on not-Pinkie's shoulders. "You're scared of how she might react to you, aren't you?"
The morose mare nodded after a few seconds, a pitiable look in her eyes.
"You don't need to be scared" Dash said. "I know Pinkie. There's no way she'd hate you or be scared of you."
"Y-You can't know that for sure…" the other girl whimpered.
"I know she won't" Aqua said. "Come on; we'll prove it. You'll see."
The group moved on, now with one extra member. They reached the conjunction and crossed over to Pinkie's Heart, which had a little more Darkness covering it than the other one. In the center of the platform was a bulge in the covering blackness. As the group came close to it, it reacted to the presence of Aqua & Erika's Keyblades, withdrawing to reveal Pinkie Pie laying there, out cold, her colors ever-so-slightly faded and her mane & tail halfway 'deflated'. As the other Element-Bearers rushed to her side, she began to stir.
"Pinkie?" Rarity leaned over her. "Can you hear us, darling?"
Pinkie's eyes slowly opened, and as she looked around at the group surrounding her, her expression became one of shock and sadness. She focused on Twilight. "I…" she whimpered. "I'm sorry…"
Twilight was the first to hug her. The other four followed suit. Much snuggles and crying apologies ensued; Pinkie's mane & tail regained their normal bounce and brightness. After a few minutes that felt like much more, Pinkie slowly pulled away, looking around.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"Your Heart" Aqua replied.
Pinkie looked around, quickly recognizing the 'locale' seen in various dives into Hearts from the footage Gamma Team had shown the girls. She felt shock as she noticed how much inky Darkness was covering her own Heart; had she really slipped that badly? Then she looked around some more… and got another shock as she noticed the second Heart/platform partially connected to hers. Quickly realizing what this meant, she craned her neck and looked everywhere, soon spotting her 'Other' hiding behind Aqua and Erika, a morose expression on her face partially hidden by her loose mane. Carefully, she wriggled free of her friends' embrace and slowly walked toward the 'Other', whose expression had a hint of fear to it.
"…What part of me are you?" Pinkie asked.
"I'm… a lot of the things you repress" the 'Other' replied nervously. "Sadness, pain, some anger, bad memories… All the things you don't want to think about get shoved down deep. I wasn't a separate mind until today, though. I…"
She trailed off, and Pinkie noticed that she was trembling. It didn't take long for the bright-pink pony to realize what was wrong: her 'Other' was afraid of her, afraid of how she'd react. But she had no reason to be; Pinkie could see, in the other mare's eyes, light and goodness and desire for acceptance. It was a little shocking to know that her psyche had divided in such a matter, but…
"I'm sorry that you…" her 'Other' said, with eyes squeezed shut and a tremor in her voice "have to see me…"
"Don't be" Pinkie replied.
Pinkie's 'Other' let out a surprised gasp, eyes shooting open, as Pinkie laid a hoof on her shoulder, smiling warmly.
"You shouldn't be upset that you exist" Pinkie continued. "I'm sorry I've repressed you for so long. I didn't even know I was doing it, to be honest. You must've been so lonely. …You don't need to hide in the shadows anymore. My friends are your friends. Besides… today's your birthday, too… Pinka."
"P… Pinka…?"
"Well, it's something else other than 'Pinkie' that's short for Pinkamena. And I think it suits you… sister."
"S… Sist…"
Pinkie then reached out and pulled 'Pinka' into a hug. Pinka stiffened up in shock, eyes wide, but as Pinkie gently pulled her close, one hoof softly stroking the back of her head, she slowly calmed down.
And then, their Hearts and minds linked. Both of them, at the same time, experienced Pinkie's happy memories & feelings and Pinka's sad ones. Pinkie gritted her teeth and fought back tears as the full brunt of her origins hit her, and she held Pinka a little tighter as the unpleasantness subsided seconds later. Pinka, meanwhile, felt the memories of Pinkie's joy and friendship and love filling her, both from her memories and in knowing how Pinkie felt about her, and she couldn't suppress a sob as she, a pony 'made' of sadness, felt these wonderful feelings for the first time. Pinka allowed herself to be submerged in these new emotions, blending with the feeling of Pinkie's hug, a few tears running down her face. Neither of them noticed as the separation between their two Hearts/platforms progressed to completion, the two complete circular platforms hovering about a foot from each other. The Darkness covering both of them began to recede.
"Isn't that cute?" a mysterious voice said, tone dripping with sarcasm.
(MUSIC STOP)
The two startled, looking around. The other five Element-Bearers and the two Keyblade-Wielders came over, also looking every which way. Erika spotted it first, calling and pointing it out. The Darkness that covered the two girls' Hearts was converging into a single point, compressing as it assumed a solid form. The equine being rose up from the shadows, head hanging low. She had solid grey fur, with a long black mane and tail hanging loose, and a Cutie Mark of three popped balloons lying limp and in tatters, strings still tied to their bases.
"Enough with the sappy crap" she said. "Let's see some anger, resentment, bloodshed…" She raised her head, revealing Pinkie & Pinka's face, but with gray fur and black-sclera golden eyes. "Give in to the dark, and have some fun…"
"I can't believe it…" Pinkie muttered. "The Darkness of my Heart is big enough and strong enough to have its own will?"
"Of course" the dark being replied. "Every bit of anger, frustration, and resentment you've ever felt but shoved deep down and locked away deep inside your Heart… Just as today's events gave your repressed sadness her own mind, so too did they grant the same to me. I am your anger at those who are unable or unwilling to understand you, the resentment of those who have more, the hatred of those who have wronged you, and more. Furthermore, today's events opened the floodgates, allowing an external source of Dark power to flow into me, giving me form and strength! And now, I've developed to the point where all I need to do is destroy the both of you, and this body will be mine!"
(MUSIC: Kingdom Hearts 2 OST – "Fragments of Sorrow")
"Not if we have anything to say about it!" Rainbow Dash growled, as she and the others took stances.
"Hmph" Pinkie's Darkness smirked. "So you girls wanna be collateral damage, huh? Alright; no skin off my nose…"
She took a few steps toward them… and then flash-stepped in, appearing directly behind a shocked Pinkie, an evil fanged grin on her face as she readied a Darkness-charged strike. In a blur of movement, Pinka appeared in her path, blocking her attack and then lashing out with a counter-strike to the face. The Dark One leapt back, narrowly dodging a Keyblade swing from Erika, and upon landing she slammed her hoof down to the floor. In response, several low-level Unversed came into being around her. She gestured, and they attacked.
Aqua and Erika took the lead, Keyblades hacking through the dark creatures. Pinkie & Pinka took advantage of the cleared path, rushing in at their Dark-Side and engaging her in two-on-one. A Flood bucked by Applejack knocked a pack of Scrappers over like bowling pins, while Twilight used tightly focused and compacted pulses of telekinesis to strike down more Floods trying to swarm her, and a left cross from Rarity took down a Scrapper trying to slash at Fluttershy.
The Dark-Side skidded back on her hind legs, forelimbs sore from blocking Pinkie's powerful punch. She immediately looked up and barely dodged Pinka's falling kick/stomp, lashing out with a tail-slap to the face that stunned Pinka. She then struck at her face, only for Pinkie to yank Pinka out of the way and deliver a rising kick that nearly broke her Darkness' jaw. The Dark-Side turned her uncontrolled flight into a backward flip, landing on her hooves and immediately rushing in again.
A Strike Raid from Aqua cut through the crowd, felling the last nine Unversed. The group then turned to watch as Pinkie and Pinka gradually pushed their Darkness back, keeping her on the defensive and wearing her down. A double-punch from the two sent the Dark One tumbling back, coming out of it on her hooves and panting, mane frazzled. "That…" she panted out "That's not enough to beat me. You can't beat me! I'm a part of you! I'm as strong as the both of you!"
"We're still better than you!" Pinkie replied. "Because we have friends! They're our power, and we're theirs!"
"Ha! You honestly still think they consider you their friend? You, the girl who can't be serious even if life depends on it, and your fragment, who's a thing spawned from your own repressed emotions and who doesn't even know how to be happy?"
Pinkie's expression shifted to a somewhat-sad one. "It's true that I can annoy them without meaning to. And today, I expected the worst of them, even though I should've known better."
"But we still love you" Twilight said as she and the others walked up, standing beside Pinkie and Pinka. "We did all that to make your 18th birthday as special as we could. …But we went about it the wrong way, and hurt you deeply in the process. We're sorry, Pinkie."
"…I forgive you."
At hearing Pinkie say that, her Darkness snarled, eyes flashing red with anger.
"I know I have trouble being serious sometimes" Pinkie continued. "It's hard for me to get out of my happy-fun mode. And the few times I do, I take it way too far in the other direction. But you girls didn't give up on me, even when I'd given up on you. The bad times I've had… only serve to make the good ones, the moments of laughter and joy, even better!"
"I'll… admit that I don't know much about the world" Pinka said. "Being created by negative emotions does that. I thought being sad and lonely was all there is. But… Pinkie and her memories have shown me that that's not true; that I can be happy. I… I want to be happy. To feel joy, to laugh, to have companions… I want to be a part of that!"
"And now ya can" Applejack replied. "You're part of our friend, so that makes you our friend, too."
Pinka smiled. "Thank you…" she whispered.
"See?" Pinkie shouted. "There's more to me – to us – than bitterness and anger! So, so much more! And we won't let those icky feelings consume us!"
"We both know that feeling angry is normal," Pinka added, "but we also know that it's not the only thing there is! And we won't let you make it so! Me, and Pinkie, and our friends… Together, we're stronger than you could ever be!"
"Because friendship…" Pinkie said, as identical glowing lights appeared on her and Pinka's necks "is magic!"
In twin flashes of light, Pinkie and Pinka were now wearing matching Harmony Elements, the balloon-shaped gems shining bright. Their Darkness' eyes widened with fright, and she took a few steps back. The two pink girls looked to each other, nodded, and then rushed forward. Their Darkness, panicking, fired bolt after bolt of dark energy at them, only for their Elements to deflect it all effortlessly. They quickly closed in, dodging their Dark-Side's last-ditch swings… and hugged her.
"You may be a meanie, Anger," Pinkie said, smiling serenely, "but on occasion, you have given me valuable strength. I won't let you consume me… but I won't reject you anymore, either. …Sleep now. You've been through enough; you've earned a good rest."
As Anger's eyes slowly closed, the sclera turned white, the gold of her eyes returning to normal blue. She then vanished into glowing motes of light that then merged with Pinkie and Pinka. After a few seconds, their eyes opened, and they smiled to their friends.
"Come on, girls" Pinkie said. "We gotta get back to the real world, for my and Pinka's birthday party."
-SCENE BREAK-
That Night
Pinkie gave a content sigh as she lay back in her bed, one hoof patting her cake-filled belly. She looked over to her desk, spotting the presents her friends had gotten her. After everything had been cleared up, the whole gang had finally properly enjoyed themselves. Once it was found out that Pinkie and Pinka could now swap control of their body, the latter got to know everyone better; when Mr. & Mrs. Cake had given her a hug, she'd actually started crying, but in a good way. They'd all also discovered that, just as Pinkie's mane & tail went flat when she was dead-serious, Pinka's poofed up just a little teensy bit when she was happy.
As she slowly drifted to sleep, Pinkie remembered what Ahsoka had pulled her aside to tell her:
"Pinkie… I don't know how else to tell you this: you're a Force-Sensitive. Your 'Pinkie Sense' is a form of Force Precognition, for one thing. ...I have some free time in three days, the day after the Grand Gala. Come find me at Flutter Field, and I'll see about teaching you how to consciously control The Force. It could save your life one day…"
'I wonder what I'll be able to do…' was Pinkie's last thought before slumber claimed her.
-CHAPTER END-
Next Time: The Grand Galloping Gala!-!