Darkly Familiar

Dear Super Duper Diary,

I’m so happy today! I get to teach Twilight how to make the bestest treats in all of Equestria! She’s been coming by every day recently, and Mrs. Cake told me I can teach her some of our recipes so she can help out! I was sad Spike didn’t come too, so I asked her where he is. She told me he’s off with Peewee having a visit with Princess Celestia and Philomena. Sounds fun!

Twilight sure wants to learn how to bake our sweets her way. She always makes super-duper sure she knows what ingredients do what in which recipe. That’s my favourite Librarian for you!

Tomorrow me and Twilight get to have a Free Sample Day, just like I got to do with Applejack way back when. I sure hope it goes better than that, but I’m not worried!

Talk to you soon. Okie Dokie Lokie?

-Pinkie Pie

***

Twilight silently appeared in the kitchen of Sugarcube Corner in the dead of night. She quietly trotted over to where she and Pinkie had placed their pre-prepared baked goods earlier in the day for tomorrow’s Free Sample Day. Twilight smiled at how simple it had been to convince Pinkie that Spike was safe and sound with Princess Celestia in Canterlot.

As Twilight examined each and every dish, from the fritters to the pies, she slowly slipped various ingredients into each. Twilight had originally of course simply planned to minutely poison everything, but with Pinkie help in teaching how certain ingredients react with one another, Twilight could slowly drive Pinkie insane much easier, and quite possibly faster.

Twilight could feel the itch in her eye that meant the “Other” was trying to stop her. How simple it was to overpower the “Other” now. Originally, this Twilight had been nothing more than a whisper in the “Other’s” dreams. And now she commanded the body for all but the briefest of instances. Twilight smiled maniacally as the itch slowly subsided and the “Other” lost strength once more.

As Twilight finished tampering with the last dish, she instantly returned them to their original places with her magic, and left as silently as she had appeared, only a whisper of a laugh in the wind indicating she had been there at all.

***

Dear Diary,

Am I unlucky whenever I try to do a Free Sample Day? I wanna know because today didn’t go so well. It wasn’t as bad as my time with AJ, but my baked goods still made ponies upset.

I don’t know how it happened, but more than half of our samples were ruined when I tried to bake them, and almost none of the ones that did turn out tasted even remotely yummy. I got a tummy ache, and it wasn’t even from my sweets…

I guess I can’t judge an event by what happened just once or twice right? Maybe I just need to do something that will make everypony forget this. I got it! I’ll throw a party! That’ll make everypony smile and be happy again! A “Pinkie-and-Twilight-Made-Some-Baking-Mistakes-but-We’re-Really-Sorry-So-We-Did-This” Party!

And Twilight can help me again! Poor filly. She looked way more crushed than I did when the customers complained. She even cried twice! I would’ve asked her what was wrong, but I never had the time. Maybe I’ll ask her at the party.

Time to get planning. Later alligator. Speaking of, I need to floss Gummy…

-Pinkie Pie
***

“At least the “Other” is finally good for something. She has a trustworthy face, and now I do too.” Twilight thought to herself as she watched the various ponies storm out of Sugarcube Corner and mad sad and apologetic faces to all of them. Twilight looked over at Pinkie Pie once the last pony left, and smiled darkly as she saw the pink pony staring into the nearly corner and rocking back and forth.

To say this party had been a disaster was a light statement by some. The balloons had exploded in balls of fire in many ponies faces. The streamers had easily caught on fire from that, and they had then spread it to the other decorations. All the food had been laced with ingredients many ponies were allergic to. The music had “accidentally” shattered all the glass in the surrounding area. The entertainment had cancelled at the last minute, and the backup was heaving upstairs from a bad reaction to the punch.

These acts of chaos were all merely a prologue for Twilight, but watching chaos build was still a great source of joy for her. Twilight had finally crossed the room and given Pinkie Pie a hug, a wicked sneer on her face whenever Pinkie couldn’t see it.

After Twilight too had left Sugarcube Corner after helping Pinkie clean as much as they could that night, Pinkie simply went upstairs to bed and refused to come down for several days.

***

Dear Diary,

Isn’t making ponies happy my special talent? That’s what my Cutie Mark always told me anyway. Why can’t I do it anymore then? First I mess up my baking, now I mess up my parties.

At least Twilight still likes me. She was the only one who stayed to help me after all that. She’s a true friend. I just wish I could pay her and everypony else back.

Maybe I’ll try baking one more time.

…

Okie Dokie Lokie.

-Pinkie

***

Pinkie let the tears stream openly down her face and into her now deflated mane as Mr. and Mrs. Cake screamed at her. Pinkie knew she deserved it. Nopony deserving of being a baker ever messes up as severely and frequently as she had.

Pinkie had originally tried to fight the accusations. Some cleaning chemicals truly can look like baking supplies at times. And nopony had gotten worse than just really terrible food poisoning at that time. Then the accusations just kept coming. She just gave up fighting back. Eventually, she didn’t even touch anything in the kitchen, and it was still her fault just for being there.

Today, Pinkie had snuck in and made just 1 tray of cupcakes, then set them out along with the others. Those cupcakes landed 3 ponies in the Emergency Room at Ponyville General. The Cakes lost it on Pinkie. They had stood by her through all the rest, just as Twilight had, but when Pumpkin had almost eaten one of the cupcakes, they gave up on her like the rest of the town.

Pinkie trudged upstairs once the Cakes ordered her out of the house. Pinkie gathered up everything she could carry and that she really cared about, deciding to leave her diary behind as she finished its last entry.

***

Dear Diary,

I’m fired…

I’m homeless…

Even the Cakes want me gone from Ponyville now. I don’t know where Twilight went either…

I don’t blame them or anypony else. I’m the common element in all these problems. I need to leave to make them go away.

I wonder where I’ll go. Maybe I’ll go see Mom and Dad again at the farm.

…

I just don’t know what went wrong in me…

-Pinkamena Diane Pie

***

Pinkie trotted slowly out of town, keeping her head and eyes low to the ground as everypony got in their last few words to her or threw the last of her baked bads at her. She knew they’d be happy when she was gone, and all she ever wanted was to make ponies happy.

As Pinkie reached a point in the road a distance from the edge of town, she spied a shadow directly ahead of her. Daring to look up, she saw Twilight there with a caring smile on her face, and tears in her eyes. Pinkie felt herself start to cry too. Pinkie galloped forward and just let herself cry as Twilight hugged her, tears still flowing from Twilight’s eyes too.

“Twilight…Thank you for coming.” Pinkie continued to cry as she told Twilight this, feeling Twilight’s hoof come up and stroke her mane in response.

“Pinkie…I’m sorry…I could’ve helped…But I’m not strong enough.” Twilight spoke with real emotion, knowing she didn’t have much time left.

As Pinkie Pie leaned back from the hug to ask Twilight what she meant, she suddenly felt something thump her back, and then a warm feeling through her stomach. Looking down, Pinkie was shocked to see a sharpened rock poking out of her stomach. The rock was also still encased in Twilight’s magic.

As one of Twilight’s front hooves came down around Pinkie’s wound, she looked back up at her friend, shock and hurt in her features as a new wave of tears started.

“W-W-Why?...” Pinkie asked, blood gurgling up her throat and slurring her speech.

Twilight had the dark smile on her face again now, and her eyes had shifted to vile green again, but one eye continued to stream tears as she looked at Pinkie. Twilight lifted up the hoof she had placed at Pinkie’s wound, which now held a large amount of Pinkie’s blood on it. Twilight took a very long and slow lick of the blood stained hoof, her smile now fully shifting to maniacal as she tasted her friends blood.

“Because you’re so sweet Pinkie Pie.” Twilight ignited her horn in its black aura again and slid the rock slowly back out of Pinkie’s back.

As the rock fully left Pinkie’s body, she attempted to slide back and away from Twilight, but she merely collapsed on her back instead. As the last of Pinkie’s life left her and her blood continued to overflow, she stared with wonder at Twilight, wondering with her last moments what had happened to her friend, and why she had done this.

Twilight stood over Pinkie until she moved no more, the fear on her face still there, even in death. Twilight lifted Pinkie’s body with her magic, and teleported both of them to the river farthest away from Ponyville, where she simply dropped the body in and watched it float away, the blood dying the water crimson shortly after.