“Hello there Pinkamena, or should I call you Pinkie, either way you are going to be a part of a small experiment, or a game, should you prefer to call it so. If you have not already noticed Pinkamena you are in a small white room five foot by five foot if I remember correctly, and there is no escape. This game has many parts to it, and the first one while being rather monotonous, is one one of the most necessary, your goal first goal is to figure why you are here, yes you are probably thinking this is so trivial, but looks can be deceiving, have fun.” Said a voice that seemed to come out of the walls.
Pinkie found herself in a small white room about five feet by five feet in area, and only six feet tall, there was nothing in the room, but herself and her thoughts. Pinkie looked around there were no holes or cracks in the wall, and the white floor showed a distorted reflection of Pinkie as she looked down upon it. The only abnormal thing Pinkie could feel was a small prick in her flank, where she was sedated and brought to this place.
Pinkie began to think to herself, “OK, why am I here, now that I think about it how did I get here?” Pinkie’s eyes dilated as she made the realization, “That, that creature, who talked to me in the Everfree Forest, it must have been him!
Pinkie began to remember the events that lead to her imprisonment in this small chamber, she had been walking through the Everfree Forest, and a large bipedal organism walked up to her and began speaking to her and asking strange questions.
“Hello there little one,” said the man as Pinkie was remembering more and more of the scene that happened only in the recent past, “would you mind telling me who you are?”
“OK!” Replied Pinkie in her usual hyperactive manner, “my name is Pinkie Pie, and what is your name?”
“My name is Nothing, I am not important, but you are, at least to me. Now Pinkie, you like to party do you not, or enjoy other frivolous things. You know this will lead you to a path of self destruction do you not? All it will bring is pain in the end, but I can help you, I already knew your name before you told me, and nearly everything about you. Now I want you to walk home little one, and I shall help you.”
Pinkie turned around and began walking to her cottage, and moments after pure darkness, and then she woke up in the room she is in currently.
“Hm,” thought Pinkie still somewhat bewildered by her current predicament “I guess that answers how I got here, but why am I here, I guess I can’t leave until I play his game, but I guess it is ok,” said Pinkie now beaming, “I love games! Now, to answer the question of why I am here,” thought Pinkie once more being confident in her ability in completing this task in mere minutes, “I don’t know, why I am in here,” sighed Pinkie now looking slightly worried in her ability to complete the game, “I don’t know why I am here, and I don’t know how I am supposed to figure that out. Hmh, he said something about me being frivolous, what a meany. No! Pinkie focus he said I was frivolous and he said he was going to help me, so maybe this is his way of helping me, this game.” Pinkie began to grow a beaming smile, and said aloud “I know why I am here! I am here to learn how to be less frivolous and more grounded in reality.” Pinkie sat there waiting for a response which came in the form of the mans soothing voice.
“Very good Pinkamena,” replied the voice which still seemed to come from nowhere, “however this was just the first of many little games, and they shall increase in difficulty and hopefully fun. Now for your second game, this one is much more, interesting. When I stop talking a console will show up with two large buttons, the purple button shall erase generosity, while the orange button shall erase honesty, take your pick and remember, have fun.” finished the voice.
Out of the walls a small console flipped open, and Pinkie looked at it perplexed by the choices she had been given by the voice.
“Hm, what does he mean by erasing generosity or honesty, he can’t mean erasing it from the world that would have nothing to do with being more grounded, so it must mean something more literal,” it was then that Pinkie came to the shocking realization of what he meant, “generosity is Rarity, and honesty is Applejack, so he wants me to kill one of my friends.” Pinkie was dumbstruck by the thought and couldn’t think of a single use for something so drastic as this. She could not let out a single syllable or think a complete thought, she was just sitting there and breathing, just existing and surviving from basic bodily functions. Pinkie began to start another train of thought “OK, one of them will have to die, but they would sacrifice themselves for me, if they were in the same situation, as would I for them, so I guess it is just the way cards played out.” Thought Pinkie still unsure of what she was thinking. “They don’t both have to die at least, only one that is reasonable, maybe is teaching me choices, I have no idea, but it has to be done.”
Pinkie walked up to the console that was flipped out of the wall, it had the two buttons as the man said, one purple and one orange. Pinkie stared at the console, and tried to decide which of her two beloved friends were going to have their life come to a tragic end.
“OK,” thought Pinkie, “only one has to die,” she was hyperventilating at this point,” but which one. Rarity can be kind of a snob, but she is really nice most of the time, and Applejack can be annoying with her constant butting into other ponies business, but she is there when you need her. OK, I guess I will let chance decide.”
Pinkie closed her eyes and spun around a few times and pressed a button, and when she opened her eyes, she had pressed the orange button. Pinkie was sobbing on the floor unable to comprehend what she had just done, she couldn’t speak, she couldn’t think, and she could barely breath.
Her nervous breakdown was interrupted by that man’s voice, “Oh Pinkie, please don’t cry I hate to see you upset, this was all to help you remember, just stick with it. Would it be of any consolation if I told you that your precious Applejack’s body was ripped by about a hundred blades and then eaten by some timber wolves. Probably not, but was it not invigorating so much suspense, To be or not to be, that is the question, well I guess Applejack was not to be. Now pick yourself up, and prepare for the next game. This one being another one that is extremely fun, at least for me, but much more self destructive. You are about to obtain an amazing lesson, as well as a key to your freedom. Directly under the flesh of your flank there is a small thin slab, and on the slab is a number there are three of these numbers within you, and I shall reveal them all to you in due time, when my voice goes dark a scalpel will be revealed to you. You are to slice your flank and retrieve this slab so that you may have a chance of freedom, and remember, have fun.”
As the man promised, a hole opened in the ceiling a down dropping a small sharp scalpel. She examined it without picking it up almost as if it was possessed or held a demon of some sort, which of course was preposterous.
Pinkie eventually gave up and picked up the weapon of her own physical destruction, stared at it, and thought “Am I really going to do this to myself, I mean how would I even do this, I can reach my flank if sit, but how does he expect me to cut myself like this? I can’t believe this is happening to me, what did I ever do?” Pinkie couldn’t help but sob at her current predicament, “Well I guess if I cut myself and get those numbers I can leave sooner, but even if I do escape, what would I tell Twilight or Rainbow Dash, Hi guys! I just inadvertently killed Applejack how has your life been? No, I couldn’t do that, but I can’t stay here, I have to escape and this is the only way.”
Pinkie again stared at the scalpel resting loosely on her hoof, and took a large gulp, and then reached to her flank and made a small cut around her cutie mark. The pain was unbearable, it burned like nothing else ever could, but at the same time it was cold from the metal touching her bare muscle. Blood began to slowly trickle down her leg from the small wound she had just opened. Pinkie kept slicing around her cutie mark, occasionally pulling the scalpel away so that she may breath and look upon the wound she keeps making larger and more severe. Finally she let out a sigh of relief as she finished slicing completely around her cutie mark and peeling away the flesh from muscle and bone. There was a noticeably large puddle of crimson blood on the floor by this point, and Pinkie was panting barely able to breath from a combination of pain and the severe heat and cold that she was feeling.
Pinkie screamed “Yes! the slab,” as she saw the slab laying upon her exposed muscle. Pinkie picked it up and read the slab, it said “Here is the first key to freedom and a meaningful life, you have earned it, 6.”
The same voice that has been tormenting Pinkie turned on again and said, “Well, you did earn it didn’t you, that is the first key to your freedom and a meaningful life, but you probably figured that out. More importantly, well I believe I shall quote Shakespeare, for I do not know a better way to tell you something, O Pinkamena, Pinkamena, wherefore art thou Pinkamena? Deny thy frivolousness and refuse thy childish tendencies; Or if thou wilt not, be but sworn by my teachings, And you’ll no longer be a prisoner, well it went something along those lines, but I was more of a Homeric epic reader of the Iliad and the Odyssey, but Shakespeare did interest me, I believe my favorite was Macbeth , oh how I love tragedy, and does this not feel somewhat like a Shakespearean play? I mean, there is death, complete psychological breakdowns, or at least nervous ones, but let us see how this tragedy ends. Now for your next little game, we are going to do something easy, considering what you have just been through. I want you to take a hard look at yourself and tell yourself that you are useless, that you are scum, because isn’t that what you are right now, you are transforming like a chrysalis into a butterfly, now when I go dark I want to hear that, by the way I thought I would take a moment to mention this, I know your every move, your every breath, and your every word. Now, have fun with your game.
“Hm,” thought Pinkie happy that this game was so easy, and she looked at the floor where she could see her slightly distorted self and stared, unable to open her mouth to say the words she knew she could. “How do I,” she continued to think bewildered that this was the most difficult yet, “How do I call myself scum, I’m not scum, I am not! This guy apparently thinks I am, nothing but scum. He said something about me being a chrysalis turning into a butterfly, but how, how can this be transformation, this is torture.” Pinkie continued to think now crying at what she had done, “I killed Applejack, I sliced off my cutie mark, and now he wants me to know that I am a piece of worthless scum, it is just words though isn’t it.” Pinkie let out a miniscule giggle at this thought, “Yeah , it’s just words.”
Pinkie inhaled a deep breath, enunciated every syllable, looked into the floor where she could see herself, and said, “I am scum.”
At these words Pinkie began to shed tears like she never had before. The words had stung her tongue like a thousand hornets, and she could hardly breathe from the vocal spectacle.
Pinkie heard the man clapping and then saying, “Very good Pinkamena, you have admitted to yourself what you truly are, now only two more games and you may leave this place. I am somewhat tired and you probably are too, so I will be quick with this. If freedom is your wish, You must fill a dish, with the drink the blood of your soul, for today that is your goal.
The moment the voice went dark a compartment in the wall opened and a small plastic bowl came out of it.
“What does he mean by that?” Pinkie thought as she stared at the bowl, with the scalpel just to the side of her, “Wait! he wants me to cut myself and drink my own blood! What is with this sicko, he needs help a lot more than I would ever need OK, pros and cons, the pros are that it can help me get out of here faster, the cons are that I am essentially eating myself and it is going to hurt a lot. I guess freedom outweighs the pain, but how am I supposed to stomach my own blood, that is disgusting.
Despite her thoughts Pinkie forced herself to walk over to the bowl with the scalpel in hoof. She stared at is contemplating what she was doing, unable to stop herself, she sliced a small opening in her front right leg, and let the crimson blood drain into the bowl. The pain was nothing, compared to her will to leave by this point, she just sat there breathing unmoved by the action she was committing.
She bled until the bowl was full, took a large gulp and began to drink. The blood was thick and had a vomit inducing iron-like taste to it. Pinkie did not care, all she cared about was freedom.
When Pinkie finished drinking from the plastic bowl sitting on the cold floor she noticed a red number in the bowl, another six.
“Very good Pinkamena,” said the man’s voice,”I am genuinely pleased by your progress, are you not. When you came in here you were an unthinking girl and now you are a grand woman, and you are nearly done. There is one last lesson to learn, in the past I have not given you the names of the lessons but I believe I shall break my streak. Your last lesson is responsibility, now you for this lesson you may sit back and relax, and someone else will do the work, goodbye Pinkamena, I will miss you.”
The moment the voice went dark the walls of the white room fell to the sides and Pinkie saw the dead body of Applejack, and then she noticed her surroundings, she was in a Canterlot alleyway, and no pony was about except for a single guard.
The guard saw Pinkie, the knife, and the dead Applejack, and then he galloped over screaming, “You are under arrest for murder.”
The guard picked up Pinkie and said that she was arrested once more and dragged her toward the guard entrance to the dungeon. Pinkie was unmoving, nonspeaking, only pain and regret rushed through her veins, and a burning hatred of herself.
