Chapter One:
Loneliness
Pinkie Pie buried her head in the covers of her bed, tears rolling down her face. A quite, yet audible voice echoed through her mind. It sounded a if it came from everywhere at once, yet from nowhere at all.
They've abandoned you...
"No they didn't!" The pink mare shouted into the blanket, completely oblivious to the fact that she was talking to herself.
They never come see you anymore...
"That's because they're busy!"
Just excuses to get away from you...
"Liar!" She carried on like this, hour after hour, day after day. The "voice in her head had always been there, but Pinkie had managed to ignore it, until now. Her friends in fact had stopped seeing her as often as they did before, yet they still made it a point to meet with the pink pony as they realized what was going on. Pinkie's parties had lost their flare after that one day when Sugar Cube Corner caught fire, all because of one of her pranks didn't go according to plan. Sense not as many ponies accepted her invites, the "voice's" influence grew, causing the earth pony to stop throwing parties altogether. (Unless there was a special occasion.) Pinkie started having metal breakdowns when the voice began one of its angry rants about her friends. Each day it solidified itself a little bit more in her mind, its only purpose seemed to be to drive Pinkie away from her friends. This had been going on for a long time now, but the pink mare was an expert at hiding it… After months of verbal onslaughts that came from her own head, he finally broke under the stress it was causing, thus her "moments" started happening in public. Many ponies now saw her as "mentally unstable" and tended to avoid her, which led to an even greater depression.
A knock on Pinkie's bedroom door brought the distressed mare back to reality. Lifting her damp head away from her bedspread, she looked to the door. "Yes?" She whimpered, a fresh tear slid down her cheek.
"Uh, It's just me!" Mrs. Cake's voice sounded from behind the door, a hint of concern in it.
"What do you what?" Pinkie hissed, instantly regretting her harsh tone. Lifting a hoof, she wiped a tear from her eyes before it could drop.
"Some of your friends are here to see you..." Mrs. Cake replied. The pink earth pony slowly hauled herself out of bed and opened the door, forcing a grin. Giving the Cakes a nod, she bounced down the hallway. As she rounded a corner and started down the stairs, she heard the worried voice of her caretaker whispering to Mr. Cake, "She's talking to herself again..."
"Aren't we gonna get her some help?"
"Yes... I've contacted somepony, they think that they know what to do..."
Pinkie wasn't in the mood to continue listening. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, she was met by the smiles of to of her friends, Twilight and Fluttershy. Happy that the voice was wrong, the pink pony's smile became more natural.
"Fluttershy and I were going to go stargazing and we were wondering if you'd like to come! I was going to teach Fluttershy about the constellations and we thought you might be interested. So, would you like to join us?" Twilight asked, spreading out her wings in attempt to make looking at stars sound more appealing.
"Of course silly willy! Lead the way!" Pinkie Pie announced, the only hint of her recent breakdown was her slightly damp cheeks which were hardly noticeable. Twilight and Fluttershy set off at a steady pace, while Pinkie hopped giddily behind them.
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A cool breeze drifted across the meadow, bringing a welcoming calm with the sunset. Three ponies worked their way to the clearing's center.
"I hope Angel can take care of the house all by himself…" Muttered Fluttershy, castings a wary glance about her.
"He'll be fine! He's one of the hardiest bunnies I've ever met. I bet he could survive an attack from timber wolves!" Twilight responded, trying to sound reassuring. Yet the mention of the horrible beasts only made the yellow pegasus more perturbed. Pinkie Pie's joyous bouncing had simmered down into a jerky trot, seeming to go down with the setting sun. Upon reaching the middle of the extensive glade, the ponies settled down in the silky grass. They laid on their backs in a circle, heads pointing inwards, rumps pointing out. Silence set in over the field as the first few stars light up in the dimming sky. Minutes passed without a single word. Pinkie hoped that the peaceful quiet would continue and she let her eyelids gently press together. But of course, the hush was interrupted as Twilight suddenly spoke up.
"If you look there, you can see Aquila, the eagle!" The purple unicorn said a little too enthusiastically, pointing her right hoof at a bunch of stars. Pinkie couldn't find the constellation, to her it just looked like a bunch of little lights crowding around each other as if trying to escape the night's chill. "Oh! And there's Leo and Lupus, the lion and wolf!" Fluttershy gave an interested grunt when ever her alicorn friend pointed a group of stars out. Pinkie admitted to herself that she couldn't really care less. Things that used to interest the party pony just didn't anymore. And it was annoying. Then, out of the blue, the voice piped in.
They don't care about you…
"Wha…" Pinkie replied, drowsiness had grasped her mind, dulling her reaction time. The unicorn and pegasus looked to the earth pony, confused by her random reply to something they couldn't perceive.
They're ignoring you…
"Huh? No they're not."
The unicorn's not even paying attention to you! She's just talking to the yellow one!
"Uh… Their names are Twilight and Fluttershy… Not unicorn and yellow thing…"
Twilight finally intervened in Pinkie's thought train, "Pinkie, what are you talking about?" A look of concern crossed her face, for this had happened before. A mumble of irritation sounded from Fluttershy, probably from being called "Yellow Thing," but it was barely audible. Pinkie blinked at her friends in confusion.
"They're not ignoring me… They're talking to me right know…" She corrected the voice, but it refused to let up.
That's because you're talking to me out loud like an idiot and they're annoyed by it!
"They aren't annoyed by me!" Pinkie whimpered. Looking to her friends, she asked, "You aren't annoyed by me right?"
"Of course not! We could never be annoyed be you…" Fluttershy answered. Her voice shook as her answer came out, for it could be considered as a lie. Twilight on the other hand was more direct.
"We aren't exactly annoyed with you, but we're concerned about you… You've been talking to yourself more and more often, and that's not normal…" The alicorn murmured. Pinkie Pie looked utterly stunned, eyes widening. A confused expression crossed her face. Noticing the hurt look, Twilight placed a hoof on the pink pony's shoulder and added, "We will get you help. You'll have those voices out of your head-"
They think you're crazy, meant to live in an asylum…
"I'm not CRAZY!!!" Pinkie Pie blurted, half talking to the voice, half talking to the other ponies. Beginning to hyperventilate, she rose to her hooves, only to collapse again. Twilight and Fluttershy rushed to the earth pony's side.
"We never said you were-" The pegasus started, only to be cut of.
"I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy, I'm not crazy…"Pinkie repeated the sentence over and over, trying to convince herself more than anything. By now she had her front hooves clamped on the sides of her skull, eyes smashed shut. Rocking back and forth, she continued to whisper the phrase, tears sliding down her cheeks. Pinkie curled into a ball, her voice rasping, becoming louder and louder. It would have stopped. The tears, anger, and hopelessness would have come to an end that night. The pink pony would've been consoled be her friends. It all could have ended in peace, if it weren't for to fillies who decided to play in the glade that night.
"Hey look! There's that crazy pony! I heard that she freaks out if you talk to her!" Silver Spoon's giggle drifted across the clearing with the wind.
"She's always been weird. I wonder why those other ponies still hang out with her, it's a lost cause!" Came Diamond Tiara's reply. The two fillies' insults continued to gently float through the air. But to Pinkie, each word was like a poison dart, each more painful than the last. Her shot open, pupils slitted. With the voice screaming in her head, she rose to her feet. She had snapped.
Pinkie pie was fast. Everyone knew it. But it was still surprising. Before Twilight and Fluttershy even realized what was going on, the pink pony was flying across the field. Within seconds, she was practically on top of the fillies. Whipping around, she lashed out with her hind legs. The blow connected, one hoof slammed into Diamond Tiara's rib cage, while the other landed squarely on her lower jaw. Both foals screeched in horror. Silver Spoon exploded away, fear lending her speed. The other filly crumpled to the ground, writhing in pain. Pinkie sunk her teeth into Diamond Tiara's ear and pulled violently.
Pain exploded in the angered mare's side as Twilight's bowled her over, causing her to release the foal's blooded ear. The pink filly rose to her shaky feet and attempted to stumble away, only to fall on her face. Fluttershy rushed to the wounded pony's side and gave her support.
"I'll get you to the doctor little one." The yellow pegasus coed as she aided Diamond Tiara. Pinkie and Twilight wrestled in the soft grass. After receiving multiple kicks and bites, the alicorn shot a ray of blinding light at the earth pony, blasting the mare away. Pinkie Pie's eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she slumped to the ground, legs twitching. Stunned, Twilighted stared blankly at the unconscious pony, confusion filled her mind.
"Why Pinkie? Why? …"
Prologue
"What in Equestria..." A dark furred alicorn stated bluntly, her coat sparkling elegantly in the sunlight that shown through the stained glass window's. She looked to her sister in confusion. "What just happened??" A beautiful white pelted alicorn stood next to the black mare, the same surprised expression upon her face.
"Luna, my dear sister, I... Don't know..." The white alicorn, or Celestia, replied, sounding slightly disappointed a the fact that she didn't hold an answer. The older sister took a step toward the pedestals which held the Elements of Harmony. Staring at the necklace that held the Element of Laughter, Celestia shook her head, trying to grasp what had just happened right before her eyes.
"Why did it change?" Luna asked, voice shaky, something that was out of character for the younger princess.
"I told you, I don't know!" Celestia yelled, whipping around to face her sister. Luna flinched backwards, practically shrinking down to half her size. Her body seemed to seize up with sudden fear from her companion's unnatural snarl. A sigh rippled through the bright coated alicorn as she coed to her younger sister, anger turning to concern. "I guess I'm as clueless as you are..." Both alicorns turned back to the Element of Laughter. An uneasy feeling came over Luna upon looking at the necklace, forcing her to stare down at her hooves. The castle around her suddenly seemed foreboding and cold.
"I-I can't look at it..." She stuttered, a shiver gripped her body and shook it to the core. Luna could feel her sister's questioning gaze on her, making the situation more uncomfortable. Without waiting for a response, she repeated, "I just can't look at it!" And with that, she sped out of the room and out of sight. Princess Celestia returned her eyes to the Element and shuddered.
There, was the balloon. That was normal... But the disturbing part was that on said balloon, were two eyes scrunched up in a terrified squint and a mouth that seemed to be screaming in agony.