Darkness

Fluttershy hadn't slept at all. She wasn't able to. She had been kept awake all night by the thought of poor Pinkiepie. How in all of Equestria could a Pony like Pinkie ever be sad? Let alone depressed...

She walked down the road. Luckily, the rain had stopped, like something was trying to encourage her. The dirt path was still soggy, though. Her yellow hooves were stained with brown as they sunk into the puddles and mush below them. She looked around the street. Shutters were shut. Doors were locked. The townsfolk were nowhere to be seen. It was as if they were hiding from something.

As she reached Sugarcube Corner, she knocked on the door, which slowly swung open. The 'Closed' sign on the door was crooked, and the smell of sugar and cake was thick in the air. The sound of the clock ticking repeatedly jerked her eardrums, standing out from the plain silence of the  Mr and Mrs Cake were nowhere to be seen, but she could tell their children were here, she could smell their soiled diapers. Someone had to be in. They wouldn't leave their babies alone like this. She presumed Pinkie was upstairs.

As she ascended the wooden stairs, the cool winter breeze left her and she was instead greeted by a warm, clammy gust of wind as the door slammed shut behind her. The steps creaked beneath her hooves as she reached the top and began making her way down the hallway. The sound of the clock faded away and was replaced with silence. She looked behind her, half expecting something to jump out. The ironic, taunting, bright pink wallpaper guided her way down the hallway which seemed to last forever. Finally, she made it to Pinkie's room.

The door was open, and the table outside it was overturned and lay on its side against the wooden floor. A smashed pot lay a few inches away from it. She no longer felt comfortable. The encouraging and blessing safety of the grey sky had abandoned her, and she was now greeted by the warning silence of the hallway. She entered the room, looking around. The once brightly colored walls were now dull and grey, and the wallpaper itself had been torn off and now lay scattered across the floor. The curtains were shut and the lights flickered, one of which seemed to have had its bulb removed and smashed against the wall, almost as if it had been purposely hurled towards it. The carpet was dull and covered in dark stains. Perhaps the only sign of life in the room was the half-eaten cupcake by the side of the bed.

"Why are you here..." A voice came from behind Fluttershy.

She spun around, looking at the Pony behind her. She no longer saw the friend she once knew. As Twilight had described, her hoof was bandaged and her mane lay limp, hanging from her head. Instead of joy and happiness,  no emotion was seen in her ironically bright blue eyes, apart from pure anger. She was no longer deserving of the name 'Pinkiepie'.

"Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked, taking a step towards her.

"Why...are you here?" Pinkie asked, this time expecting an answer.

"I came to...to-"

"Check on me?"

"Yes...to check on you....Twilight told me what you did to your hoof"

Pinkie hid her hoof behind the other, her eyes narrowing to show her displeasure. "I told her to forget about asking you guys to help me..."

"But...why? All we want is to make sure you're okay"

"Well I'm not..."

"But why?"

Pinkiepie didn't answer, but instead stared into her friend's eyes, narrowing her own even more. "That's a question I can't answer"

"Why can't you?"

"Because if I did...my mind would force me to show my true unhappiness" Pinkiepie glared at the ground hatefully, wishing she could lie down against it and embrace the stone cold gaze of the ceiling.

"But...what does that mean?"

"Too hard for you to understand, Fluttershy?"

"No...I understand that you're unhappy....but why wont you tell us why you're unhappy?" Fluttershy managed to force out, trying to think of how to structure her words.

"Because none of you understand. None of you will ever understand what it's like to feel what I feel right now..."

"Pinkie...that's not fair. We've all felt like you have once in our lives"

"Have we? Have we really?"

Fluttershy fell silent, staring at Pinkie in confusion.

"Have we all felt how Pinkamena Diane Pie feels? Have we all? Have we all felt what it's like to look at their own friends and feel lonely? Even when there are Ponies around them? Have we ever looked into the darkness and felt that we...belong there?" Pinkie said, an unsettling look upon her face.

"P-Pinkie...I don't....."

"Of course you fucking don't..."

Now all Fluttershy wanted to do was to leave. The aroma of the cake and sugar, mixed with the smell of soiled diapers was making her sick, and the Pony she saw before her made her feel as if she couldn't breathe, as if she was staring into the eyes of a Demon. There was no reasoning with her, she simply didn't listen. Twilight was right, Pinkie was beyond her help.

"Pinkie I-I...I don't know what to-"

"Get out..."

"Wh-what?"

"You heard me, Fluttershy...get out"

"B-but..."

Fluttershy's heart sank and ached as her eyes began to water. She couldn't tell if it was the foul stench, or her fear of the monster in front of her. All of a sudden, Pinkie lost it. "GET OUT" She screamed, her eyes widening and her bare teeth showing. Fluttershy turned and ran, stumbling into the wall just as Pinkie threw her fist against a wooden table, breaking off one of the legs, then picked it up and hurled it outside in Fluttershy's direction. "GEEEEET OOOOOUUUUUT!!!"

Fluttershy took off, tears flowing from her eyes. She felt Pinkie's anger thrust through her like a bucket of boiling water had just been poured all over her. Her tears mixed with sweat as it trickled down her neck. She burst through the front door sobbing loudly as she sprinted down the street.

Back in her room, Pinkie stared at the door in a rage, her eyes narrowed and her teeth bared. As she heard the sounds of her friend's sobbing from outside her window, her expression softened and she squeezed her eyes shut, forcing her hooves into her eyes regretfully.

'What are you going to do now, Pinkiepie?'

She tried to ignore it, but it was impossible.

'You've not only driven away one, but now *two** of your friends'*

"I don't care..." She said out loud. "They're better off without me...."

The voice did not reply. Whether it was out of disgust or pity was unclear, but Pinkie didn't care. She just sat there, face buried in her hooves, silently...