Determining Fate

Pinkie awoke hours later with a massive headache. “H...uh? Guys…?” The room around her was bare. The pink walls in her room illuminated the bright sunlight that shone outside.

A note was lying beside her on the bed. Picking it up, she immediately noticed Twilight’s handwriting, written in the finest cursive."To Pinkie, whenever you awake"

It was odd. Her friends would never leave her side and, from what she could remember, Twilight hadn’t even been in that group of friends by her side. Pinkie shrugged it off, proceeding to open the note and read the delicate writing inside.

“If you are reading this, it means that you have finally awoken. I know that you have many questions about what has happened in the last short while, but be told that, in time, all will be answered. You may have asked yourself, “Where did all my friends go?”, but I have to teach you a lesson. I told you, your friends don’t exist. What I have set up for you here is a game. All you have to do is figure out which of your worlds is the true one. Now, don’t just say, “It’s the one with my friends!” You are allowed to choose either world, but do not choose too hastily. For the time being, that is all I can divulge to you. Please, stay safe. Be creative. Oh, and don’t eat any desserts!

Dr. Sparkle”

So, this was a game? Pinkie loved games! This one was, for sure, going to be slightly tougher for her, but, she knew, in the end, she was going to make the right choice. In her mind, the side with her friends was always going to be the right one, but why not give the other a chance?

Getting up out of bed, Pinkie felt terrible. It was as if a thousand lightning bolts had been cast down on her. Moving around caused her severe pain, but she knew walking would help her. She moved over to her window, staring out at the green gardens of Ponville.

She saw Lyra, sitting in her odd position on the bench, drool sliding down her lips. She saw Roseluck, watering her plants with the specified amount of water (50 sprinkles). Around the town, love was in the air, couples sharing hay sandwiches and pets sharing kisses with their owners.

The air smelled of cinnamon buns, the stench causing Pinkie to drool from the corners of her lips. It was a fresh new day, and obviously this was all a game devised by Twilight. Pinkie turned away from her window to grab the note, but quickly realized it was missing. That was weird, but after the day she had been having, it didn’t seem extraordinary to have a missing note on her hooves.

Stepping outside, it felt like a new start to Pinkie. She would find her friends, and she would throw a party for them! A mystery party seemed fit for Twilight’s little game. Now it all depended on finding her friends. Her first stop would be Fluttershy’s cottage, ‘cause Pinkie knew that Fluttershy loved to hang out with her!

The walk through Ponyville didn’t really seem any different than another normal day. Pinkie shared greetings with everypony she passed and put smiles on everypony’s face. Their smiles made Pinkie smile.

Pinkie Pie had always had that lonely feeling. She had her friends, but it wasn’t good enough. Growing up on a rock farm didn’t seem to put much spirit in a pony these days. Pinkie always thought of Maud when bland came up. It wasn’t that she didn’t like Maud, but it wasn’t very exciting to party while she sat there, talking with her pebble.

Finally arriving at Fluttershy’s cottage, Pinkie Pie didn’t bother to knock, bursting in with her streamers, per usual. “Fluttershy!!! I’m throwing a new party for you all and you’re the first to be invited!”

When Pinkie didn’t get a response, she proceeded to go through each room in the house thoroughly, greeting every new door with another large party shout. Each time proved even more hopeless than the last, all the doors leading to an empty room. The only sign of life in this house was the flickering lights in the living room.

[i“Where could she have gone…?”
] Pinkie questioned herself. It wasn’t like Fluttershy to stop taking care of her home, deserting her animals. Then again, it was Fluttershy. She was probably hiding off with a bear somewhere, playing a round of Go-Fish.

The thought made Pinkie smile. One of her dreams had always been to communicate with animals, and the actual thought of doing it was so silly. Fluttershy was an interesting person, and Pinkie acknowledged that.

As the house proved to be useless to her search, Pinkie stepped outside, the bright moonlight illuminating the white snow that had fallen.

“Whoa….what just happened!? It was morning a minute ago!” Pinkie became scared. She hadn’t been in Fluttershy’s cottage for any more than 15 minutes, at the most. When was there any time for snow to fall, or even for night to come out? Was this all a joke played by Luna?

She was shivering, the cold winter that had descended really kicking her in the gut. The snow did shine beautifully under the moon, but Pinkie hadn’t been prepared for cold weather, let alone snow. The wind rose to a steady force, the pink pony’s mane blowing to the south.

“It’s so pretty…” Pinkie was amazed. Anything that could conjure up a flurry of spectacles such as this deserved praise. Each snowflake fell slowly, covering Ponyville in its cold warmth.

The leaves dropped to the ground with each gram of snow, and Pinkie Pie just stood there, her mind wandering to memories of days past, where she had brought her sled to the tops of many hills. Riding down the toboggan, her warm scarf fluttered behind her, the slushy water splashing her in the face. No matter how much her hooves hurt, she kept pulling the sled back to the top, ready for another journey down.

Her smile was hidden among the dark shadows that she stood in. Then, just like that, everything turned black, and she was back in the hospital.

“Don’t you see, Ms. Pie, we can do whatever we want. We can make all of your dreams come true. You can be the biggest party planner in all of Equestria, if you want. Why do you still choose your friends over us?”

For a moment, Pinkie had actually started to consider the possibilities of this place. The snowy backdrop really did seem like a dream to her. If she stayed here, could she have whatever she wanted, even her friends?

Twilight stepped into the darkness of Pinkie’s room. Her mouth was neither upturned nor in a frown. Her face was expressionless. In her front left hoof, she held a remote. With each press of the remote, Pinkie felt a surge in different areas of her body.

“Now, there are times when ponies don’t comply, but that rarely ever happens. Pinkie, you must understand that we control you. We can make you do whatever we want. If you decide to help us in our studies of brain activity and virtual reality, I promise you that we will not do anything to harm you nor control you.”

The thought of any brainwashing kind of scared Pinkie. She would have no control over herself. Her parties would be fake! She couldn’t let that happen! Finally, Pinkie Pie stopped.

“No.”

Twilight looked shocked. “No!? What do you mean, no?”

“I mean no, you can’t control me. No, you won’t ever get me to comply with you. I just want to know what the world outside looks like! What are you hiding from me!? Let me be free!”

Twilight stepped back, her eyes in a state of terror. It seemed that nopony had ever said that to her before. Pinkie grinned, standing up on the bed once again. The look on Twilight’s face was priceless. Nothing had ever felt this good before. Pinkie jumped off of the bed, landing in front of Twilight.

“And nopony, will ever, take away, my parties. Got that?”

Twilight’s face went back into the mal expression that it had been before. “Yes, Ms. Pie. I completely understand. If you want answers, you’ll have to find a way to escape first.”

She pressed a button on the wall, and all of a sudden, Pinkie felt tired. Her eyes drooped, her spirit dropping into her stomach. The dizzier she got, the more wobbly she became. “I...live...forever…”

And then she dropped.