Pinkemena Diane Pie and her rather curious secret.
A sullen Pink mare with a greying photo in her hoof sat on a rickety couch that looked as if it was about to collapse. Come to think of it, the mare herself looked kind of like the couch: torn up. She blew a piece of silky flat hair out of her shimmering blue eyes and looked at the photograph again, her expression tired. The window-panes bowed to the silver light of the moon that flooded through them, creating a waterfall of light to bathe the photo. If you looked at the photo one day, not knowing the story to it, it would look like a very ordinary photo. In it, a grey earth pony with greenish hair neatly tucked up in a bun, her spectacles resting on her nose stood next to a pink filly with flattened dark pink hair. They both had very piteous, sad expressions on their muzzles, and you would find yourself puzzling why somepony took this picture at this time. Really, the story was quite simple. And Pinkie knew it by heart. She would think of it again and again, every time she saw that photo. The beginning of that day was quite nice actually. The light was just blinding enough to hide the monster that lurked, ready to pounce. It was the day of Pinkemena's first check up. The sun shone brightly, the birds chirped in the sky, and absolutely nothing could go wrong as Pinkie and her mom trotted down a dusty road to the nearest Doctor's office in Ponyville. The stones were clattering under their hooves and Pinkie's mother, Cloudy Quartz, noted the types of each rock as she kicked them aside. This went on for a while, a sort of road game to occupy the time, until they finally trotted into the doctors office. The doctor there was friendly, as pinkie remembered. He asked her a few questions, did a few tests, asked her to stick her tongue out (To which Pinkie did so with slight confusion.) Finally, after around two hours, The doctor came out of the office with Pinkie and a clipboard, looking very depressed and slightly confused. Not that you could blame him, Pinkie was switching back and forth from her depressive side and her cheerful side. He had looked Cloudy Quartz in the eye and said,
"Miss Quartz. I'm afraid that your daughter has bi-polar disease." Cloudy Quartz had jerked her head up, her eyes filling with tears as she ran to her confused daughter and hugged her. Pinkie's life at the farm had been absolute turmoil since that day. When she and her mom showed back up at the house with the bad news, Pinkie's dad igneous had snapped a photo of them hurriedly, expecting only happy faces and good news. When he heard however, his anger began to rise. He had quietly asked Pinkemena to go to her room, and when she obeyed his orders, an argument quickly spouted downstairs. It was decided that it was too dangerous for Pinkie to live on the rock farm, her outbursts could cause a lot of trouble for the reputation of the family. It could destroy business. And... that was how she came to live in Ponyville. She hadn't seen her parents since the incident, and frankly, she didn't really need to. But she wanted to. How she wanted to show her mom and dad how little she changed faces, or acted out. But she knew that her parents probably didn't want anything to do with her now. Pinkie looked up at the gleaming silver moon, knowing that even it had a dark side. How long had she kept the secret from her friends now? From Mr. and Mrs. cake? From EVERYONE? She didn't know, she couldn't remember. But she did remember last Saturday. When she lashed out at Fluttershy. It had been a regular day. Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie were at the pond enjoying some sun. Pinkie suggested with a happy skip in her step that they all go boating, and Rarity had agreed that,
"On a day like today, its a simply fabulous idea!" But Fluttershy had coughed gently and said,
"I... don't really think that's a good idea." Suddenly Pinkie's roller coaster like attitude had kicked in and she lashed out at Fluttershy with angry yells.
"You think that just because you're the shy one, it gives you the right to chicken out on everything we do!?" Pinkie was steaming mad, her hair flat and her teeth grinding like she had been holding all this in for a while, which she had. Fluttershy now shrunk back, her eyes huge with fright and wet with fresh tears.
"What right do you have to do the things you do? You're such a wimp Fluttershy. Such a doormat." When Pinkie had realized what she had said, she covered her mouth with her hooves and squeaked a "sorry." They seemed to forgive her on that day, but Rarity and Fluttershy had avoided her since then, and Pinkie kept away. She was afraid that she might hurt them if she got near them. And that was why she had made an important decision. Pinkemena shoved the photograph in a rough, sandpaper textured duffel bag that she slung across her pink shoulder wet with tears as she trotted numbly down the stairs, quieting so she wouldn't wake the Cakes. She would miss them so much. They had become like parents to her, and she really owed them a lot. She would hurt them so much by doing what she was about to do... but she would hurt them more if she stayed. She was acting out, her bi-polar sides finally showing. She then left tear-stains on the floor behind her, salty crystals dripping on finish worn away in spots where ponies often walked. Pinkemena noticed this for the last time as she opened the door, breathing in the scents of the bakery and enjoying the tingle of the bell. She walked outside and, taking a deep breath, reared and galloped away with heart hammering, sweat slicking on her sides as she got farther and farther and father away from Ponyville. She knew all these roads, these houses. She loved Ponyville. But she couldn't stay in Ponyville and hurt her friends more. She had.... to go. She didn't exactly know where she was going, how far she would run, or what she would do when she stopped running. But none of that mattered. Her friends... were safe.
