Sleep Like A Baby Tonight

Pinkie stood over the empty bodies of her friends as they laid in a hole exactly one fathom deep. Mutilated, amputated, call it whatever you will along your moral compass. Murder. Pinkie knew what it was. Secretly she knew but never showed it. Not now. Not anymore. She stopped showing it the day she herself was buried underneath that darker part of herself. The day she died was uncertain. Perhaps it wasn't just one day that it happened.

Maybe it was the series of cruel and unusual punishments across her life that turned the needle of her moral compass. Punishments? Is that even applicable? For others it depends on your state of mind. So, what was Pinkie like underneath. Underneath that bright and happy smile, a monster grew with every gesture of hate and sorrow. What was the cause?

Working it backwards... Was it the day that Cheese Sandwich threatened her career? Was it the day that Discord flipped her mind and personality? Was it any of the times that no one showed up to her parties? Yes. To all those questions, yes. They were small bits and pieces that acted as fuel for the flame of insanity. Insanity? Yes. She had grown insane.

Smiling down at the hallowed bodies of her friends, she cheerfully laughed, "Okay girls. I just need you to hide right here until I come back for you. Okay?" There was no voiced response, just the twisted smiles that had been carved into their cheeks with a baker's knife. "Okie-dokie-lokie!" Pinkie picked up the shovel she had brought with her and began to shovel the dirt into the gaping hole in the ground.

When she was finished, she left the playground and headed back to sugar cube corner in the dark. A voice seemed to creep back up from a past version of herself. "Pinkie..."

"What?! Who's there?"

"It's me, you Pinkie."

"That's Pinkamena Diane Pie to you. Mister!"

"That name is a lie and you know it!"

"Oh really?"

"How could you do this to our friends? Why?"

"But, they were so...tasty."

"Stop, just stop it!"

"You're not the boss of me! Not any more!"

Pinkamena slapped herself in the face to silence her other self, whoever that was anymore. There wasn't much left. Only one memory remained. It was a dream. It was the dream that started it all. It was the source, the seed. It was the memory of her old friend who taught her not to be afraid of the dark.

"Wow Maud! This place is so cool!" The little filly Pinkie joyously stared in amazement at the reflective pool of water. The surrounding space was a cave. "Are we actually gonna camp her?"

"Yes Pinkie." Maud's monotone voice reflected her facial expression. "Just don't get too close to the water. You might bring a second you into the world."

"Really? That's so cool! I'll have to remember that someday." The little pink filly started to unroll her sleeping bag when she heard something. "What was that?"

"What was what?" Maude said, already half way into her sleeping bag.

"It sounded a bit like a voice." Pinkie whispered as she cautiously looked around the cavern to see where the sound might have come from.

"That happens. Here, Pinkie, you can hear many voices if you listen. You might even hear the second you I mentioned earlier." Maude laid down in her sleeping bag and took a deep relaxing breath. "This water, it connects our world with other worlds. It's not always a physical object or person that comes about. Sometimes it's just the ghosts of voices."

Pinkie crawled into her sleeping bag with an wonderful smile. "Wow."

"Now go to bed sis. We need to sleep." With that Maude rolled onto her side and went to the dream world.

"Okay." Pinkie yawned as she hunkered down into a comfortable position to sleep. A few deep breaths later she fell also into her own dream world. She opened her eyes inside the dream...

Pinkie's eyes were met by darkness. It was difficult, but she could still breath. All of a sudden, she was standing upright. Sounds came, scary sounds. Pinkie began to run. The sounds followed her and tried to grab her. One sound went so far as to lick her spine with an icy chill.

"AH!" Pinkie cried out. "Help!!!" She ran, faster and faster and faster and faster and faster, until...

*thud*

She hit the floor, hard. Pinkie had run into something. She was too frightened to look, so she kept her eyes shut. Though, a realization came to her. The sounds that were chasing her had all stopped. She felt herself being pulled until she was standing up again. Finally, she gained the courage to open her eyes. The first thing she saw was a hand.

Attached that hand was an arm. And, attached to that arm was a boy. The boy smiled lightly. Both Pinkie and the boy stood within the circle of a spotlight that seemingly came from nowhere. The boy was fair skinned with nice brown hair. "Please don't run." The boy pleaded. "I'm tired of people running away from me." The boy stared at pinkie with bright red eyes.

"Your eyes..." Pinkie stared in awe.

"I'm sorry. They're like that here. I don't know why. They scare people. I'm sorry." The boy was about to walk away into the shadows when Pinkie pulled him back.

"Don't be sorry silly. I really like your eyes." Pinkie beamed.

"What? Really?" The boy said, somewhat in surprise.

"Yeah! Your eyes remind me of super delicious candy cherries." Pinkie smiled a bit as she tried to hide a giggle.

"You know, out of all the faces I've seen in my dreams, you're the nicest one." The boy said shyly.

"Wait! Your dream?!" Pinkie gasped. "But, this  is my dream!" Behind Pinkie, a finger of sound snuck out of the dark and jabbed her in the back. "EEK!" The surprise attack was enough to bring the young Pinkie down to the floor where she hid her face as she cried.

"Please, don't cry. I don't like crying." The boy knelt down wrapping his arm around Pinkie.

"It's just," Pinkie did her best to overcome her sniffeling, "I'm afraid of the dark."

"What?" The boy laughed. "Whoever said you had to be afraid of the dark?"

"What do you mean?" Pinkie said looking up at the boy.

"The dark doesn't always have to be scary. Sometimes, it can be fun." The boy smiled wide and stood up. "Watch." The boy snapped his fingers and a new spotlight appeared in the dark. In the new light, a body hung up by a noose swayed back and forth. Pinky gasped with fright as she cowered behind the boy. "Hey! Buddy!" The boy shouted at the hanging body. "What? Did you lose a game of hang-man?" The boy turned to look at Pinkie. "See? Laugh it away with a joke." Pinkie stared at body. It still swayed back and forth like a pendulum on an old clock. She thought for a moment, still trying to overcome her fear. "You can do it. It's a game, a joke. Laugh it away."

Pinkie looked at the body, until, an idea popped into her head. "Hey, uh, buddy." She was still shaking, but she stood to face the body. "Are you gonna be hanging around much longer?" Somehow, a small smile began to show on her lips. It was sort of funny. Actually, it was quite clever. Soon her weak smile turned into a giggle as she realized. "Hey, that really is funny."

"You think that's funny? Check this out!" The boy snapped his fingers and a severed head appeared on the floor. In the distance a large goal post appeared. "Three, two, one..." The boy reared back and performed a running kick which sent the head flying right between the goal post. "Heads up!" The boy's antics seemed managed to make Pinkie burst with laughter. An idea came to her head.

"I got this!" Pinkie watched as the boy snapped his fingers again, just for her. A new body appeared with its guts spilled onto the floor. A dark humorous smile grew on Pinkie's face. "No guts, no glory!" Both the boy and Pinkie fell to the floor in side splitting laughter.

Pinkie stopped laughing when something soft and mushy hit her in the face. It was an eyeball. The boy laughed. "I got my eye on you," the boy teased. "You see? The dark doesn't have to be scary. It can be fun."

"Tell me more." Pinkie shuffled her way back over to the boy.

"Why?" The boy asked.

"Well, you aren't afraid of the dark. I want to know how you do it so well?" Pinkie stared at him as he rolled his eyes.

"Well. There are benefits to the dark. There's a bright side of death. Life can make you laugh, but death is an even better joke. It's so funny. And yet, there is something so pretty about death. I sometimes wonder what it tastes like." The boy licked his lips at the idea. "I wonder what it would taste like some fava beans. Maybe I'll try it when I'm older."

Pinkie couldn't decide what the feeling inside was yet. It seemed like all this was wrong, but there was a certain thrill about it. It was wrong but daring. There was a certain dark beauty to it all that captured her imagination.

"Beans? Why not cupcakes? I love cupcakes!" Pinkie beamed.

"Cupcakes? That's brilliant, Diane!" The boy laughed at the idea of eating death with cupcakes.

"Diane?" Pinkie raised her brow.

"What?" The boy asked innocently. "You look like your name would be Diane. Sorry if I got it wrong. What is your name?"

"Oh! My name is Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie smiled like a clown as she proudly announces her name.

"Pinkie? I understand the Pie part, but Pinkie?" The boy jokingly bopped Pinkie on the nose.

"Uh!" Pinkie groaned. "It's actually short for Pinkamena. I never did like that name. Too long!"

"Well, I like it." The boy smiled. "I'll call you Pinkamena Diane Pie. That's a cool name. It's sort of formal, but it's still edgy when you think about it."

"Well, when you put it that way, I guess." Pinkie just realized. She didn't know the boy's name. "Oh, what's your name?"

"You wouldn't like my name. Besides, Pinkamena is cooler anyways." The boy cringed at the thought of his name. "It's only cool because it rhymes with cannibal."

"Really?!" The suspense was killing her. "Please tell me your name." The boy shook his head to say no. "Pretty please with a scoop of eyescream?"

This peaked the boy's interest. "Eyescream huh? Are there any toppings?"

Pinkie gave an almost dark smile. "Blood chocolate syrup..." Pinkie hummed.

"Alright then Miss Pie. You know how to fix an appetite don't you..." The boy laughed, bopping Pinkie's nose again.

"You're so funny, but seriously. What's your name?" Pinkie begged as she pushed a bowl full of eyeballs drenched in blood towards the boy with a smile. The boy pulled a spoon from seemingly nowhere and picked up an eyeball from the all seeing sundae. Carefully he directed the spoon to Pinkie's mouth.

*nom*

"What do you think?" The boy smiled as he got a bite for himself.

"It's funny!" Pinkie said with a mouth full of eyeball. "It's kind of like a dumpling. Now, what's your name?"

The boy smiled a bit as he swallowed his third eyeball. "My name is Hannibal." Pinkie smiled to finally hear the boy's name. "Hannibal Lecter."

"Now that is a cool name! But, I think I'll call you Hannibal the Cannibal. How does that sound?" Pinkie laughed.

"I don't know Pinkamena. I always wanted to be a doctor when I grew up." The boy shared an evil smile with pinkie.