Autumn was fading. The last few leaves that clung to the trees were, but dried out husks of the brilliant reds and yellows that had filled woods a month prior. Winter was coming, its icy signature could be found on every window and blade of grass in the morning. The wind had grown teeth and if one was not suitably dressed she may catch its nip and find herself ill.
The home of Princess Twilight Sparkle, Golden Oak Library, had been destroyed that summer during the battle with the malevolent Tirek. Shortly after the evil King was vanquished a large crystalline castle that bore a similar resemblance to the shape of a tree had magically taken its place. While, the various blues and purples would shimmer in the sun, the castle itself was a stark and cool building. It was a fact that Princess Twilight Sparkle had spent the better part of the late summer and early autumn attempting to resolve.
The purple alicorn, along with her friends, had done what they could to make the place homey. Various tapestries lined the hallways and finely crafted rugs that complimented the walls covered the floors. Twilight had purchased several thick woolen blankets for the winter months, along with several cords of wood and a variety of dried and canned goods in case of inclement weather. Yet, in spite of all of her preparations for the upcoming months the room that required the most attention was the one she was currently in.
The library felt empty. It was much larger than the previous one at Golden Oak and Twilight had focused on replacing the texts that she enjoyed most. However, as her gaze drifted about the empty shelves a melancholy slowly blanketed her. Gone were the letters that she had written to Princess Celestia reporting what she had learned about the magic of friendship. Gone were several ancient tomes that she had intended to read and had never had the opportunity to do so. The idea that such knowledge was now lost to the world was something that caused no shortage of frustration for her.
Due to this frustration Twilight had started sending Spike out to various antique stores, auctions and garage sales around Equestria. Currently he was in Muleyapolis at an estate sale hoping to acquire, The Crystal Edda, a series of poems that detailed the beliefs and tales of ancient crystal ponies. With some politicking, Twilight figured she could even get it translated and republished so that future generations may learn this history. It was a possibility that Twilight Sparkle held out hope for. The stacks of papers on her desk however, were another matter.
She looked over at her writing desk with a sigh as she crossed the expanse of the library at a languid pace. The large stacks of files on the right hand side of her desk were those of individuals seeking employment in Twilight’s castle. Within that stack of files for potential guards and captains, maids, cooks, medical staff, grounds keepers and other miscellaneous positions was a process and a headache. It reminded her that her “kingdom’s” boarders were still undefined as was the tax system, and that various other laws, rights and regulations were also yet to be determined. Her friend and mentor, Princess Celestia, would likely help her hammer these and other details out; However, until those details were sorted, Twilight didn’t want to make an incorrect decision that could set her and her potential subjects back any further necessary. Thus, Twilight averted her attention to the mail.
The first letter was from her mother who detailed what it was that she and her father had been up to in Canterlot and that Twilight should visit more often. The next six were advertisements from various book vendors promising fantastic sales and still another, in a long white envelope, declared she was, ‘Already a winner,’ but needed to purchase six periodicals and place the lucky hoof stamp in the square if she wanted a chance to claim the grand prize of two hundred and fifty thousand bits. Twilight disregarded these and came to her final letter, one addressed from Pinkie Pie.
Twilight blinked as she examined the envelope. Her name and address were written in what appeared to be a bright red ink. It wasn’t unusual for Pinkie to think outside of the box when it came to letter writing, however something about this letter made her uneasy. When Twilight opened the letter she expected an explosion of confetti or some sort of balloon to pop out, yet when she opened it all she found was the letter and no surprises.
The princess unfolded the letter and noticed that the paper was slightly torn, crumpled and that some of the words were smudged. She also noted that the letter was written in the same peculiar red ink as was found on the envelope and dated a week prior. It read:
Dear Twilight,
Please come to Sugar Cube Corner. I need help with something and I can only ask you. It is of the utmost importance that you come alone. Anybody else would simply get in the way and may make this situation worse. Come quickly.
Sincerely,
Pinkie
Twilight sat bemused letting the letter fall to the floor. She blinked once as her stomach began to twist itself into small knots of worry; her wings aching fiercely. Something was very wrong here. Nothing about this letter sounded like Pinkie. “I will have to be careful,” she muttered to herself as she got up from the desk flexing her wings slowly trying to get them to relax. Whatever it was that Pinkie had gotten herself into, it wasn’t good.
Twilight Sparkle wrapped her green scarf around her neck as she stepped outside. The combination of the chill in the air and her own in experience at flying convinced her to stay grounded for the time being. As she trotted along she could hear the last few straggling sparrows that chirped in the nearly bare branches of the oak and maple trees. Under normal circumstances she would have taken her time and enjoyed the nature, but instead she decided to quicken her pace in order find out what was happening at Sugar Cube Corner.
When she crossed over the bridge to Ponyville the din of town life soon replaced that of the birds as shopkeeper s attempted to sell their wares, young foals ran about in a madcap game of tag and a young colt attempted to woo his lady love with his off key rendition of Goodbye Changelings. All in all it was a perfectly normal if brisk day. Yet, something seemed to be missing.
She was close to Sugar Cube Corner now. Normally at this time of the year the aroma of cinnamon and butter would waft through the market from the bakery. The aromas from Sugar Cube Corner were the smell of hearth and home. Even on the gloomiest or coldest of days they could brighten the souls of those who passed by.
Twilight rounded the corner to get to the bakery when she stopped dead in her tracks as something foul reached her nose. It was the sickeningly sweet smell of something rotting combined the smell of sulfur. The pungent odor made her wretch as she staggered forward. As Twilight continued on she could feel the temperature rise and by the time she reached the now faded pink door of Sugar Cube corner her brow was damp with sweat. “What in the world is going on,” muttered the alicorn as she walked around the building trying to look inside but saw nothing but blackness.
She returned to the front door now noticing a small note warning others to stay away due to an illness that had taken hold of the bakery. As she reached the end of the note a low guttural growl echoed from within the shop. Every muscle in Twilight’s body clenched ready to spring away from whatever was behind that door. Every instinct told her that she should escape while she could and yet, she stayed.
Twilight inhaled the foul air deeply and exhaled with a slight cough. Pinkie Pie was her friend and she wouldn’t turn her back on her. What sort of Princess of Friendship would she be if she did that? She closed her eyes and raised her hoof to knock on the door. As it made contact the door slowly and noisily opened with a low creak allowing the sun’s rays to penetrate the dark interior.
From what Twilight could see the bakery was practically destroyed. The display cases were smashed along with several jars. Various cooking utensils were bent or strewn throughout the shop. From top to bottom what appeared to be various ingredients mixed with old frosting covered the wall. Her ears folded backward as she stared into the gloom. “Pinkie,” she called out in a half whisper. The only answer was silence.
She called out again this time a little louder but, the result was the same. Summoning up what little courage she had left within her, Twilight slowly entered Sugar Cube Corner, her hooves crunching the broken glass with each step. She silently vowed that if nobody responded this time she would leave and come back with the rest of her friends to search this place high and low and find out just what had happened. Her lips were dry and her voice hoarse as she called out one last time, “Pinkie Pie where are you?”
As the last word passed her lips the door slammed behind her with a resounding thud causing the alicorn to jump and stagger backward into the gloom. Twilight panted and huddled against the shop’s counter as her eyes darted across the room finally landing on a large dark shape that stood at the foot of the stairs off to the right. It was thin, and it looked as if it had long hair that nearly touched the ground. Twilight’s eyes went wide as she felt the shape appraise her much like a spider would a fly. Without a sound it slowly approached her it’s gaze trained on her every movement.
Twilight’s fear had her in its grip and had squeezed her to paralysis. This was something different; it was darker than anything she had ever seen and while her horn now glowed faintly she couldn’t summon up the magic to do more than have it glow impotently. “Is that really you,” said the shape, its voice familiar and yet not.
Somewhere deep inside of her a small spark of recognition flickered. She knew that voice. Twilight drew what felt like a deep breath and squeaked out the only name she could think of, “Pinkie?” The figure stopped.
“Twilight Sparkle? Are you actually Twilight Sparkle?”
“Pinkie,” asked the alicorn her eyes finally starting to adjust to the gloom as the figure drew closer to her glowing horn.
“Pinkamena actually,” said the pony now close enough to be seen. She had the same cutie mark, a similar build if a little thinner and long straight hair that obscured her left eye. Her voice was similar to Pinkie’s but, there was a seriousness bordering on coldness that made Twilight uneasy.
“You’re not Pinkie. Where is she?”
“Deep within,” said Pinkamena with a sigh pointing to her head, “When she gets too sad or when things become entirely too bleak I pop out. Sometimes we end up struggling for control and it can get a bit messy. Rainbow Dash could tell you more about it if she were here.”
“Pinkie, what happened here? I got your letter-“
“Pinkamena,” she replied sternly, “Yes, the letter. That was a joint effort. My penmanship is far superior to Pinkie’s. She wanted to say so much more but, time was of the essence and I did not have the parchment or the means to write a longer letter. I did, however allow her to sign her name. “
“What do you mean by ‘the means’ Pinkie?”
Pinkamena’s eyes narrowed briefly silently noting that it was not her name once more before stating, “It’s unimportant at this juncture. Besides you should be asking about what has happened to the Cakes.”
The hint of malevolence in Pinkamena’s tone caught Twilight off guard. She wondered what this pony could have done with them. Her mind raced to a million different scenarios but the only thing she said was, “Well, what happened to them?”
Pinkamena eyed her suspiciously, “Well, Mr. Cake and the babies are safe. They are visiting his parents while this ‘sickness’ that Mrs. Cake is dealing with passes. Of course we both know this isn’t something that medicine can cure don’t we Twilight Sparkle?”
“What do you mean,” asked Twilight quickly.
“Why haven’t you tried to use your magic Twilight?”
“Excuse me?”
Pinkamena cocked her head, “You have vast amounts of magical ability. From what I understand it’s sort of your thing.”
“Well, yes but-“
“Then you should have used it by now shouldn’t you,” growled Pinkamena.
“What?”
Without another word Pinkamena launched herself into Twilight knocking her against the wall. Twilight struggled against the weight of the pink pony but to no avail. Quickly, the pink pony grabbed a shard of glass. Twilight’s eyes widened Pinkamena held it in her hoof a blank emotionless expression on her face.
“Pinkamena please,” begged Twilight. The pink pony pressed her hoof into Twilight’s neck cutting off any further dialog. Twilight gasped, her eyes going wide as Pinkamena raised the piece of glass and slashed Twilight’s foreleg staring intently at the bloody wound.
“You’re bleeding,” she said in a monotone voice as she got off of the stunned, coughing alicorn taking the green scarf she wore with her and dabbed her forehead, “Congratulations you are real.”
Twilight stare at her in shock clutching her wounded foreleg. This was not the Pinkie Pie she knew, not in the least. The pink pony sensing the mistrust folded the scarf up neatly and held it out to her. Twilight’s heart raced as she backed away from the gesture, prompting Pinkamena to toss it to her.
“Over the past week I have had to deal with all sorts of creatures. I don’t know what they were. They didn’t bleed when cut though, not like we do,” shrugged the pink pony as she sat across from the shaking alicorn.
“You tried to kill me,” said Twilight trembling.
Pinkamena reached over and grasped Twilight’s face gently before pulling her into a gentle hug. “No,” whispered Pinkamena as she pulled back from the embrace slowly. She looked into Twilight’s face she issued a small smile, “It’s a superficial cut. It will be gone in a day at the most. I could never really hurt you. Why, I don’t think I could really hurt a fly. But, I had to know you were real.”
Twilight stared at Pinkamena her mouth agape as she kept pressure on the cut. Her mind continued to whirl as her eyes began to well up with tears, “You want to know why I didn’t use magic. I’ll tell you,” she muttered as she felt a few of them fall in frustration, “Because if I came across my friend I didn’t want to hurt her and honestly, I was heck am scared. I didn’t expect any of this.”
“I know that now,” Pinkamena nodded sympathetically, “So, let me prepare you for what lies ahead. Mrs. Cup Cake is the reason for all of this. She’s the reason your beloved Pinkie Pie is in hiding. She’s the reason for this gloom, the odd odors, the sounds and for just how hot it is around here. Suffice it to say her bedroom is a regular oven. We cannot stay in there for very long due to that heat. I’m hoping that maybe you can use some sort of ice spell to cool things off so that we can do what needs to be done.”
“Which is what exactly,” asked an exasperated Twilight.
“Break this curse.”
Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but the loud bang of furniture slamming into the floor from the upstairs bedroom silenced her. Pinkamena’s gaze snapped skyward as she looked at the ceiling, “She’s awake.”
Pinkamena sprinted to the foot of the stairs before looking back, “You need to come with me. “
Twilight didn’t budge causing the pink pony to look down with a frown as the gloom slowly started to build again. Twilight watched the Pinkamena her gaze never wavering from her. She watched the pink pony as a low squeaking sound emanated from above her. She looked at the overhead light that swung precariously back and forth without the aid of a breeze. Twilight watched it as she began to feel a rumbling from deep beneath her, before long she could feel the entire building rattling various bent up spoons began to fall on her prompting her to stand up and gingerly walk toward the center of the room.
Pinkamena looked over at her. Her eyes widened as she saw that Twilight was under the light. Without a word she dashed over to her and grabbed her jerking her toward the stairwell much to the alicorn’s dismay. Suddenly, the overhead light crashed to the floor with a loud bang, just inches from the two ponies. Twilight looked over at Pinkamena in shock, “I was right under that.”
“It’s not the first time it’s fallen,” Pinkamena said in a matter of fact tone, “Traps like that have popped up all over the place.”
Twilight was silent again as she seemed to be considering her options. Pinkamena sighed, “You don’t have to like me. You don’t even have to trust me. But please, just follow me and let’s end this. I promise you Pinkie Pie will be back, cross my heart and all that other stuff she usually says when making a promise.”
“You take the lead.”
The hallway was dark and seemed to stretch further than they could see. The heat was nearly unbearable as the two ponies walked down the hall, sweat steadily dripped from their brows. Twilight illuminated her horn and even though she wasn’t in front the gloom parted revealing a large green door at the end of it. The alicorn glanced about corridor whose condition was as poor as the downstairs; however, unlike the downstairs several symbols that Twilight had never seen before had been burnt into the walls.
Twilight took the initiative and pushed open the door. Pinkamena entered as a low growl from ushered within. Twilight looked in the room and her jaw dropped again. Every piece of furniture floated and bobbed off of the floor. Near the far wall a smashed chifforobe’s pieces lay in a heap on the floor. Twilight turned her head toward the bed and gasped seeing Mrs. Cake tied to it.
The blue equine was a fright. Her eyes were glazed over with a milky film. Her hair, usually a light pink and cerise was black and matted smoldering from having been burnt. Mrs. Cake’s smile was twisted and blackened, which became more obvious as she turned to face the pair. “Pinky,” growled Mrs. Cake in a deep gravelly voice, “I see you brought a friend,” at this point her expression changed, “You’re late.”
Twilight looked at Pinkamena, “How is she making everything float?”
“It’s part of the curse.”
Mrs. Cake smirked clacking her teeth together, “Princess Twilight Sparkle is a murderer.”
Twilight blinked taken aback as Pinkamena stepped in, “Don’t listen to her. Everything she says is a lie.”
“But, she is Pinky. She helped assassinate the once and future King, Sombra,” growled the baker, “You know he stokes the flames that your grandparents kindle. Oh, what heat they make.”
“Liar,” shouted Pinkamena throwing herself at the bed trying to force it down, “I’ve had enough of you!”
Mrs. Cake’s gaze shifted to Twilight, “You’re an avid reader and general egghead who misses Golden Oak library and the tomes that resided within it,” hissed the baker, “She even sent her dragon servant to Muleyapolis to bid on a few rare tomes. I ask you Princess, do I lie.”
Twilight shook her head. Pinkamena looked back at her speaking through clenched teeth, “Twilight, cool this room down quick!”
Twilight nodded and focused. She closed her eyes, throwing every ounce of will she could into the spell. Her horn sparked and began to glow with a sky blue light. As it glowed the temperature began to drop within the room as ice crystals rapidly formed on the ceiling.
As the room cooled the bed began to rock violently slinging the pink pony back and forth eventually flipping her off of the bed onto the floor. Pinkamena, not missing a beat, rolled on the floor and grabbed onto the foot of the bed, clinging for dear life as it began to spin. “Keep it up! She’s losing her cool,” shouted Pinkamena. She climbed from the foot of the bed to the mattress as the bed spun faster and faster, occasionally flipping as the demented baker howled in anger.
Pinkamena looked up at Mrs. Cake as she raged. Her hoofs clutched the sheets tightly and she saw something within the baker’s mouth that should not be there. It looked like a wadded up piece of paper, but was gone when the baker closed her mouth and opened it again to begin her next round of enraged howls.
“Twilight, there’s something in her mouth! I think it’s the cause of all of this,” yelled Pinkamena as she lowly crawled up the bed to Mrs. Cake’s mouth for a closer look, “You may be mad but you’re not so hot now are you, you worm?”
“Worm,” echoed Mrs. Cake her tongue lolled out no longer a tongue but, a large slimy maggot. The larva wrapped itself around the pink pony’s neck. Pinkamena gasped trying to break free as it squeezed tighter and tighter.
Twilight gasped and broke her freeze spell. She watched as the two struggled. She set herself and took aim. She couldn’t afford a massive magical burst but, something small enough to get Mrs. Cake to relinquish her grip over Pinkie. It was Pinkie. No matter what personality showed, no matter how random it was no matter how little she could trust her after this, it was still Pinkie and she needed help. She fired.
Twilight’s aim was true and struck the maggot in its side. Mrs. Cake shrieked as she let go of Pinkamena as the force of the spinning bed sent the pink pony flying into a nearby floating nightstand. She did not move.
In spite of the wound, the possessed Mrs. Cake cackled triumphantly at the fallen pony. Twilight had one chance and she knew it. The bed continued to spin as Twilight quickly set herself again and jumped. She flapped her wings three times to give herself just enough hang time to land hooves first on Mrs. Cake’s stomach. The baker wretched and spat up a long sheet of white paper onto Twilight Sparkle’s horn as she hacked and coughed violently. Bile sprayed from Mrs. Cake’s mouth coating the room and Twilight in a sickly yellow green. Finally, and without much warning the bed and all of the floating furniture in the room crashed to the floor jarring the princess off of the bed and on to her back.
The room was silent. Dazed, Twilight Sparkle sat up as the world spun so rapidly she thought she might lose her breakfast as well. Her body ached from the landing as she leaned against the smashed chifforobe. “Dearie what is going on,” asked a weak voice.
Twilight closed her eyes reconstituting herself before looking at the bed. When she did she could see Mrs. Cake’s eyes had their usual light back in them. Whatever it was that had befallen Mrs. Cake was now gone. Twilight slowly loosened the bonds that held the baker to the bed before going to check on Pinkie who hadn’t moved an inch since her crash.
Twilight slowly walked over to Pinkie. Her heart sunk in her chest as she gently shook the fallen party pony. She thought it was odd that her mane and tail were much poufier than before as she continued to try and rouse her friend. “Pinkamena,” called out Twilight, “Hey Pinkamena are you alright?”
The pink pony muttered, “Darn it Maud it’s Pinkie! I don’t like Pinkamena; teacher always calls me that when I’m in trouble.”
Twilight sighed in relief and sat back on her haunches. Pinkie was herself again. Mrs. Cake was weak, but herself again. It was a start.