Lesson One: Forgive and Forget (Prologue)
Perhaps it was her smile that caused Twilight to hold on for this long. It was that smile that had always been able to light up the darkest of rooms. Or maybe it was her eyes, light as the sky, or as deep and resilient as the ocean's call. Whatever it was, the memory of her old friends drove the scrawny unicorn to hold on. Of course, as barren as she had thought her new roommate's heart to be, the promise of laughter's return swayed in her dreams, like a paddle boat on the roughest of sea storms.
Twilight had received quite the shock, opening her weary eyes to the sight of the pink earth pony wrapped in between her velvet forearms, breathing softly, air smoothly ruffling blood stains on the unicorn's fur. She gently lifted her arm, being careful as to not disturb the killer. In, out. In, out. A small smirk of content stretched across each of their lips. This, being the most well rested either of them had been since before the loss Rainbow Dash. While every other pony involved with a victim had moved on with their lives, Twilight's mind was frozen in time, unable to comprehend the events. It took over a year before she could even open a book which could begin to explain the reasons for Pinkie's behaviourisms. The entire situation felt as though it were pulled right out of a horror movie, and now, the most twisted of fairytales.
While the cupcake killer had sent off an explanation letter to the Canterlot mental health institution the previous night, and expressed no resentment to her request to call the mare by her aged nickname, the woken one was still in disarray. How would Pinkamena's arrangement even unfold? She was Pinkamena, too. 'Pinkie' Pie was dead and gone. The vividness of how she spat at Twilight when she called the killer by her old name rang alarm bells, each time she had to address the dark mare. Nevertheless, the two of them knew they had to make it work. Pinkamena had came in to the Golden Oak Library late in the night of course, while she said she thought the unicorn would still be in the institute, Twilight knew better than to take her every word as gospel right now. Risks of conviction related to harbouring Equesteia's most wanted criminal ran high right now, so they were forced to live in silence.
A quiet moan emerged from beneath the comet designed sheets, followed by a light headbutting to Twilight's stomach. Her breathing seized, as her body suddenly stiffened like concrete. Two dull blue eyes made their way their owner's quaking 'partner'.
"H-hi." Twilight squeaked, pupils having shrunk to the size of a pin. Her response, however, wasn't any more nerve settling. Pinkamena had only let out a shaky chuckle, before she sat up, making eye contact, leaving their muzzles only an inch apart.
"You're burning up." Diane teased sleepily.
Whimpering, the unicorn rapidly attempted to change the subject. "So how did you...sleep last night?" She croaked.
"By losing consciousness. Yourself?"
Twilight was unamused, furrowing her brow at the devious joke, though her resentment of the situation did not last long, as she began to feel awake and excited at Pinkamena nuzzling her neck reassuringly. She looked away while the mare continued, desperately attempting to find a distraction from the mare's antics.
"Don't hide like that, I want to see you." 'Pinkie' pressed.
"I don't get you. All you ever do is talk in conspiracies. I-it makes no sense! All you've done so far is confuse me, Pinkamena, you're toying with my emotions so that you get to be a freeloader." Snapped the unicorn, having not yet adjusted to the presence of her old friend.
Pinkie kissed Twilight's cheek lovingly in empathy, trying to calm her.
"You do all these rash things to manipulate me, the same way you did to Rainbow. Are you going to ask to get cupcake frosting at the store later?" Twilight's thoughts poured out of her verbally, as her unknowingness got the best of her. She had yet to feel safe, believing that last night was simply a spur of the moment choice.
"The day I met you. The day we found the elements, and I threw you that surprise party, where you ran to your room after drinking the hot sauce..."
Expectantly, the unicorn faced the earth pony, her eyes reminiscent in glee, as she allowed the memory of the killer's words to embrace her soul. "What about it?"
The room was quiet in an anxious tension, before Diane chose to speak again. "That day, Twi. It was the happiest day of my life. It even beat your acceptance of my Pinkie sense, when we went on that walk around town with our umbrella hats on. Do you remember that, Twi?" She whispered, cuddling up close to the older mare.
"How could I forget? Those days have been spinning around my mind since you ran away."
"Did you ever miss me?" Pinkamena breathed.
Twilight rested her head on her companion. "Of course I did. I missed when you used to keep me company late at night when I studied. When you'd take me to bed, or when we'd have our little confession session nights. I missed being able to hold you, and know that you were going to be ok the next day, or when you would stroke my mane and tell me I didn't have to worry, because you'd help me to get it done. You meant so much to me, to everyone. You were our Pinkie. I blamed myself fully for not recognising those little changes in your character some days. Looking back, there was so much I would have done to save the both of you."
Pinkamena stayed silent, looking at the floor in sadness, not knowing what to say. "You're still the same Twily, as far as I'm concerned."
"I'm a monster."
"Me too, Twi. Me too."
Lesson One: Actions make you a monster. No single pony, themselves, is a monster.
"I'm glad you're back, Pinkie."
"And I'm not leaving until I can be sure that you'll be happy again."
Author's Note
I haven't written in a long time, so I hope it's not too bad. Please don't be too harsh, this is just the introduction to what their relationship is like, and Pinkamena's intentions, basically. Twilight trying to hold in what she thinks, because she's scared of Pinkie, and Pinkie trying to get her old friend back to comfort, after feeling guilty of what she destroyed. The next chapter will be about them trying to make proper living conditions, with a lesson thrown in there too.
Lesson 2: Do The Best You Can With What You Have
"Hey, Twilight?" I asked, not daring to face her.
"Oh, hey Pinkie Pie! Back for a late nighter, hm?" She beamed back, placing a hoof upon my shoulder, as delicate as she always had. Her touch made me shiver, her eyes nummed my muscles, and her voice took away my stress. I always knew I could count on her to calm me down; she was the reasoning side of me, that would welcome me with warm milk, chocolate cookies, hugs... Whenever I needed it. I slouched on her chair, moaning in annoyance. I knew she'd never press me to tell her things. Sometimes I'd come in, just needing a hug, but end up giving her company while she studied. "What's up?"
"There's a thing, Twilight."
"What kind of thing? Oh hold on, I'll get some milk started up."
Once her figure had left my vision, my heart sunk to my hooves.
'You can't throw this on her. You can't. You can't. You can't.'
I though that it'd be easier to tell Twilight, because she's super duper understanding. Hopefully she'd do it quietly, end the pain, move on, be happy. That's what I want for her. To be safe and happy. She really deserves it.
"Here." A small biscuit was being levitated to my mouth, I took it enthusiastically.
'Wrong move. If you tell her now, she'll know how psycho you are.'
"Twi, I need to get something off my chest..." I spoke, barely above a whisper. My voice cracked violently, as I smashed my hoof to my mouth, tears slowly pouring to the ground. Hyperventilation. Damn, panic attack. Why? Why am I like this?
"It's ok Pinkie, everything's ok, I'm here, I'll always be here. Take however long you need." She stated empathetically, scooping me up in her arms.
'Make something up'
I couldn't. My mind completely blanked on me.
'You kill your kind.'
That'd destroy her.
'You love her.'
She's my best friend, she knows.
'You're pregnant.'
Out of the question. It's not even true.
'You spilled cake batter.'
That wouldn't justify a panic attack from me. The only option left is to just keep crying, now. I'll wait it out. At least I'm not alone like this. She's got my back.
***
Clink.
"Post's here."
"We're being invaded, Pinkamena!" The purple pony pointed accusively, petrified.
The earth pony rolled her eyes, allowing a smile, as she collected the papers. "Newspaper, vouchers, spam, advertisement, magazine..."
"They explode!"
"Actually, they send money. Your protect-y ponies wrote back."
"Oh, so I'm going to jail, then?"
Pinkie chuckled, handing the note to Twilight.
"Nopony's taking you to jail, but, with this money, we can go shopping."
The unicorn stared her down suspiciously. "Why would they give you money?"
Distance decreased between them. "We need it. It's like how I'm here right now, because you need it."
"But there's no trading... It's got to be a trap sort of thing, right?"
"Element of generosity, my dear." Diane breathed, placing the bits in to Twilight's saddle bag. Staring up, she hummed. "Come here. We need to make a list."
Twilight blinked, coking her head. "What for?"
"If I am to stay by your side through ill health, I'm going to have to cover up- the wanted criminal issue. There are some things that we can do here, though for the most part we're going to need a fairly generous amount of dye."
"We can't survive on dye! We need-"
"I'm going to ask my parents to support us, I'm sure they'll be willing, they know of my problems after all."
"Support?" The unicorn winced.
"The institute can only give you certain amounts, what we have now is a bulk of what you'll get in the next few weeks. Hopefully, my parents will donate the cause, though I may have to cause a bit of a scene. Really milk it, you know?" She squeaked, her eyes meeting her patient's. "Nevertheless," she started, coldly, head dropping down, as stringy strands of dark magenta hair draped over her shoulders as if they were curtains. "there's never going to be enough support for this little establishment. Unsurprisingly, I'm not the most stable of beings; if either one of us experience personality flutters moreso than you're having presently, the results could put our entire project to waste." A dull pink foreleg wrapped itself around the tender neck of the second body, pulling it closer to it's own origin. "We've just got to stay resilient. Do the best we can with what we have."
Twilight's eyes averted to the bright wooden oak flooring in anxiety, biting her lip violently. Pinkamena pulled the mare's head to her own chest, resting her hoof to feel the heartbeat of the shaking child. "Yours is so much slower that mine..."
"Then trust me. We can do this."
Twilight's hoof reached to Diane's, holding it close. The two embraced the rest of nose, before either of them spoke again.
"Pink...ie?"
"Hm?"
"What kind of disguise are you going to do?"
"I think that it'd be best if my features were changed as much as possible. Actually, I should get on that now, just wait here."
The period of solumn loneliness was long, harsh, yet endearing. No clue had been given to what the killer was going to change. Face, ears, body, it was all an endeavour. There was but only the gentle swaying of outside creatures to break the tension, yet, somehow, they only caused time to pass slower. After a lifetime of waiting, Pinkamena stepped out of the kitchen, pressing her head to the wall. Her mane had been cut in layers, roughly, evidently having been caused by a knife. The parting was reversed, and her ends beared a few gently woven waves. As oppose to a long mask of hair, she now sported an ear lobe length bob, with matching tail. "How do I look?" She asked, showing anticipation stirred with dread within the rasp of her voice.
"There are no words."
***
Cool, clear air consumed the duo's lungs, as they stared contently at the fluffy clouds above. The two of them had been having a passive morning, cleaning up the library, reorganizing, share sorting, and organising their epic comeback plan. Twilight's head lay softly resting upon Pinkamena's chest, synchronizing her own breathing to the other mare's heartbeat. For the first time in years, she had felt ultimate tranquility, as if the entirety of her pain and suffering through the years were nothing but a bad dream. The smoothness of the pink pony's touch gave her this jolting, electrical wave of excitement throughout her spine, truly being the perfect mix of adrenaline and comfort, beyond anything previously experienced. Each intimate moment brought back all of the ecstacy Twilight had felt in the moment that she locked eyes with Pinkie for that first time, in her bedroom. The way their bodies pressed against eachother, the way their breath covered the other's faces. Their hooves trailing across eachother's chests.
Pinkamena wrapped her arms around Twilight's head, bringing their faces closer, gazing into her eyes, quickly finding herself becoming mesmerized in the deep, purple abyss, like their souls were intertwined.
After 'borrowing' a variety of dyes, they had decided to go in strong, transforming the convict's coat to a shining, innocent white, freckled with grey spots, dyeing her mane's main colour to a more purpleish pastel, and highlighting with a crystalline blue. Then, for extra measure, added two fake piercings.
As it stood currently, they had hitched a ride to the rock farm from a young mare, no older than a teenager, who had amused them with tales of her two friends, and their shenanigans. Her southern accent did arise sympathy from Pinkamena to Twilight, ergo, they were getting familiarised.
'It's good to show your feelings, and to make sure they're not hindered, or hidden, but it's even better to get to know your weaknesses, as well as those that frighten you, so that you may gain strength in their shadows.'
The cart came to a halting stop, springing the freeloaders upright. "We're here!" Twilight sang, jumping out of the vehicle, gawking at the distanced farm house.
Diane climbed out carefully, making sure to acknowledge the driver. "Thanks, Applebloom. We really appreciate it."
Quickly, the white and lilac mare began a slow trot to the building, without looking back.
Author's Note
Exams are over (sort of), now, all that's left is for me to do is destroy a few energy drinks and I'll update like a functional human. This chapter was so short so that I could write more quicker, because I was originally planning to have a lot more in this chapter, but I think there'd be more lessons this other way. I'll get the next chapter out soon, I swear.
