When the door to Doctor Pinkie's laboratory is opened, Twilight Sparkle isn't expecting total silence. In fact, he strains to hear labored breathing, whimpers & cries, anything of the sort. The eeriness of the situation as a whole is enough to send a chill down the stallion's back. Quietly making his way down the steps, his eyes finally focus in the dim lighting to see the doctor himself sprawled amongst shattered beakers & test tubes, various chemicals pooling around him as well as a note clutched in his hoof. A shocked gasp leaves Twilight's mouth. This cannot be....

‘Is the doctor alright?’ Starlight Glimmer's voice breaks the tense silence as he peers into the darkness below. Whatever Twilight saw can't be good. ‘Twilight?’

‘Doctor Pinkie is dead,’ Twilight says, his voice cracking on the final word. He looks up at Starlight but can barely make out his silhouette, vision blurred with unshed tears. He glances back to the body of his dear friend & gingerly picks up the letter as if it were the most important thing in the world. The stallion clears his throat & reads aloud, voice rather shaky.

‘‘To whomever it may concern; I trust you find this upon my assumption that this nightmare has come to a close. It has been the most difficult & darkest journey of my life, but at last it is finally over. I entrust you with this information; I was indeed Mr. Pie as he was me. We were both a part of each other, yet different in many ways. He was my darkest desires personified, & I regret to say that I somewhat enjoyed the freedom he gave me. But, at last, it has come to pass. I hope you can find solace in the fact that Mr. Pie will not cause pain anymore. Yours, Doctor Pinkie.’’

Twilight folds the letter neatly & places it in his coat pocket, hoof trembling. How could he have been so blind? To not know how much his best friend was suffering? He could have helped in some way, could have stuck by his side through all of this. He practically scolded Pinkie for focusing on his work too much when it reality it was to save his very soul from corruption. If only it hadn't come to this. A sigh coming from his lips, Twilight goes up the steps back to Starlight, the other stallion looking at him with concern & pity.

‘Come, Twilight. Let us get you something to drink & we can talk about how this all began.’ He gently lays a hoof on his shoulder & guides him into an armchair next to the fireplace. He produces a mug of hot chocolate & gives it to Twilight. ‘This all feels like some horrible nightmare... I cannot believe we never saw his suffering sooner...’

Twilight says nothing, only sips on his drink numbly. He doesn't even hear Starlight, his mind focused on the day this all began; the day of the meeting with the Board of Governors that set this whole wheel into motion.

Author's Note

so, as you might know, i wrote a story just like this about four years ago but never bothered to finish it due to writer's block. i have decided to rewrite it completely from the ground up & am already happy with how it's turning out! i hope you like it as much as i do!