The Telescope

by PieDisliker

Tears

I'm a little stunned at the moment. Pinkie Pie just altered my telescope, giving it a voice. The wonderful voice of Ponyville. Her voice, along with background chatter and birds chirping. They're the kind of sound effects you'd hear in the show, and they just became available for me to hear. Yet I felt my body tighten up. The combination of the ability to talk with a fictional character and the worries of thinking what I should say are holding me hostage at the moment.

Taking notice of my shock, Pinkie's happy face turns into one that's more confused. "Are you alright there?"

I blink and take a deep breath, preparing to attempt something I thought was impossible. "I suppose I'm okay. Thank you."

Her eyes suddenly beam up. I can tell what's going to happen.

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie! I just noticed that you're new here and I wanted to personally welcome you. But first you weren't able to see me, so I sat here waving my arms, hoping to get your attention, and then I thought 'what if he can't hear me?' Then I decided to grab these signs and-"

Smile and nod, Jimmy. Smile and nod.

"-so here we are now and now that I've finally met you we can introduce ourselves. I'm Pinkie Pie! What's your name?"

So it's finally over. I once again take a deep breath and reply. "Jimmy. My name is Jimmy."

"Jimmy! That's a weird name... but it's a good one for you! So is that spelled with a 'y' or an 'ie?' Those always get me so confused at times."

"J-I-M-M-Y."

"Okie, dokie, loki! So now that we're here, I can introduce you to all of Equestria! Where should we-"

"Actually," I interrupt her, "I like to ask you some questions first."

"Ask me away!" Pinkie shouts as she takes a seat on the nearest bench.

"For starters, do you know how I'm communicating to you?"

"Of course I do, silly! You're using the telescope!"

"Uh-huh. And just how is this telescope different from any other telescope?"

"It's supposed to be some sort of magical-" Pinkie Pie waves her forehooves shortly and quickly to emphasize this. "-telescope. It lets you look into other worlds, or at least this one. And not normal magic either, because that's normal. That's the stuff that Twilight does and whatever. This is abnormal magic." Again, she shakes her forehooves to emphasize it.

"Do you know why I have this?"

"I'm not sure. An old lady used to have it, but she told me she had to leave and give it to someone special. Do you know where she might be?"

This is one of those moments where you feel frozen in time. Did ponies even know about death? Think... Yes, they did. Family Appreciation Day showed Granny Smith's ancestors. Okay... now I just need to break it onto Pinkie Pie easily.

"That old lady... was my grandmother."

"No way! Nice to meet you, Mr. Old Lady's grandson! Oh, this is awesomely amazing! It's rare to realize when two of your friends are related, but that makes that moment even more special!"

"Indeed. Unfortunately-" It just got even harder to do this as I could see her smile disappear. "-she had to give the telescope away for a reason. She got terribly sick and it was just her time." At this moment I could make a bunch of metaphors or come up with a new creative phrase, but I really wanted to get this over quickly. "She's dead."

And the waterworks commence. I don't know how she does it, but a stream of tears launch from her seemingly closed eyes at an upward angle. As interesting as it looks, it doesn't make the moment feel any better. Come on Jimmy, just because Pinkie's crying, doesn't mean you have to.

I can hold it in, but it's hard to ignore Pinkie's voice, even if I look away from the telescope. You've heard the news before, you don't cry, especially not when sad. Now is not the time...

...damn it, I need a tissue!

I run off to the bathroom and grab the nearest roll of unused toilet paper, ripping off a piece so I can blow my nose. I follow up with washing my face to get rid of any signs of tears. As I shut off the water and dry off my face, I'm reminded of what Pinkie's crying sounds like, because apparently she hasn't stopped. Guess it's time to return to Pinkie Pie and see if I can calm her down, now that she's had some time to take it in.

Who thought the reason I'd cry next would be along with a pink cartoon pony?

I approach the telescope and notice Pinkie's tears have slowed down a bit, though surrounding ponies seem concerned for her. Now's a time as good as any to try and calm her down.

"Pinkie Pie?" I ask her gently.

She blows her nose again and looks up at me. She stopped crying but it looks like she's on the verge of shedding tears once again.

"I know this is terrible news, but life goes on. My grandmother was a wonderful woman, and you should be thankful you had the opportunity to know her. I know I'm grateful."

She sniffled once again and wiped her tears. It looks like that did the trick. "You're right, Jimmy. Thanks."

Even though she stopped crying, she still seems a bit upset. I can't really blame her, but she needs my help right now.

"Hey there, let's get rid of that frown, shall we? My grandma wouldn't like seeing you sad. She'd want you to be happy."

"She would," Pinkie agreed. It didn't take much longer to see a grin on her face, expanding in time. "And I guess since she's gone, she left me with a new great friend. I'm glad you're here, Jimmy."

"I'm glad I'm here with you." I wink to signal her that things will be okay. "Hey, Pinkie?"

"Yeah?" She looks up at me, curiously.

"Would you mind organizing a funeral for her, if it's not too much trouble?"

"A funeral? I don't know... it doesn't sound very... me."

"You'll have a great opportunity to throw an after party for her, afterwards."

"You got it!" She lifted a hoof up to salute me.

Comments

[PieDisliker]

My bad, seems like I accidentally published chapter 4 before I finished editing it. Anyway, chapter 4's now up. Enjoy!

[TheDarkOne234]

Let the fantasising begin!

No seriously, this concept is fantastic! The feels are strong and I'm liking it.

[DerpedRainbow]

Ooh, glad I noticed the update. I love this story.