End of August, 1005 A.D.
“Hello Pinkie Pie!” A trim unicorn stallion opened the office door, waving the pink earth pony in with a smile. He closed the green doorway with a flash of green magic as he ran a hoof over his dark blue mane.
The pale-colored mare carefully trotted inside. Her ears were flat as she looked around the new location. The room was just as inviting as the waiting room the baker had been in moments ago. There were a few small arm couches set about the room and a desk on the far wall. There weren’t any windows to the outside, though it was brightly lit with a ceiling light. When the party pony realized there wasn’t any long couches for the patient to sit on, she quickly looked to the pastel yellow stallion.
“Heeeey, where’s that long plushy couch where you’ve got to lay down while talking about everything that could possibly wrong?” Pinkie squinted to the doctor who smiled back gently.
“Well, if you want to, we could bring in one. Some ponies are just more relaxed when we’re all sitting in the same kind of chair.” The stallion took a seat, continuing to smile. “As the secretary may have mentioned, I’m Doctor RightAid.”
Pinkie seemed slightly more chipper as she reached out and shook his hoof. “I know! I helped your friends throw that surprise party for you last year!” Once she shook the yellow hoof, she moved both hooves to the entryway, disregarding the closed door, and pulled over a red lounge couch, setting it in the middle of the room.
RightAid blinked at the sudden furniture appearance. He wrote a note on a clipboard he levitated over, stopping when he noticed the longing watery orbs staring at the board. Slowly, he put it away in the drawer, brows twitching in thought.
“Yes, I remember that. It was a great party, thanks again.”
“You’re welcome!” Pinkie straightened with a smile before leaping for the new furniture and stretching out on her back.
The stallion smiled as well, eyeing the couch. “So, we do have to talk a little bit about why you’ve come to find help and what your goals would be so we have something to aim for.” He waited for the accepting nod before continuing. “I’m going to write it down on this paper, ok?”
Pinkie wilted in place, though she continued to nod. She shifted uncomfortably in place, eyeing the paper and quill. “Well, I… Me and Twilight Sparkle were dating… but she broke up with me because my friends had suggested some…” She rubbed her right hoof as guilt filled her gaze. “... some mean things. And Twilight said that it wasn’t healthy and Mr. and Mrs. Cake said kind of the same thing but not as meanly? So they suggested I come here…”
The unicorn mused lightly, jotting some notes. “I see. And who are these friends of yours? If they are suggesting destructive things, then it may be unhealthy.”
“Weeeelllll, there’s Mr. Turnip who’s a bunch of turnips in a pail, Madam le Flour who’s a bag of prench flour, Rocky, my oldest and longest friend who’s a pile of rocks, and Sir Lintsalot who’s a ball of lint I found under my bed one day… Oh and General Raisin! I found him in Canterlot!” The earth mare nodded to herself, tapping one hoof with another as she listed the ‘friends’ off. She drooped in place. “Except that they’ve been saying mean things for a while now, and every time I listened to them, I almost lose my friends or misunderstand or… or Twilight broke up with me.”
The other pony nodded slowly, making a few notes on the forms before looking up once more. “Ok… How long have you been able to talk with them?”
“Ooooh, since I was a little little filly! Growing up on a rock farm way aways from the nearest town, I was in the house by myself a lot. My sisters and parents often worked in the fields, though they did check on me to be sure I was ok.” Pinkie stared at the ceiling, her smile strained, as she recounted the memories. “...There wasn’t really much smiling or laughing, but we had everything a pony needed to live…”
RightAid nodded. “Ok… Let’s come back to that in a moment, ok? We kind of need to get some of the goals written down first before we continue.” He offered an apologetic grin, looking back to the paper. “So we need to learn what’s really going on and what ponies really mean.”
Pinkie bit her lip, feeling her facade dropping away as tears pricked on the corner of her eyes. The stallion leaned a little closer to the mare, frowning worriedly.
“It helps if you are honest while we talk. I can’t help if I don’t know what is going on.”
The baker anxiously rubbed her hooves and spoke softly. “I… I can’t be sad! Ponies depend on me to be happy all the time to make THEM happy! I… I don’t know what to do!”
“But Pinkie Pie, you don’t have to happy all the time. Nopony is happy all the time.” The doctor beseeched the young baker. “What do you do when you feel sad or mad?”
“...I talk to my friends…” Pinkie shifted on the couch, eyes focused on the red cushions.
“The various objects…” Seeing the tiny nod, RightAid began to write as he summarized. “So we would also need to work on you accepting these feelings. They are a part of you, and locking them away or having imaginary friends be these feelings is not very good for you.”
Pinkie Pie curled her hooves around her barrel as her ears flattened against her skull. She bit her lip, unsure about talking, and nodded. Her eyes went to the wall, noticing the time and stiffened. “O-oh no! I have to go and...plan a party soon.” She trailed off as her heart sunk down her chest and reach her back hooves. “...Almost forgot…”
The dark blue maned pony’s face twitched into a frown before settling into a more neutral one. “I don’t think it would be a good idea to host parties right now Pinkie Pie. You have to be happy before you can spread happiness. Nopony would want you to be sad while forcing yourself to make others happy.”
“Oh… Ok…” Pinkie resettled into the furniture with a quick wiggle. She tried to ignore how much the knowledge she wouldn’t be making parties lightened the weight on her chest. Instead she looked to the doctor, eyes wide and anxious. “So… what should we talk about…?”
“Whatever you’d like Pinkie, whatever you want to.” RightAid sat back in his chair, smile back in place.
“Well… Uh, so… General Raisin didn’t like this one guard named Honor Guard…”
-NKP-
The day was just as bright as any of the others the past week. Most of the ponies in town were pretty pleased with it until they saw the dim-pink earth pony trotting down the street. They almost couldn’t recognize the party mare; Pinkie’s mane and tail were completely straight and just as pastel gray as her fur.
Pinkie smiled tiredly to each person, trying to wave only to halfway lift her hoof and scrunched it in a tiny version of one. Every pony who noticed this action stopped, staring wide eyed at the restrained mare. This wasn’t noticed by the party pony as she immediately moved on at a much slower pace than usual.
A bump almost knocked the pale-pink earth mare off her hooves. Stumbling to a stop, she glanced about, face sober, as she searched for the pony she hit. A flash of green at her left helped identify who it was.
“Lyra! I’m sorry, I didn’t see you or sense… Uh, are you ok?” Pinkie twirled around to face the pale-green unicorn. She looked for any signs of injury, while the unicorn stared back with wide eyes.
“P-Pinkie Pie…? Why do you, uh…” Lyra trailed off at the watery sheen in bright blue eyes. Casting her gaze about, she tried a difference tactic. “H-hey! How have you been doing? Sorry about knocking into you there, I was just surprised to see you walking around this way.”
The baker relaxed from her search, sagging in place. Turning her face away, she shrugged, scuffing a hoof along the ground. “I’m… fine. I was just coming back from my appointment when I realized I had to… find Peppermint Twist so we could talk about the party they wanted.”
“Oh? What, they wanted some new feature or did you think of some really cool off the wall idea to spice it up?” The musical unicorn latched onto the potentially lighter topic, grin shaky.
Pinkie lowered her neck, both ears flat. “Oh, uh… not-... not really. I can’t do it right now…”
“Oh…” Lyra’s own ears flipped back for a second as she thought. She looked up and down the street, realizing they weren’t really close to the local hospital. “Uh, if you don’t mind me asking, who did you have an appointment with?”
“Doctor Rightaid. Hey Lyra, how are you and Bon Bon doing?” Pinkie lifted her head to stare at the pastel green mare hopefully.
“Huh? Me and Bon Bon?” The musician jerked back slightly, surprised at the change in topic. She blushed, rubbing the back of her head bashfully. “We’re doing pretty good actually. I was just on my way to her shop now, did you want to, uh, come with?”
The earth pony nodded with some of her old energy. Together, they trotted off at a measured pace to the market place. Pastel green ears flicked to the un-bouncy steps of the other mare. The duo stayed silent until most of the crowd had moved along, giving them some breathing and talking space. A hard feat to do when everyone around them stared at the sight of the pale-pink unhyper party pony.
Lyra raised a hoof to her mouth and coughed lightly into it. “So, uh, was there some reason in particular you’re asking about how things are between me and Bon Bon? How are things with you and Twilight Sparkle?”
“Well, I was wondering if you two ever broke up or had a big fight or… or any other really sad things…” Pinkie stared at the ground, flat mane hiding her face from the unicorn. “And if you did… how did you fix it…?” A single blue orb peeked out from the pink strands, watching the other.
Lyra flinched. Ears tipped back, she nudged the earth pony with her shoulder, strained smile in place. “I’m sorry to hear it Pinkie… Hopefully things work out for you.” She looked towards the sky, thoughts racing. “As for me and Bonnie… After what happened with Carrot Top, I made sure to be as honest as possible with Bon Bon.”
The earth pony stayed silent, listening to her friend intently. The pastel green unicorn noticed this attention and coughed.
“Well, I… Bon Bon wasn’t interested, admittedly, at first…” Gold-yellow orbs went to the sky bashfully. “But I didn’t mind. I waited, being her friend, didn’t push. I was just… There. For her.” Lyra smiled warmly as she thought about the candy maker.
Pinkie nodded, eyes misting over as she leaned closer to the ground. The two mares went quiet as they reached the market place. Lyra looked in the direction of where her marefriend’s store was located before checking on the pink pony next to her.
“So, uh, how are things going with you…?”
“Oh, things are… well, they… I’ve got to go. Have fun Lyra!” Pinkie tried to wave but barely managed to do so. She turned ninety degrees and trotted off through the crowd. Her slow walk left a slower and slightly dispassionate group of ponies behind her.
-NKP-
After delivering the unfortunate news to Peppermint Twist, Pinkie looked up from the ground and noticed her proximity to a pair of pegasi she had also gone to college with. Checking the skies, she was nearly certain the two mares were home and made her much slower way there.
The double leveled house had a neat plant box in front while the roof tapered off in a gentle slant. The earth pony gave the blue door a nice little tap. Once the single knock was given, Pinkie waited perfectly still, ears tilted back slightly.
The pale-gray mare opened the door and went still in shock. “P-Pinkie Pie…? Is everything ok…?” Blossomforth checked the outside for any sort of issue with a worried frowned.
“Hey Blossomforth. Is Cloud Kicker home too? I…” Pink ears flicked nervously. “Is it ok to ask you guys a few questions?”
“Sure, it’s fine if you want to ask something. Uhm, Cloud just got back from work actually.” The pink with green stripes maned pony stepped backwards, letting the party mare in. “Hey Cloud! Pinkie Pie is here to visit!”
As they stepped into the middle of the living room, the pegasus in question stepped out from the bathroom on the back left, towel around her neck. When she looked over, Cloud Kicker did a double take, eyes wide while her hoof stayed in place on the cloth. She glanced over to her marefriend who stared back just as concerned.
“Hey Pinks… What’s… up…?” Cloud edged into the room, fur on end.
Pinkie seemed to sag at the looks on the others’ faces. Ears going completely flat, she tried for a weak smile.
“Hi…! I was just wondering if I could ask you guys a couple of questions…” The earth pony shifted in place. “About you guys staying as a couple for so long…”
The pegasi couple shared another tense glance, understanding in seconds. Cloud Kicker took another, longer look at the earth pony, from her paler fur color to the absolutely flat mane and tired demeanor. She waved to the couch in the center of the room, going to stand by her marefriend. Blossomforth smiled at the wing hug she received before looking to their friend anxiously.
“I don’t see why not. What were you wondering?” Cloud tried to smile though the baker’s depressed aura didn’t help.
“How… Uhm, how did you guys manage to stay together as a couple?” Pinkie tapped her hooves together, staring at them as they moved. “I mean… You’re you! How did you keep Blossomforth happy when you… you’re you?” The pink mare pointed to the gray-blue pegasus sheepishly. “Not that it’s bad or anything…”
Blossomforth blushed, ducking her head into the slightly taller mare. Cloud Kicker lost the tiny grin she wore and shrugged, frowning as she thought to how she used to be.
“I cared about Blossom more than just having fun. But what I was doing wasn’t very healthy anyways.” Kicker shrugged again, smirking ruefully. “So I changed in order to be with her. Except I don’t think you have similar problem… What’s up Pinks? What happened?”
“N-nothing! I just… We just… we broke up… And I guess… there’s stuff I have to do to get better… I guess…” Pinkie took her turn at shrugging, rubbing her left hoof with her right. “Thanks for talking with me… Have a nice day.”
Blossomforth walked out from under the protective wing and put a comforting hoof on the pink shoulder. “Pinkie Pie, did you need any sort of help or somepony to talk to?”
“No no, you enjoy yourselves. I’ll just… I’ll just be on my way…” The pink pony waved slowly as she stood up, exiting the inviting house and walking down the road.
The two pegasi exchanged another look. Blossomforth bit her lip, raising both brows while jerking her head to the earth pony leaving. Cloud Kicker nodded, rubbing her chin.
“Yeah, let’s get the others. I think somepony needs a ‘cheer up because it would be super nice!’ party.” The gold maned mare glanced to the side towards her marefriend with a smirk.
Blossomforth giggled at the joke with a hoof to her mouth. She nodded, turning with the other pegasus and heading out as well in the opposite direction.
-NKP-
Hooves weighed down by a heart that was shattered into tiny pieces, the earth pony’s ears twitched as they picked up the thumping bass coming from further down the street. The pink ears began to move to the beat, flipping up and down, though the rest of the mare stayed disheartened. Slowly, she turned into that direction, heading for a duo of musicians that lived in a cozy little two storied building closer to the edge of town.
Pinkie could barely muster the energy to raise her hoof to knock on the door. The sound she did produce sounded hollow to her own ears, and she began to doubt anypony actually heard it.
The thumping bass did pause however and two sets of hooves came to the doorway. The doorway opened by hoof, revealing a pale-white unicorn and pastel-gray earth pony who were looking curiously to the opening. Noticing who was on the other side, they both perked up with smiles that slowly morphed into worried ones.
“Hey Pinkie Pie… What is going on? What happened?” Vinyl Scratch backed up, glancing around the street for what may be the cause of the earth pony’s depressed state.
“Oh my gosh! Pinkie, what’s wrong? Please, come inside.” Octavia grabbed the pale-pink hoof and pulled the baker inside. The gray earth mare didn’t let go, tugging their visiting friend to the armchair and firmly setting her down in place.
The unicorn watched her marefriend move as she lifted her glasses up, displaying her (to most ponies) unnerving sharp red gaze. She magically set her recordset to the side. Walking over, she leaned close to the party pony from the other side as the dark gray maned pony.
“What’s going on…?”
The baker shook her head, biting her lip as she allowed her mane to cover her eyes. “Everything is fine… It’s ok… I’m just… I just wanted to ask you guys some questions, if it’s ok…?” Pinkie looked up pleadingly, though her form was still as she tried to keep her emotions in check.
Vinyl’s ears flicked as she kept just as still. Octavia glanced between them, mind scrambling.
“Sure Pinkie, what did you want to ask?” The DJ spoke calmly, keeping both of the other mares in her sights as she stood in place.
Pinkie Pie shifted in her seat, tapping her hooves on her back legs in a random rhythm. “I… Welllllll…. I know you guys didn’t have the greatest first year of being friends and then marefriends…” The pink mare couldn’t stay still and casted her gaze wildly around the room. “How did you do it…? I mean, I know how things went, but how did… you manage to stay together...?”
Octavia sighed, sitting down with a hard plop. “Oh Pinkie Pie…”
The white unicorn glanced between the two before flinching in understanding. “Awww, Pinks…”
The earth pony sunk down with flattened ears. She shook her head further, curling inward. “Please… if you can’t answer… I’ll just go…”
The unicorn shook her head, patting the gray-pink shoulder. “Look, it’s ok. And yeah, we just got over a rough patch recently, but we still cared about one another. It just took some time apart to really get some perspective about it.” Vinyl looked directly to the ash gray mare, half smirk in place. “But we cared more about each other than what misconceptions were going around. And we were honest with each other.”
The cellist nodded, reaching out to still one of the nervously twitching pink hooves. “Yes. Waiting, being sure of what you feel for each other, being honest about what you think and what is going on, and being willing to compromise.” Octavia stared firmly at both mares, sending a warning with warm purple orbs. “But don’t change yourself entirely for your special somepony. If they want somepony entirely different, then they will have to find them elsewhere.”
Both of the others sat more attentive at the stern voice and look, nodding agreeingly. Pinkie Pie sniffled, rubbing her muzzle softly with a tiny smile. The couple chuckled at the slightly better mood of their visitor. The baker reached out, giving her friends a brief hug, only to let go moments later and hopped off the chair. She made a quick way to the front door, leaving the couple surprised behind her. Twirling in place, she gave a higher velocity wave than when she first arrived.
“Thanks! That’s all I wanted to know. Bye…!” The pink baker tried to hop out but failed, managing a tiny skip instead. She left before either of the others could say anything, ears flat against her head.
Once she was down the block, away from the prying gaze, the earth pony took off in a sprint, head down and hooves heavy. She raced back to the sugary bakery, dashing up the stairs and into her bed. The room was a mess of papers, books and posters of ways to get back together with her marefriend among the multitudes of half-packed supply boxes. A few bits of paper drifted down from having been scattered into the air, only to be snatched out of the air by a pale-pink hoof.
“I’ve got to tell her…! I have to do something…” Pinkie sat up in the bed, rapidly writing on the papers as she tried to be as honest as she could. Tears began to leak from her eyes as she wrote, dripping onto the paper in giant splashes. “Have to be honest… I need my little star...”
-NKP-
Several mornings later, the pink baker trotted down the stairs morosely, gaze focused on the wood under her hooves. Her ears twitched and her nose itched but she ignored the Sense. She went towards the back room to help with the morning prep.
Trotting through the swing doors, the pink earth mare was startled into flight as the bass dropped while several ponies shouted at once. Blue eyes slowly focused, scanning the large banner that read ‘cheering up party for the greatest party pony ever!’. She stood up straighter, fur on end.
“What’s going on?” Pinkie tried to assess the situation, noticing that the three different couples she had spoken to or asked about along with the bakers were there, hooves in the air. “What… are you all doing here…? What about the bakery?” The last of the questions were directed to the married couple who just tried to smile reassuringly.
“Don’t worry about that!” Mrs. Cake moved forward to half embrace the younger earth pony. “Your friends wanted to set up this party for you, and we agreed it was a good idea. Take this time to party with your friends dear, the shop will still be here for when you are done.”
Pinkie ducked her head gratefully, feeling a tiny smile growing on her face. She half watched the two bakers leave before turning back to the mares left behind. The group of friends trotted forward, enveloping her in a group hug. Blossomforth, Cloud Kicker, Octavia, Lyra, and special guest Bon Bon were the main huggers while Vinyl was by her equipment, laying down the music for the small party.
“Thanks…! I can’t believe I got my own surprise party. I should have… gotten… a special Pinkie sense…” The flat maned mare trailed off as her mind went off in a swirl of thoughts. “Oh… uh, never mind… Thanks. So nice to have almost all the ol’ A Capella group together again. With a few extras.” She smiled to the candy maker who smiled back gratefully at the inclusion.
“You just seemed so down, we had to do something.” Cloud wrapped a single wing around her marefriend as she beamed at the party pony. “And I do recall getting an invitation to a similar party a while ago by a certain somepony.” The golden maned mare winked playfully.
Pinkie Pie smiled with a tiny blush, moving out of the hug and taking in the decorations strewn about the room. There were streamers hanging from the rafters and chairs, while confetti already dusted the table tops. The coloring was assorted with a bit of every hue. There were baked goods waiting for consumption while a large stack of board games rested on the far left. As the baker breathed in the party atmosphere, her coloring began to return, settling to a medium range of gray pink while her mane started to poof up. The rest of the mares exhaled softly, smiles a little warmer as their depressed friend seemed to cheer up at their effort.
The baker leaped for the stack of games, popping up from the pile with a wider grin than she had wore ten seconds before. “Who wants to play some marenopoly!?!”
Everypony laughed at the almost normal behavior. Letting the party go into full swing, the seven friends tried to keep up the positive mood. They kept the pink mare constantly in motion. When it came time for everyone to return to their day shifts, Pinkie managed to keep a hold of the positive support she found in her old friends as she worked at the bakery. The customers that went to check on the party mare were much happier when they noticed the brighter colors of the mare. Pleased, they typically bought several confections as well, leading to another good day of sales.
With the encouragement she felt, the earth pony finally mailed all of the letters she had compiled for the mare of her heart. She gathered all the various papers and stuffed them into two large saddlebags. Using a bit more force, she finally got them closed and set them on her frame. Before she could decide against it, Pinkie trotted out to the postal service, hoofing over a large sack of bits. The desk worker smiled tensely and pull over the sacks, saluting the pink mare as she returned home.
The mailpony winced when he received the bags but dipped his head obediently and settled them on his back. Slowly inching his way along, the tan stallion went to the tree library in town, trying to move as fast as he could to make the deliveries on time. By the time he reached the oak tree, beads of sweat dripped down his face and sides. Knocking on the door, he waited, legs shaking under the weight of the letters.
A purple and green dragon opened the doorway, tired circles under his eyes, looked out with a wary glance. Noticing the uniform, he relaxed, though he eyed the large bags wearily.
“Hi… What can I do to help…?” Spike kept the door half closed as he spoke.
“Hello…!” The mailpony huffed with a tight grin. “I have… some deliveries… for a… Twilight Sparkle…?”
The drake reached out a claw as he nodded. “Yeah, she lives here.”
The stallion sighed in relief, letting the bags touch the ground as he wiggled out from under them. “Oh good! These are all hers. Please sign for having taken them. They were covered by super duper extreme care insurance.” Once his clipboard was signed, the postal worker trotted off with a wave.
Spike stared at the two large bags and sighed. Reaching out, he started to pull the saddlebags inside, struggling with the weight. “What is in here…!?” He spent the next twenty minutes dragging the mail to the center.
The unicorn, seated once more at the desk and overworking herself with five different topics, didn’t twitch an ear. It was only as a claw poked her side that she looked up, her mind sluggishly waking up from the swirl of information.
“What is it…?” Twilight’s eyes had large bags that only highlighted how bloodshot they were.
“Mail for you…” Spike spoke cautiously, tapping his claws together nervously.
Twilight’s sights moved beyond the lad to the stacks in the middle of the room. With a sigh, she levitated the bags over, lifting up the flap and pulling out the letters in mass. She moved them closer, squinting at the sender. Her gaze widened before narrowing in anger when she read who it was from. She rapidly flipped through the mound of envelopes, growing angrier with each passing second. Snorting, she slammed them back into the bag, tossing them to the dragon who stumbled at the shove.
“I don’t want to read Pinkie’s excuses.” The librarian turned away, pulling more books from the shelves with a flick of magic. “Just more examples of how she is trying to convince me that she isn’t being overbearing and possessive by mailing an excessive number of letters. How predictable.”
The dragon frowned at the dismissive tone. Pushing back against the brown sack, he tried to rapidly decide how to respond. “What book did that come from this time…? And where do you want these then?”
“This particular advice is from Science and Facts about Courtship, a highly praised and documented dating help series.” The lavender mare waved a hoof, not bothering to look at the pile. “And I don’t care what you do with them. Just put them somewhere I don’t have to see them. Maybe we could reuse the paper later.”
The drake sighed, shoulders sagging, and began to haul the bags to one of the closets on the ground floor. Trying to shove the them into the small space, he spent the next half hour trying to cram it inside. Once he got it there, he leaned tiredly against the door, wiping his brow. He stood up with a pleased grin. Taking two steps away, he opened his mouth to talk to the mare when the door behind him shuddered. He turned around anxiously, hunching in place.
The door burst open, spewing the letters back into the room. Twilight’s ear twitched at being buried under the paper. She turned in place, ogling the mess while Spike laid flat on the ground, covered. The mare took a shaky breath.
“Fine. We’ll clean it up together and put this away in the lab downstairs where it has less chance to make a mess.” Twilight rubbed her forehead with a hoof as she began to levitate the letters up from the ground.
“Huh… the lab…” Spike paused mid grab, tilting his head as the thought occurred to him. “What about Pinkie’s lab? I wonder if she’s gone in there…”
The lavender unicorn froze, scowling. “I… It’s not just her laboratory. We better check on it, otherwise who knows what could be down there.” Twilight flashed a stream of magic to bundle the letters in seconds. “I’m sure she’s left us more of a mess to clean up.”
The purple drake bit his lip but stayed silent. Together, they went down to the ‘party’ lab using the stairs outside. Trumping down, they peered into the large cavern, sights widening at the horrendous disaster waiting there.
The whole place looked like a tornado had run through, knocking over a large amount of supplies and objects. Design papers were scattered on the floor and table as though desperate hooves had shoved them aside. On the table in the center, large posters and diagrams of plans were crumpled up, while the six chairs stood empty. Next to those places were various objects tossed to the ground. Flour spilled out from the bag while the turnips scattered from the bucket that had held them. Rocks were laying about the room and a slightly moldy raisin muffin was crushed into the ground.
Twilight’s brows twitched at the sight before focusing on a pink and purple book in the middle of the table. She felt the need to read it as it sat under a single overhead light. Using a touch of magic, the lavender mare flipped through the known logs until she came across ones that she hadn’t seen yet. When she saw their contents, she angrily flipped the page. She only slowed when she got towards the end, after the date of their breakup.
I messed up again and now she doesn’t want to be with me! What am I going to do?! General Raisin says I did the right thing but I’m starting to think he had it all wrong…
Doctor RightAid said I shouldn’t listen to any of my object friends, especially since they haven’t had the nicest ideas lately… They’re upset about it, but I think he might be right…
They are wrong! My friends do care and Twilight still cares, even if she’s mad right now! I won’t listen to them if they are just going to be negative!
The next page was torn out and as Twilight tried to flip forward to see if there were any further entries,an envelope slipped out. The librarian caught the paper and moved it closer, finding it was an unsent letter addressed to her. She sighed and jerked it open.
Dear Twilight
I made a mistake. I know, I should have just asked you and believed you when you said there was nothing going on. I listened to the wrong voices.
I miss you… Nothing feels right without you there… No songs in my heart, no party in my bones.
And even if you don’t ever want to be with me again, I hope we can be friends…
The short note was signed by a single hoofprint with three balloons in the middle. The lavender unicorn bit her lip and folded it up carefully. Squinting her eyes, she looked back to the mess with a sigh. The dragon, who had been piling up papers into neater stacks, glanced to the mare with a question in his gaze. Twilight transported a trash bag from upstairs to the lab and began to pick up the spoiled food scattered on the floor. After those were thrown out, the pony looked to the rest of the room, eyes and mind undecided.
“You know… I’ll be sad to see the gaming system go…” Spike had both claws on his hips as he faced towards the large television. He peered hopefully to the mare, curious to the response.
The mare looked at the room, noting the state of the various inventions laying around the place. Most were from before their breakup, with a few new ones that seemed to be mostly cake throwers or letter writers. She shook her head, scrunching her muzzle sadly. Levitating the mostly full trash bag, she turned around, heading for the stairs.
“We’ll… we’ll make the proper lists for all this… later…”
The drake chewed his lip but followed along faithfully. Together, they returned to the other sections of the tree. Twilight moved on to her own laboratory and cleaned there as well, stashing the single letter she still held in her magic in the lower sections. She stayed down there, working on her own inventions, until she fell asleep at her work station.
The night grew colder, especially as the warmth left the dirt around the tree roots.The unicorn shivered, hooves drawing around her barrel.
The landscape was hidden under a layer of black. Papers, white and sharp against the darkness, swirled around the lavender mare, at times hitting against her face and sides painfully.
She pushed forward, ears flat against her skull, trying to ignore the distant monotone voices saying facts. Far away, there was a soft sound, broken and hitched painfully. It was so heartbroken that it caused more tears to spring up by the purple orbs.
Lights began to break the darkness; flashing through the air with thunderous cracks that shook the ground under the unicorn. The pages slowly grew words, angrily slashed on there in red.
Trust no one!
Trust no one!
Trust no one!
TRUST NO ONE!!
The unicorn slowed, shutting her eyes as her chest constricted. The voices gradually blocked out the sound of crying, becoming painful as they shouted ‘facts’ of how deceitful other ponies were while in relationships.
“No… No…!”
Twilight crouched down, trying to cover her eyes and ears from the darkness around her. She continued to tremble in place until it felt like a muzzle was beside her ear.
“Why did you leave me…?” The weeping voice asked in a whisper.
The distressed purple mare jumped up, eyes wide. “I-!”
The librarian jerked awake with a half shout. Her hooves shot out, knocking over the scrolls and vials set before her. A blanket that had been draped over her back was flung off at the motion. The purple drake jumped up from where he had been sneaking away from the previously sleeping mare.
“Twilight! Are you ok?” Spike finished rushing up to the mare and laid a claw on her side. “Is it the nightmares…?”
Twilight rubbed her eyes tiredly as she sat up further. “No. No, I’m fine. It’s nothing. I’ll be fine.” She moved away from the desk to where a large machine waited for repair. “Nothing’s wrong…”
The lad frowned, skeptical. He turned about and went back upstairs, grabbing a scroll and pen on the way nonchalantly. He furiously wrote an update for the solar princess. Sending it with a lick of flame, he grumpily sat on his bed, arms wrapped around his knees. The pet owl soon joined him in the bedroom, feathers fluffed in annoyance.
“Yeah… She’s just too stubborn.”