//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: No Heroes: Life of Pie // by PaulAsaran //------------------------------// There came a knock on the frame of Pinkie’s bedroom door. She turned from the mirror to see Fine standing there, watching her with a calm confidence. “You ready?” She looked in the mirror again. Her mane fell straight today. It was an intentional decision. Her friends knew to judge her mood by her manestyle, and this time she wanted them to know from the start that she hadn’t invited them here to discuss a party. “Do you think they’ll take it well?” Fine stepped into the room to stand at her side, his rosewood eyes meeting her sapphire blues through the mirror. He nuzzled her just beneath the ear, giving it the faintest nip. “They’ll be surprised, I’m sure. But they were willing to accept me, and you have a supreme advantage over me.” At her querying look he added, “They actually like you.” She turned her head to look up at him properly with an expression half-lecturing and half-amused. “They like you, silly. You’re just weird.” “Huh. I suppose I am.” He turned his eyes away and scratched at his chin in a manner of faux-thoughtfulness. “And you’re dating me. Wonder what that says about you?” “That you’re the right kind of weird,” she replied primly, facing the mirror once more. She tried to hold on to that confidence their banter had given her, but it flowed out like air from a balloon. She stared at the floor, at her legs that felt like lead. “Can I do this?” He nuzzled her yet again, his touch gentle and reassuring. “You know you can.” She leaned into him, burying her face in his shoulder. “What if they hate me?” “I think you know they won’t.” When she said nothing to this, he wrapped a leg about her withers and started to hum. “You’re in my heart, you’re in my soul…” He sang a few verses, rocking gently back and forth. She swayed with him, letting the words seep into her heart and still the waves of her emotions. What had threatened to be a storm grew into a calm, if overcast day. After a while, she stood up on her own once more and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you. I think I’m ready.” With that reassuring smile that melted her heart, Fine guided her silently out the door and down the stairs. Each step sounded loud to her ears, a drumbeat in the cavernous quiet. She could hear her friends conversing pleasantly in Sugarcube Corner’s dining room. It was almost enough to make her lock up, but Fine gave her a fresh squeeze and she found the courage to take those last few steps. All went quiet. They all stared at her, clearly realizing that this wasn’t a mere social visit. Twilight, freshly returned from her work in Canterlot, shared fretful glances with Rarity and Applejack. Rainbow hovered over a table, a half-eaten cupcake in her hooves as her eyes flicked between Pinkie and Fine like she was unsure who she should be focusing on. Fluttershy stood up from the table beneath Rainbow, apparently to approach, but hesitated when Fine waved her back. Mr. and Mrs. Cake sat behind the counter, holding hooves and clearly trying not to look as worried as they obviously were. Her best friends, her family, all here to listen to what she had to say. It was too much. She pressed against Fine, letting her mane fall before one eye and hoping she could hide from their stares. He ran his hoof along her neck in that way she liked and whispered in her ear. “It’s okay, Pinkie. It’s going to be fine.” “Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow moved just a little closer. “What’s wrong?” She didn’t answer. She couldn’t, not yet. She let Fine coo in her ear and sooth the anxiety from her system with his caressing touch. Her friends whispered among one another, and she folded her ears back to guard against the sounds. With slow, heavy breaths, she fought back the ball of sickness in her guts. She called on everypony within, the Pinkies and the Rarities and the Fluttershies, but they struggled to keep it down. At this rate she would surely fail. She couldn’t fail. This needed to happen. She’d promised it would happen. Fine trusted her, she couldn’t screw this up! And then, She was there. All the struggling and fighting to regain control ended as every pony on Pinkie’s mental highway parted for Her. Marble Pie looked at the hideous wreck that was Pinkie’s courage and, with but a smile, loosened every ugly knot. She made it look effortless. And once the mass of nastiness was untangled, she met Pinkie Pie’s startled look with a proffered hoof and an expression of warmth. Pinkie raised her head, smiling as she whispered a quiet thanks. Looking to Fine, she gave him a little peck on the neck and nodded before allowing herself to stand on her own. She walked into the dining room proper, her gaze meeting each of her friends’ eyes one at a time. “I’m sorry for worrying everypony, but I’m ready now. Everyone got their cupcakes? Comfortable? This is gonna take a while, and I’d really appreciate not having many interruptions, so it’s important to have everything you need.” Fluttershy took a cautious step forward, her head low. “Are you alright?” The same question burned in the eyes of every one of her friends. Licking her lips, Pinkie nodded. “I’m better than I’ve been in a very long time.” She gestured Rainbow back, and the pegasus reluctantly returned to her seat. At a long, reassuring look from Pinkie, Fluttershy did the same. Fine appeared, setting down a cushion from upstairs for Pinkie to use. She just barely heard Rarity’s pleased muttering of “Such a gentlecolt.” Sitting on the cushion with an appreciative smile, she waved Fine back. She wanted to try to get as far along with this as she could without him. Not that she didn’t expect him to come swooping in when things got… hard. Clearing her throat, she finally focused on addressing everyone in the room. “Thank you for coming, everypony. You’re all my bestest best friends… and family.” That last bit with a smile to the Cakes, who returned it affectionately. It gave her an extra dash of courage, more than enough to get started with this. “But I’ve been keeping a secret from all of you, and it’s long past time I ponied up. I… I know it may sound unbelievable and horrible, but I swear to you that everything I’m about to tell you is true.” She paused, expecting some kind of interruption. There was none, and for that she was glad. She allowed herself one last opportunity to consider what she was about to do. One more chance to back out. But they were all here, she had Fine’s support, and deep within, she could feel Marble’s silent encouragement. It was finally time. She raised her head, sucked in a deep breathe, and began. “When I was three years old, my twin sister Marble and I snuck out of bed to play in the barn.”