Well... this was it.
Cheese Sandwich sat in front of the nursery window. The thin glass partition fogged with every breath he took, as his snout was right on it.
"Sir, please don't put your nose on the glass," a passing nurse mare asked, slightly annoyed. Cheese snapped out of his trance and glanced.
"Oops, sorry." He attempted to smile, but it looked like a deranged grin. The nurse looked spooked as she trotted further down the hallway.
Cheese looked back into the small nursery room. So many little foals, swaddled in baby blue and pink blankets. Cheese's daughter was easy to spot. She was darker than all the other pastel ponies in the room. The filly sucked on her pacifier, eyes closed. Her plastic crib's card read, 'Pie Baby Filly'. Cheese Sandwich cracked a grin. Reading the card reminded him of how proud he was of both himself and his wife. They really did it. They're really parents now.
...at least... one of them were.
Pinkie Pie had been moved to the postpartum recovery ward. The pain she felt through birth was unbelievable. Though, at the same time... she didn't feel a lot, emotionally. Her brain was blank at this point. All she could do is stare at the white, freckled ceiling. Time stood still. The beams of the twilight sky through the window's blinds fell onto her pale pink face, illuminating her foggy eyes.
"Alright Miss Pie, it's time for more fluids!" A kind pegasus nurse pony stepped through the heavy metal door, bringing with her an IV bag rack in her wing. Pinkie had sucked all the fluid out of the previous bag into her veins. The nurse swapped the racks, reinserting the needle into Pinkie's arm. "Press the remote if you need anything, okay?" The nurse didn't expect an answer from her patient, but didn't want to be rude. Pinkie slowly blinked. The pegasus left the room.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. It drove Pinkie crazy. That clock was egging her on, and she knew it. Her eyes darted toward the round, black clock sitting upon the doorway. Just like that grandfather clock in her home on the rock farm. It would tick and tock endlessly. When she truly focused on the noise, Pinkie would remember that one day from her youth.
...
She was ten. The pink filly sat in her bedroom, wailing on her bed. Despite already having her cutie mark, her fluffy mane had deflated into a thin blind. Her mother stood in front of the bed, her cold gaze falling onto her daughter. Cloudy Quartz had no sympathy for her offspring.
"Pinkamena, you do not get to abandon your chores simply because you do not feel well," she scolded. "There is no such thing wrong with you. You are not ill, your coat has sheen and your eyes are bright."
Poor Pinkie sobbed through her hooves, sniffling and wiping her nose.
"No, I... I mean I feel... sad..." Her lower lip quivered as her head was raised by her mother's hoof. Cloudy Quartz glared into her eyes.
"You have nothing to be sad about." Pinkie's head fell when her mother removed her hoof from her chin. She turned around and approached the door. "You may come out when you realize that." Cloudy walked out and slammed the strong, wooden door behind her. Pinkie could hear the click of the door's lock and her mother's hoofsteps fading.
"Wait! Mommy! Please don't lock me in again!" The filly stumbled to the floor, regained her strength and trotted to her door to knock with all her might. From downstairs, her three sisters could hear, but Father gave them a cold glare. They couldn't talk to her. She was being punished.
"Maud! Marble! Limestone! Please, get me out! I'm sorry! I won't do it again! I'll do all the chores!" Pinkie wailed, banging on the door one last time before sliding down to the floor. She cried uncontrollably, her cheeks damp from the tears. The great grandfather clock in her room rung five times, getting her attention. Weakly walking over, Pinkie stared at her reflection in the glass. She saw a sad filly... a bad filly. A misbehaving filly.
"I... I'm sorry, I... I can fix it..." Thoughts raced through her little head. Father and mother were always upset with her. She could never find a way to please them. "I could... I..." The idea passed through her brain. If I punish myself, they won't have to punish me... I can make it easier for them... but how? Pinkie's ears perked when she noticed the clock again.
Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. That's it. The minute hand and hour hand. Sharp. Pointy. Easy to get. Pinkie's mind was fixated on that thought. She thought of nothing else. Blindly, she pulled a wooden stool toward her from the time-out corner, up to in front of the tall clock. Slowly, she stepped up, eyes not leaving the hour hand. The top cabinet had no lock on it. She swung the glass door open, to carefully twist the hour hand off of the metal shaft. It came off easily. Pinkie stared at it, the matte black stick contrasting with her pink hoof. She stepped down, plopped on the floor, and without thought, she jammed the clock hand into her arm. At first, it didn't bleed, but when she pulled it out, the wound gushed.
"You're bad... bad... bad..." Pinkie repeated the words to herself, stabbing herself with each word. The blood splattered from the repeatedly stabbed wound, getting on her chest. She clenched her jaw as more tears started to form. "Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad." The wound started to gush profusely. Pinkie felt little pain, physically. Mentally, she was suffering, telling herself how horrible of a daughter and sister she is. She deserved nopony. She deserved to be hurt like this. Mom and dad work so hard, and she has to give them such a hard time.
Thinking her daughter was speaking to herself again, Cloudy Quartz, carrying a young Marble Pie, approached the bedroom door. The mare shook her head, pulled the key from behind her ear, and turned the brass key into the lock. The door creaked open and she stepped in, about to scold her daughter for talking to herself. Cloudy Quartz screeched in shock at the sight of Pinkie's bloody, raw arm. Marble Pie was too young to comprehend what was wrong with her mom or her sister, but that image would stay with her forever.
The next following minutes consisted of Pinkie furiously harming herself more, Cloudy Quartz trying to stop, calling for her husband, Pinkie's sisters freaking out, and Igneous Rock lifting Pinkie by the scruff to stop her. That resulted in a huge family conversation that night.
...
"Doctor Care, Doctor Care!" The pegasus nurse screamed, flying down the hall from Pinkie's room. Pinkie kept piercing her skin with the IV needle, dot after dot appearing through her fur. The bedsheet was already soaked in a splotch of crimson blood.
"Bad... bad..." Pinkie muttered under her breath, staring down at the bloodied arm of hers, stabbing herself time and time again. Doctor Care rushed in and called for security and the mental health team. Doctor Care tried to get Pinkie's attention, but she just kept staring down. Security came, restrained Pinkie to the bed, removed the needle and was transported to the psych ward. While the bed flew down the halls, being pushed by security, Pinkie stared at her gushing arm.
Just like when she was a filly. She was bad. She was a bad daughter. A bad sister. A bad wife. A bad pony.