Chapter 2: Pinkies Past
Two weeks later Rarity could be seen running between all her friends trying to make sure the dresses were perfect. She had tried so hard to make sure they were matching but still had a touch of each of their own styles. She had been working nonstop on these dresses, with the help of Fluttershy. While the rest of the mane six started getting tutored on how to use their magic, earth pony and unicorn alike or how to fly. Everyone but Twilight was shocked at how fast Pinkie took to flying, they however just chocked it up to Pinkie being Pinkie. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were having the hardest time learning magic. Twilight and Applejack had the hardest time flying. Rarity however, had spent no time trying to learn to fly so far, she had listened in on the earth pony magic lessons while she made the dresses but had not had much practice. Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie had made bets on whether she was going to love flying but be horrible at it, take to it gracefully on the first try like she does everything, or absolutely hate it and never want to fly again. As having real wings was much different than the butterfly wings she had gotten before.
Pinkie spent a lot of time up in the clouds since they had turned into alicorns, which is where she was now. Twilight made her way to Pinkie on shaky wings and landed on the cloud with her limbs spread out. Pinkie looked at her and let out a snort laugh, covering her mouth with a hot pink hoof.
“Twilight, you look like a puppy that just ran out onto a frozen lake.” She said giggling helping Twilight up.
“Well, hey I’m not used to these things,” She paused and looked at Pinkie, and then her eyes drifted to the scars at the base of her wings. “Which I wanted to talk to you about, Pinkie I uh, I heard part of what you said to the Cakes, and I just wondered if you wanted to talk about it, I won’t tell the others unless you want me to but-.” She paused searching for the right words, “Whenever you want to talk, be it now or not at all just know that I’m here for you.” She put her hot pink hoof on her friend’s shoulder. Pinkie was silent, and tried to look away with tears pricking her eyes.
“I never wanted to talk about it before, because I had no hope of ever flying again but now. I have no idea how to bring it up I’ve been avoiding it for so long. How do I even start-“ Pinkie said, sniffling and trying to wipe her eyes as her hair went flat.
“Do you want to go inside and talk to everyone about it at once or do you want to just hang out here?” Twilight asked tentatively after a moment, hugging her brown and pink friend. Pinkie simply pointed back to the tower they were all staying in and Twilight teleported them.
Twilight teleporting in after trying to fly had become a regular occurrence so no one really looked, until Rainbow noticed Pinkies flat hair and ushered everyone over into a group hug. Which she wasn’t normally the biggest fan of but she would do this for Pinkie.
“Do you want me to start? Just with what I think I know and then you can correct anything? Would that make it easier?” Pinkie just nodded. With a deep breath Twilight began. “When I took Pinkie back to Ponyville to grab her stuff she ran down to talk to the cakes as soon as we got there and just handed me some boxes, but I didn’t know what she wanted in the boxes, so I went down to ask and when I got there.” Twilight paused for a moment looking at Pinkie sadly. “When I got down there, she was talking to the cakes and said she had gotten them back, while she was holding her wings out. Which didn’t make sense to me but then I noticed that her scars were right where her wings were, and the feathers, and how small she is. Which is so small for an earth pony…” Rainbow and Fluttershy could be heard gasping in horror as they connected the dots, mainly Rainbow Dash.
“Pinkie were you actually a Pegasus?” Rainbow asked, horrified, remembering little things she had just figured was Pinkie being Pinkie. That she hadn’t been scared at all in the air like most earth ponies would have been when Pinkie was trying to hang out with her and Gilda. How light she was, like Twilight had said how small she was. Pinkie had told her that her grandmother was a pegasus so that where she had thought the feathers came from, it wasn’t unheard of, but it was rare. She couldn’t imagine losing her wings. When Rainbow had asked about the scars Pinkie had told her they were from a rock fall accident when she still lived on the rock farm. Rainbow hadn’t questioned it at the time, but she wished she had now, those scars were much to symmetrical to be from an accident.
“I was, when I was a filly, I was always flying off to avoid working with the rocks. I wasn’t as strong as everyone else. It hurt my hooves to try to smash the rocks like my sisters did. My dad got really, really mad about it. He was always trying to punish me in different ways, One time I tried to show him that I could pressurize the rain in a cloud to go super fast in a small stream and cut rocks like that, but it wasn’t the ‘right way to do it’ So he-“ Pinkie paused looking at her hooves. “One night while I was sleeping, he took me to someplace, I don’t know where I woke up after we were already inside, somepony was trying to hook up a mask to my face. There was a colt not far away, he was a similar color to me, he had feathers but no wings. And his parents were there too. They looked rich, and really sad. Then when I woke up back home in bed, my wings were-” she stopped closing her eyes painfully. “My mom was livid, but she couldn’t leave him. The rock farm was his if she left with me and my sisters, and the foal she was pregnant with, we wouldn’t have anything. So, my mom found me an apprenticeship with the Cakes since my special talent was baking and throwing parties. I haven’t been back since. I write letters to my sisters a lot. I have a little brother I never got to meet.”
“So, your poor mother, sisters and little brother are still with that awful man? That’s absolutely atrocious, I cannot fathom ever doing that to your own foal, I’m so sorry Pinkie nopony, and especially not you deserve that.” Rarity said hotly, absolutely shocked. She had her suspicion about Pinkie before, she was rather small for an earth pony. But she never imagined it would have been this.
“So that’s why you didn’t want to go to the rock farm… are your mother and siblings going to be able to make it to the coronation? What are they going to tell your father?” Twilight asked. She was sure Pinkie wanted them to come but what would they even tell her father? Pinkie just shook her head sadly.
“Well darling now that we’re royalty we could just help your mother leave him. We have the money now; we could even send that despicable man to jail for his crimes. What he did to you is very illegal Pinkie. Even if he had medical jurisdiction over you as your father, unless there was a medical reason to take your wings, or you had agreed to give them to that colt. He can’t just have you amputated because he wants to.” Rarity said putting her wing around Pinkie. The black alicorn was clearly boiling inside, ready to tear the stallion apart herself need be.
“I could also simply go beat the absolute shit out of him.” Rainbow said getting a glare from Twilight but a loud laugh from Pinkie whose hair was slowly returning to normal.
“As much as I like that idea Dashie I think Rarity’s plan will help more in the long run. Besides the jail one, I don’t want to go to trial and all that, it’s too stuffy and boring.“ Pinkie gave the excuse of it being boring instead of admitting that she just didn’t want to see her father at all which included a court of law.
“I’ll talk to Celestia and Luna about it later, ok?” Twilight said, “Since we haven’t had our own funds set up yet.” Pinkie nodded and for the rest of the night they all watched movies played Pinkies favorite games and ate way too many sweets. And Twilight did in fact talk to Luna about it although not how she expected. She was having a rather anxious dream that night about the coronation, and the noble ponies’ reactions to six new princesses. When Luna appeared in her dreams, which had been happening quite a bit more than Twilight wanted to admit to.
“Well, hello again Twilight” Luna said with an amused smile as she flew through the giant floating head of an angry noble pony. Twilight sighed but gave Luna a soft smile. They had started growing close since Twilight had been in Canterlot again, especially given her tendency to be up quite late into the night.
Twilight leaned into the hug Luna gave her when she landed giving her a soft but tired smile. “I don’t think you have any idea how glad I am to see you the headache that they were giving me.” Twilight joked pointing a hoof at the remaining floating heads that had suddenly gone quiet, although they continued to glare down. Then she remembered “Oh! There was actually something I wanted to talk to you and Celestia about,” Luna simply sat next to Twilight although she did look a little annoyed that Twilight was changing the subject from why Luna was really here. “It’s about Pinkie… She-“
“She finally told all of you, didn’t she?” Luna asked somberly. Twilight nodded, but a look of confusion ran across her face. “All six of you have been having nightmares since becoming alicorns. Rainbow’s were about her body suddenly becoming very tall and lanky like Celestia’s preventing her from doing her stunt flight, also coming to terms with now being unable to join the wonderbolts. Since with Alicorn Magic her magic has caused her to become far to powerful to do stunt flying with them without potentially injuring them. Rarity has been worried if she continues her fashion design ponies will only buy her clothing because she is a princess. That and worrying about whether she is worthy of becoming an alicorn in the first place.”
“Fluttershy is worried about leaving all her animals on the planned trip as well as all the attention being a princess is now going to bring her. Applejack is worried about missing time with Granny Smith, about how the farms doing without her, what Applebloom is getting into without her.” Luna paused, a somber look on her face despite the words that came next. “But I reassured them in the end, almost all their worries quelled. That is besides Pinkie Pie. She isn’t worried about a single thing she’s just.” Luna shifted uncomfortably on her hooves.
“She keeps having nightmares about when her father had her wings taken away. So happy to have them back but the painfully memories her new wings have brought with them are very hard to deal with.” Luna shook her head sadly.
“I had no idea the other girls have been so worried, no one has been talking about it.” Twilight sighed shaking her head. “Pinkie is upset that her mom and her sisters won’t be able to come to the coronation because of her dad, an-“ Luna cut her off putting a hoof in the dark purple alicorns mouth.
“You mean to tell me; her mother did not leave her father? After that?” Luna said flabbergasted. Twilight, looking rather annoyed, removed Luna’s hoof from her mouth.
“They couldn’t afford it. Pinkies dad is the one that holds ownership of the rock farm. Her mom and her siblings would have nowhere to go and no money. But that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I was just going to ask both you and Celestia in the morning, but since were already here.” She said gesturing at the noble heads who were farther away but still just as angry. “Rarity had the idea of just. Giving Pinkies mother and siblings enough money to start their own lives and get rid of Igneous. Since were royalty now and all, but we also don’t have our own funds set up yet, right?” Luna simply nodded.
“I will take care of it, Cloudy Quartz has been having a hard time as well, I was going to visit her after you.” Twilight felt a twinge of sadness that Luna would be leaving so soon, this caused a slight change in the dream scape, the angry nobles having left it seemed, though the sky became darker with clouds. Luna, however, hadn’t seemed to notice, too deep in thought.
“Twilight before I go, you have nothing to be worried about. I know you know better than anypony how the nobles can be, but you’re above them now whether they like it or not, none of them even deserve their titles, but you Twilight? You have earned yours through hard work, saving Equestria multiple times, which is more than any of them would be willing or able to do.” And with that Luna was gone. Leaving Twilight with a small smile on her face as Luna’s words sank in.