The google docs. version is here
Old Bonds
It was rather quiet at sugar cube corner that afternoon. The lunch rush had come and gone;
leaving Mr. And Mrs. Cake exhausted and they were taking a nap upstairs. Pinkie Pie was
humming a tune as she prepared to make another batch of cupcakes. Rainbow Dash was
sitting in the corner, sipping on a milkshake that she had got earlier, exhausted from being
on weather duty all day.
Rainbow dash looked on as her bubbly pink friend started mixing ingredients into a bowl for
the cupcake mixture. Then, an odd thought rushed into Dash’s head. Even though she and
the others had been friends with Pinkie for years, no one actually knew about the real Pinkie
Pie. Sure, they all knew about her family and how she got her cutie mark, but between then
and now, they all knew almost nothing about her. Dash’s curiosity got the better of her.
“Hey Pinkie,” She called out around the corner. The Pink energetic pony poked her head
around the corner “Yeah Dashie? What’s up?”Pinkie responded to her rainbow maned
friends call.
“How come you've never told me and the others about what happened between your
childhood and coming to Ponyville? I’m curious.” Rainbow asked, looking at her friend’s
suddenly surprised face.
Pinkie’s expression turned from surprised into somewhat annoyed one simply stating
gruffly “I don’t think that’s any of your business Rainbow Dash!” He let out a small huff and
returned to her cupcakes humming to herself as if nothing had happened. Rainbow dash got
up and trotted over to her friend with an apologetic look on her face.
With a hefty sigh, she remarked “I’m sorry Pinkie Pie. I didn't mean to pry. I was just curious
about your past is all...” Pinkie looked back over to her rainbow-maned friend and uttered “I
forgive you Rainbow. But sometimes even best friends have to have secrets...”
Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy were trotting along the path
to sugar cube corner, Almanac was lagging behind. She was extremely nervous; her heart
was pounding in her chest trying to make sense of the mix of emotions she was swimming in
right now. Twilight looked back on Almanac who was tossing her head back and forth with
worry and decided to hang back and talk to her.
“You guys go on ahead,” she said to her friends “I’m going to talk with Almanac.” Her friends
looked back at the nervous, deep blue unicorn and nodded to Twilight as they went onward
to sugar cube corner, as Twilight turned around and trotted alongside Almanac.
“Nervous?” Twilight asked Almanac who snapped out of trance-like state with a jump.
Almanac let out a small groan “Just a little.” She replied, laughing nervously. Twilight didn't
buy it. “So how do you know Pinkie Pie?” She asked inquisitively “It’s obvious you two were
at least friends at one point.” Almanac blushed brightly.
“We were close friends.” She replied quietly.
“How close?”
“Very close.” Almanac was as red as a ripe apple.
“Oh...” Twilight finally replied after an awkward silence. She realized that she was blushing
now and asked “So what happened to you two, I mean, did you have fight or something,
because from the way you’re blushing...” Almanac’ eyes shot wide open and turned to face
twilight, her face still glowing bright red.
“I’m not, blushing!” She said defensively “It’s just really hot out here. Why would I be
blushing? I mean it not like...” Twilight looked back at her, unconvinced. Almanac sighed
heavily and continued calmly “We didn't have a fight, she just left. I went over to see her
one day and her parent’s (Who thought we were only friends by the way) told me that she
had left that very morning. They said she had sent me a letter, but I never got it.” Almanac
had tears welling up in her eyes, she stopped and fell on haunches, rising up her right
foreleg to show Twilight “That’s where the first scar came from,” she continued. Twilight
sat down next to the distraught Unicorn, looking at the oldest of the four scars that lay
upon Almanac’s foreleg. She was scared for the mare sitting next to her. What could cause
a pony to harm themselves like that? Almanac must have been through a lot to have these
everlasting reminders of pain marked upon her foreleg. Twilight found herself putting a hoof
around the neck of the now bawling unicorn sitting beside her, who intently leaned against
Twilight’s chest, which was a little uncomfortable, but she let it slide.
“I’m scared, Twilight,” Almanac cried through her glistening silver eyes sniffing sadly “I’m
scared of what will happen when I walk into that cafe,” she pointed to the nearby sugar
cube corner, now looming in the sunset. “What if she says she doesn't want to see me?
What if she freaks out and runs off, what if...” Almanac felt Twilight’s hoof press softly
against her lips followed by a comforting “Shhhh...” from Twilight as the purple unicorn sat
her back up.
“Calm down Almanac,” Twilight consoled softly, “I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you again.
Besides, you know how bubbly Pinkie Pie is; she could never stay mad at one of her closest
friends.” Almanac laughed through her now drying tears, remembering a time when she had
started a mud fight with Pinkie and acidentically hit her square in the face. She remembered
Pinkie laughing it off like it was nothing and then giving her a big hug and giggling;
‘I could never stay mad at my bestest friend in the whole world!’
“There’s a smile!” Twilight cheerily commented as Almanac snapped out of the happy
memory. She sniffled once, wiped the tears from her face and said confidently “You’re right
Twilight Sparkle, I shouldn't get so worried about it.” She turned red again, scraping a hoof
in the path “I’m still a little nervous though...” She said shyly, covering her eyes with the
long fringe of her mane, as she realized that her hair band had fallen off her head. Twilight
gave out a slight chuckle and picked up the silver hair band that had fallen on the ground
next to her. She gave it back to Almanac who put in back in her hair, blushing. Twilight gave
her new friend a hug and then replied “Well then, it’s a good thing you've got a friend to
go in with you.” They both Laughed before setting off towards sugar cube corner ready for
Almanac to meet her old, dear friend.
Meanwhile, back at sugar cube corner, Rarity, Applejack and Fluttershy were sitting at a
table as Rainbow Dash listened intently as they told her about their visit to Almanac in
hospital. As they finished their story, Rainbow Dashed leaned in and whispered;
“I know you guys said that this Almanac was a good friend of Pinkie’s,” she turned around
to check on Pinkie Pie, who still busily cooking an apple pie for her friends. “But why all the
secrecy; surely we should be telling her that an old friend is coming to visit.”
Applejack interjected quietly “Coz’ Rarity here has inkling that Almanac and Pinkie were
more than just friends at one point. Why don’t you explain Rarity?” she finished, looking
over at the white unicorn sitting beside her. “Well,” Rarity started, “I could tell something
was up when she opened the card Pinkie had sent her at the hospital, why, she was so red
that she might as well have been a giant apple!” She snickered quietly, and then continued
“The thing that confirmed my suspicions is that on the way here, she was looking incredibly
distraught, so I put two and two together and deduced that Pinkie Pie and Almanac must
have had a romantic relationship at some point, but something went wrong and they must
have split up.” Rarity paused “This is all guess work mind you; Twilight should be able to fill
us in with the truth once she gets here,”
“Speaking of which,” Rainbow Dash asked “Where is Twilight?”
“Oh, she went back to talk with Almanac.” Fluttershy said. She didn't need to whisper, her
voice naturally quiet. “Almanac looked very upset; I hope she’s OK...”
With a *ping* of the oven timer, Pinkie pie yelled to her four friends “Pies done!” as she
brought over the steaming hot Apple pie to the table they were sitting at. As she put the pie
on the table, Twilight came through the door of the cafe and Pinkie turned around to greet
her “Hey Twilight!” She said in her usual cheery demeanor to her content looking friend
“What up?”
Twilight took a deep breath and replied “Hey Pinkie Pie, you know that pony that collapsed
in town a few weeks ago, well...” Pinkie bound up to Twilight and interrupted “Ooooo,
you mean that one with the cracked horn and scars? At first I thought it was some random
pony that needed help, but when you mentioned her name was Almanac I thought it
was someone I knew a very long time ago, but then I thought ‘Nah! It can’t be!’ because I
haven’t seen her in a very long time and she probably wouldn't even recognize me if she
saw me again,” Her long sentence was interrupted by the sound of hooves trotting through
the door of sugar cube corner, followed by the soft voice of a blue pony that Pinkie had
completely forgotten about all these years say...
“Pinkamina Diane Pie.”
Pinkies eyes shrank to points as she looked behind Twilight to see the beautiful Dark Blue
pony behind her, the one she had called her friend all those years ago. Pinkie could feel
herself welling up with tears. She couldn't move, she was caught, transfixed in the Blue
Pony’s sparkling Silver eyes. “A-Ali?” Pinkie Pie brought herself to whimper through a
curtain of tears. Almanac giggled at the nickname Pinkie given her in their childhood and
replied through teary eyes “It’s good to see you again,” Standing on her hind legs she invited
Pinkie Pie in for a hug and soon found herself wrapped in the arms of the overjoyed pink
mare. They cried over each other’s shoulders, Almanac pulling Pinkies Fluffy pink mane to
her nose and inhaling deeply. It smelt like cotton candy, just as she remembered “I See you
still use the same shampoo on that hair of yours after all these years,” Almanac laughed,
pulling her head away from the embrace to look into Pinkie’s sapphire blue eyes. Pinkie
simply nodded and the two began laughing through teary eyes, then locking themselves
back into the meaningful embrace hugging even tighter onto each other this time. Rarity
was at the table with her friends, bawling at the beautiful scene that unfurled before her.
“Of all the things I have ever seen,” She sniffed “This is perhaps the, most, beautiful,
THING!” She continued, Wailing at the top of her voice as her friends huddled around her,
tears also running down their faces as well. Even Rainbow Dash, who was normally an
emotional rock, had turned to a pile of sobbing mush before the two old friends.
Almanac couldn't have been happier in that moment. The emotions in her head were
running wild, so overjoyed that she was reunited with her friend. Suddenly, she realised
that her head was pounding, and not in a good way, as she winced at the pain and looked
over to the old friend she held in her forelegs. Pinkie Pie suddenly opened her eyes, her
Pinkie-sense kicking in. Ear flop, tail twitch and... Hoof Stomp? ‘That’s odd,’ Pinkie thought ‘I
haven’t had that combo since...’
“Oh no...” Pinkie whispered looking up at her old friend, still locked in their tight embrace,
to see that her eyes were wildly darting about the room, her breath panting in panic. Pinkie
looked up further above Almanac’s head, and backed away from her friend, horrified to see
her cracked horn arcing bolts of violet electricity all around the ground floor of sugar cube
corner.
“What’s going on Pinkie?!” Twilight shouted across the room, her other friends cowering
behind an upturned table as the bolts of electricity struck all around them. Pinkie looked
over to her confused and panic stricken purple friend and yelled “We need to get Almanac
outside now!” Almanac’s scream of pain interrupted Pinkie as the bolts of electricity
emanating from her horn increased in number and velocity. Twilight nodded nervously and
galloped over next to her pink friend, as they slowly pushed the hysterical Almanac out of
the now singed cafe.
Almanac was in agony, her head felt like a thunderstorm of pain and anguish. She tried to
thrash the pain out of her, but to no avail. All four of her legs, now planted firmly on the
ground, refused to budge, paralyzed by the fear she felt now as Pinkie and Twilight were
slowly pushing her out of the cafe into the cold night air inside. She looked up to see her
two friends, now panic stricken back away from her now static-charged body. The pain in
her head intensified as she felt a howl of pain escape her mouth, but she couldn't hear it
over the now almost solid wall of violet electricity enclosing around her. She managed to
open her eyes through waves of tears and now tunneling vision to look over into the poufy
pink unicorn’s brilliant blue eyes before the violet wall of energy sealed her away from the
rest of the world. She closed her eyes as the storm in her mind reached its climax, thinking
softly to herself before succumbing to the pain inside her;
‘I’m sorry Pinkie...’
Almost everypony in Equestria saw what happened next. The blue unicorn inside the curtain
of bright violet energy let out a long, loud, bloodcurdling scream that seemed to drown
out all other noises of the night as the wall of electricity around her retreated to a singular
point on the tip of the ponies cracked horn, glowing as brightly as the sun. Suddenly, the
poor unicorn continuing to scream, her back and head arched toward the sky, causing the
singular point of mass energy to explode into a huge bolt of lightning that shot directly into
the cloud covered, pitch black sky. As the powerful bolt of energy disappeared from sight,
the sky erupted into a brilliant aura of violet light, showering Ponyville and the surrounding
fields and towns in its magnificence.
Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy marveled at the
splendor of the spectacle that occurred above them, then looked back down at its source;
the deep blue pony that was now surrounded in a ring of black scorch marks which steamed
as it began to rain heavily above them. The paralyzed blue unicorn in the middle was staring
at the sky through the rain, unmoving, her eyes glazed over and wide. Almanac blinked once
to clear the rain from her eyes, before collapsing in a heap, and falling into the darkness of
her mind...