“Pinkamena Diane Pie”
“A-are you sure you're okay, dear?” Ma asked after she once again stopped me right before I was about to head out of the front door. I closed my eyes and sighed lightly before I turned to face her. I opened my eyes again and stared at ma's wrinkled face. She's growing old...and...no, I need to stop thinking of these things.
“Yes ma, I'm fine,” I nodded as I slowly trotted towards her. “Really, I am...” Ever since that time when I suddenly collapsed out cold for no reason at all, ma's been bugging me every so often, and it's gotten annoying and tiresome, but... I...smiled...as I hugged her. “Don't worry. I'm fine.” I pulled out from the hug. “Really, I am.” I repeated, again, for her sake.
She stared at me with a look of worry that lasted for a few seconds before she sighed and smiled. “Well, all right dear. But please don't push yourself too much...okay?”
I nodded. “Of course!” I smiled, a bit wider this time. “Don't worry ma. With Blinkie, Inkie and I, we will have our farm back up and running before you know it!” I said it again... I tried to sound like I'm excited about it. Really though, I am but, seeing ma so old and weak like this is just...too much...
Ten years... I've been away from my family for ten long years... I wasn't there to witness ma growing old. I wasn't there when Inkie got abused by some of the pegasi ponies... I wasn't there when pa—
“You alright, Pinkie?”
“Uh?” I blinked.
“You've been clearing the same spot for a while now...” I turned and saw Blinkie was looking at me with concern. I blinked again and looked at the ground around me. There wasn't any snow in this spot now, but there are signs that I even shoved the very earthy ground that I wasn't meant to shove...
“S-sorry Blinkie...” I sighed. “I guess I was thinking too much again...”
Blinkie opened her mouth to say something, but a foal's sudden cry stopped her. We turned to the source and saw Inkie sat on the snowy ground and started shushing her little pegasus foal... And then, when the baby stopped crying, she began to gently rock the little foal on her hooves as she hummed him a tune. Inkie, while doing all those things, was...smiling... And it broke my heart. She was...used...and now she has to...to...
“I'm so sorry...” I whispered as a tear rolled down my face.
“Pinkie...”
“If only I wasn't stupid back then to leave the farm...” I brought a hoof to cover my eyes as I wept. I felt a hoof on my shoulder... It was...warm...and felt like I was safe...but... “It's—”
A hoof blocked my trembling lips. “Pinkie, we've been through this...” I slipped my hoof off of my eyes, and saw Blinkie's smiling face. She then removed her hoof on my lips. “It wasn't your fault that dad was so abusive and angry all the time...”
I sobbed and nodded. It may be true, but I shouldn't have left... If only I didn't, then maybe I could have helped more in the farm... Maybe I could have stopped those pegasi from harming Inkie... Maybe I could have said a lot more reassuring words to ma... I could have been with them. I could have smiled with them... I could have—
“There you go again, Pinkie...” Blinkie sighed with a smile. She looked back at Inkie, and so did I. Inkie smiled at us before she went back to shoving the snow off of the farm while carrying her little foal. “Maybe you should try and be strong from now on, yes?” Blinkie turned to me. “Instead of crying, yes? We could use the old you back.”
That's true, but I couldn't help but throw a hurtful frown at her. “He-hey... I'm a lot stronger now than before, you know...”
She nodded with a smirk. “So I see. With all of your crying and self-pity and all that, yes?”
I glared at her. I didn't need to be told that, but, I know she's just trying to lighten the mood for me, even though everything she just said were all true. But, I guess she's right. “I guess I've been crying like a wimp for too long now, huh?”
“You could write a book about it, yes.”
I glared at her again. “What's that suppose to mean?”
She chuckled before trotting away from me. “Just pull yourself together, Pinkie,” she stopped and turned her head over her shoulder to look at me with a smile. “I want my little sister back.”
I rolled my eyes. “I'll call you when I meet her.”
Blinkie just chuckled and trotted back to the area where she was shoving the snow. I grabbed my shovel with both hooves and went back to removing the snow. I'll need to remember fixing the damaged ground later. The rocks underground sure are taking their time growing gems inside of them... Sigh...
As I continued shoving the snow and ignored the sweat that were running down from my forehead, I wondered if this will be how my entire life was going to be. A decade ago, I left not only because of how abusive pa was, but also because I didn't want this kind of life...as my life. A rock farmer. Back then, I guess I never realized how profitable the gems were back in the days. It's kinda funny, now that I think about it. I left the farm because growing gems was boring, and then I was caught by the unicorns and forced me to dig up gems.
I guess my life does revolve around gems. I wonder if I should just accept that fact and live with it. I mean, it's kinda obvious that I'll be sticking here for all my life. But... I still don't have my cutie mark. They say that a cutie mark will mark a pony's destiny; of what a pony does in life.
My sisters both have cutie marks that are related to the farm. While I don't... Is that why I left the farm a long time ago? To find my place in the world? It was a stupid time to find my place in the world though... Sigh...
I shook my head. Cutie mark or no cutie mark, I should stay committed to my sisters and ma. They need me. They said that only a few more months, and it's harvesting season. Now that the war is over, I wonder who would purchase our gems. They said that the blasted pegasi ponies used the gems to use lightning against the unicorns. With the war over, what are the uses of these gems now?
“What is that?” I heard Inkie's concerned voice.
“Huh?” I stopped shoving the snow and turned to where Inkie was. She was staring at the sky, where far in the distance was a black dot, growing bigger and bigger. “A... A carriage?” I blurted out in confusion. I've seen lots of those back in Unicornia, but why would one be flying here? Wait, no. Maybe it'll just fly by. I sure hope so. Then again, if they're here for trouble, then at least I have my shovel.
As the carriage was about to fly by, which I hoped it would, it hovered in place, just above our farm. I heard Blinkie tsk'ed and asked Inkie to go back inside. Inkie nodded and trotted back to the house while Blinkie and I prepared our shovels. It's weird that pegasi are the ones flying a unicornian carriage.
The carriage began to lower as I trotted to Blinkie's side, shovel in tow.
“Oh, hey look!” I heard a vaguely familiar voice from the carriage. I have heard that voice before, but where? I squinted my eyes and saw a purple little dragon on the carriage, waving his claw at me. “It's the pink pony!”
“You know them?” Blinkie asked as a few pony heads popped out of the carriage and were all looking at us.
“I...guess so...?” I replied awkwardly. “Yeah, yeah I do.” I looked at my sister. “I just hope they won't cause trouble...”
Blinkie arched me an eyebrow before facing the carriage again, which just landed a few hooves from us. The purple little dragon jumped off as soon as the pegasi stallions groaned and sighed in relief and began their stretching. I felt my eye twitched.
Soon, there were more ponies trotting out of the carriage, and now all stood behind the smiling little dragon. I then heard our house's door creaked open. I turned and saw Inkie and ma trotting out side by side. I smiled at them, and hoped that it was reassuring enough for them, before I turned back at our unexpected visitors.
“We are very sorry to have arrived unannounced to your property,” spoke Shining Armor, “but we came here with the belief that a portal's located around here.”
“A portal?” Blinkie asked. She shook her head and stared angrily at them. “I am not comfortable with your presence in our farm,” she continued, and then glared at the pegasi stallions, who regarded her with curious stares, “especially with pegasi,” she hissed before facing the unicorns, “so state your business clearly, else I swear, snow will turn red from this day forth.”
Shining Armor and Twilight, who were standing side by side, winced, and so were the rest of the ponies.
“We promise that we didn't come here for trouble,” Twilight reasoned out.
The little dragon nodded. “Yeah. So, please believe us! We're just looking for the portal to help Jay!”
“And why should we be concerned about this ‘Jay’?” I asked with a glare of my own. The dragon and his few friends behind him might have helped me return to my family, but they brought many ponies that I don't know of.
“Jay is... Ah, sorry. I meant Gold Blitz!” the dragon pointed out. Gold Blitz? That brown earth pony? “Jay is Gold Blitz's name from the other side of the portal...” He then rolled his eyes. “Sheesh, do I really have to repeat saying that over and over again?”