"I'm worried about her, Carrot."
To be fair, Cup Cake was a chronic worrier. She worried about nearly everything, whether her worries were warranted or not. She had worried about what her family would think when she married Carrot. She had worried about starting their business venture in Ponyville. She worried each and every time a recipe didn't come out perfectly. Her worries were often silly, and Carrot would do his best to comfort her and tell her gently that she didn't need to worry. This time was a little harder.
Taking in a pony as young as their newest apprentice was a questionable practice in itself. Besides the difficulty of working around child labor laws, dealing with a filly that age would have been trying under normal circumstances. This filly was like nopony they'd ever dealt with before. Pinkie Pie was a constant ball of energy, always running around and wearing the two out, and at times calming her down seemed like an insurmountable task. They couldn't get upset with her for it, though. It was even harder to be mad at her than it was to calm her down. She was unstoppable, but her unstoppability was partnered with unending cheeriness. She brought smiles everywhere she went, a trait which the customers of Sugarcube Corner appreciated greatly. Even when a bout of overexcitement resulted in a mess in the kitchen or a ruined display, Cup and Carrot couldn't bring themselves to stay mad at that cheery pink pony.
There was only one time each day (other than her bedtime) at which Pinkie was not leaking effervescence. Every single day at 12:00, she'd stop whatever she was doing. Even if she was right in the middle of something, she'd drop everything. She would head straight outside to the mailbox and proceed to sit still and wait for the mail to arrive. She would do this every single day, telling the Cakes that she was hoping to hear from her family. Every day she would wait, and every day she would end up disappointed. Her disappointment wouldn't last terribly long; she'd be back to her normal self within minutes. Still, those few moments were torture for both her and the Cakes. To see such a happy pony in such a state of depression was horrible, and they were thankful that it only lasted a few minutes.
The two ponies watched from the window as Pinkie sat by the mailbox, just as she'd done every day for the past three months. The Cakes watched the mailpony approach, and felt anticipation build up within themselves. They'd become nearly as emotionally invested in this as Pinkie, hoping that she'd finally get the letter she was waiting for. They watched, unable to hear the conversation through the glass, as Pinkie hopped up and questioned the mailpony excitedly. Their hearts sank along with Pinkie's as the mailpony gave her a deeply apologetic look and shook his head. Even after the mailpony left, the dejected pink pony sat and stared at the mailbox, her ears drooped. The Cakes gave each other a look.
"Do you want me to go talk to her, pudding?" Carrot asked. Cup shook her head.
"We'll both go talk to her," she responded. Carrot nodded solemnly, and the two headed outside, joining the filly on the lawn.
"Are you okay, Pinkie?" Cup asked. Pinkie looked up at her with big filly eyes.
"They're not writing back, are they?" Pinkie asked, a hint of pain in her voice.
"Pinkie, don't..." Carrot started, but he too was silenced by the filly's sad gaze.
"They're better off without me, aren't they?" Pinkie asked, clearly not expecting an answer. She sniffled once, and the couple wrapped her up in a tight hug. The little filly whimpered softly in their embrace, taking in their affections for a good minute before letting go.
"You can let it all out if you're angry with them, sweetie," Cup told her, patting her gently on the back. Pinkie shook her head.
"I'm not angry," she said. "I'm sad, but if they're really better off without me there, then I'm happy that they're happy. And if they decide they want to see me again, then that's great. But if they don't, then that's okay too, as long as they're happy."
"That's very mature of you, Pinkie," Carrot said, ruffling her mane. "Come on inside. We'll make you a nice batch of cupcakes, alright?" Pinkie nodded, and Carrot lifted her up onto his back, leading the group inside.
Pinkie didn't wait by the mailbox the next day.
~~~~~~~~~~
It wasn't like Octavia to be late. At least that was what the other members of her orchestra had told Pinkie. According to them, Octavia was often the very first to arrive at any of their engagements.
"Calm down, Pinkie," Twilight told her friend, in an attempt to be helpful. "I'm sure everything is fine, and she'll be back any moment."
"But what if she doesn't come back?" Pinkie asked, panicking. "What if she got home and tried to ask Aquarina to come to Ponyville but she said no and then she asked again and Aquarina got mad and used a hypnosis machine on her to make her forget that I was her sister and then she told her that some other pony was her sister and then it became true and that other pony became Pinkie Pie and then I had to change my name since there can be only one Pinkie Pie so I had to take the other pony's old name and it was something like Burlap which doesn't even fit me at all and then you and the girls all decided to be friends with new Pinkie Pie instead of poor old Burlap? What then?!"
Twilight stared at her for a moment. Part of her was very confused, but at the same time, it was a bit of a relief to see Pinkie acting more like her old self again. A serious Pinkie Pie was something she wasn't used to, and a sad Pinkie Pie was something she wanted to avoid at all costs.
"That won't happen, Pinkie," Twilight finally answered with a smile. She wrapped a comforting leg around Pinkie. "And besides, we'd all be friends with you even if your name WAS Burlap." The pink mare smiled and hugged back, giving her dear friend an appreciative nuzzle.
"This is all very touching," Frederic interrupted from his piano bench, the slightest hint of derision in his voice. "But the fact remains that this is very uncharacteristic of Octavia. I do hope nothing's happened to her."
"I'm sure she's fine!" Pinkie said cheerfully, in direct contrast to her worries from mere moments ago. This contradiction confused Frederic and the other members of the orchestra, but to Twilight and her friends, it was nothing out of the ordinary for Pinkie Pie.
"Well, I certainly hope you're right," Frederic said. "We're supposed to be going on in about five minutes." The ponies looked up at the clock, and sure enough, time had passed far quicker than they'd expected. Pinkie poked her head through the curtain to get a look at the audience. The little concert area they'd set up in town hall was filling up fast. The rest of their good friends filled the VIP seats in front, save for one strangely vacant seat. Pinkie gave the crowd a smile and a wave before retracting her head from view.
"There are a LOT of ponies here!" the pink party pony told the others. "Practically everypony in Ponyville! The only ponies I can think of that are missing are..."
"Us?" came a voice from the entrance. Pinkie whirled around to meet Octavia's voice, and her smile grew even wider when she saw a bulky blue pony following her.
"AQUARINA!!" Pinkie shouted. In a flash, she cleared the room and pounced on her estranged sister. Aquarina, for her part, was bewildered. She'd had a feeling that Pinkamena would be accepting of a reunion, but time away from her sister's exuberance had removed its familiarity. Her first instinct, unearthed from her behavior as a filly, was to make a comment about how Pinkamena needed to calm down. She quickly decided against such actions, choosing instead to wrap her long-lost sister in a tight embrace.
"Pinkamena..." Aquarina sighed, running one hoof through her poofy mane. "I'm so sorry..."
"For what, nearly crushing me?" Pinkie asked with a giggle. "You've really put some muscle into your hustle!" The blue mare blushed lightly.
"We'll, I have been doing most of the work around the farm for a while now," Aquarina said, giving her one more squeeze before letting go. "But that's not what I meant. I wanted to apologize for..."
"I know, I know," Pinkie said. "For being a bit bossy when we were young." She booped Aquarina's nose with a hoof. "It's okay. I understand. You were only trying to look out for us. I forgive you, and I still love you." Aquarina smiled slightly. Pinkamena was saying most of what she wanted to say for her. There was still the matter, though, of her biggest wrongdoing, and there was no possible way that Pinkamena would be able to get this one. She looked at her estranged sister, trying to figure out how to tell her about the years of betrayal and secret-keeping.
"W-well...yes, that's part of it," the blue mare said, feeling a lump rise in her throat. "But what I really need to apologize to you for is..." Pinkie put her hoof up to Aquarina's mouth before she could continue. Aquarina looked into her eyes; there was a look of peace and love in those baby blue eyes, a look that stopped her dead in her tracks.
"I don't care, Aquarina," Pinkie said quietly. "Whatever it is, I don't care right now. Right now, I'm just happy to have both of my sisters back." Aquarina bit her lip, feeling tears coming on. She wrapped Pinkie and Octavia up in a big group hug, one which both mares were happy to reciprocate. The hug lasted for a good while, and even Twilight felt herself begin to tear up as she watched the reunited sisters hold each other close. She wanted to join in,but figured it was best to let them have their moment by themselves.
"I'm really sorry to break up this happy moment," Frederic said, giving Octavia's shoulder a nudge. "But it's time we went on. We don't want to keep the crowd waiting." Octavia gasped as she realized what time it was, and squirmed to try and get out of the group hug.
"I'm sorry, girls," Octavia said, trotting over to her cello case. "We'll all catch up after the concert, alright? Besides, that'll give you two some time together." Aquarina smiled and nodded, giving her a wave to go ahead. Pinkie, however, stopped her.
"Ooh, before you go!" the party pony interrupted, holding her back. "I still feel really really awful about ruining your opportunity at the Grand Galloping Gala, sooooooo I called in a favor!"
"What do you mean?" the confused gray mare asked.
"You'll see~!" Pinkie responded in a singsongy tone before grabbing her older sister. "C'mon Aquarina let's go!" In a flash, the two of them, as well as Twilight, had absconded to take their seats. Octavia and her band mates gave each other a look, before letting it go and heading out onto the stage. It didn't take Octavia too long to see what Pinkie's called-in favor was. She felt her knees go weak as she looked out into the crowd and saw none other than Princess Celestia sitting front and center alongside Pinkie, Twilight, and their friends. One look at her bandmates showed that they had a very similar reaction. Pinkie simply gave her sister a big smile and a "go ahead" gesture with her hooves.
"F-from the top, everypony," a newly-nervous Frederic instructed the rest of the orchestra. Octavia readied her instrument, mouthing a "thank you" to her sister. The musician drew her bow along the cello strings, filling the little concert area with her passionate music. She had always been talented with her instrument since she'd began to work with it, and her passion for it was always evident, but she could swear that something felt different about this time. Her heart was always in her music, but for the first time in a good while, perhaps since before Pinkie had left home, her heart truly felt whole.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Mom! We're home!"
Octavia and Aquarina were in a state of jubilation, and for good reason. Things were finally looking up for their little family. Both sisters had finally reunited with their estranged third, an occurrence that neither of them had expected to happen at all. They planned on surprising their parents by arriving home with Pinkie in tow, but Pinkie had opted to lag behind, promising that she would arrive shortly after. Neither of them had a problem with this; they had a lot of news to surprise their parents with, after all, and this gave them the opportunity to save the best for last. Finding their mom didn't take very long at all, as she met them outside hers and Pickerton's bedroom.
"Thank goodness you're home," Goodie said before the two could speak. "Your father's...y-you should come in and see him, right now." Her voice cracked as she spoke, and the two sisters looked at each other, worry setting in. That tone of voice could only mean one thing. The two entered the bedroom without hesitation, followed closely by Goodie.
Pickerton looked up from the bed. He smiled gently at his daughters, trying to look as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Such an illusion was impossible to pull off, however,. His hollow breathing was more evident than it had been in the last few weeks, and his attempts at ignoring the pain he was feeling only barely masked it. He feebly waved the family over. He hadn't been able to sit up properly for the last few days; this wave was the best he could muster.
"How was your trip to Ponyville?" he asked his daughters, his voice raspy.
"I-it went well, father," Octavia said, giving him a smile and reaching out to touch his foreleg. "The fundraiser was an amazing success...we earned enough bits to buy the farm."
"That's wonderful news, Octavia," the Pie family patriarch said, his smile growing. "I knew you girls could..." His sentence drifted away as he coughed, causing the mares to worry.
"A-and that's not all," Aquarina added, trying to bring the positivity back into the room. "Octavia's orchestra's been hired by Princess Celestia. They're going to be her personal orchestra for all royal events!" Their father's smile filled the room.
"That's my girl," he said quietly, rubbing her hoof. "It was only a matter of time, right?" Octavia nodded, biting her lip. She didn't like to show her sadness in front of her father. He needed all the smiles he could get.
"And we found-" Octavia began, but her sentence was interrupted by a cough.
"Girls..." Pickerton said weakly. "I love you so much..." Aquarina's hoof quickly joined Octavia's on her father's foreleg. The sisters huddled close to him, joined by Goodie.
"I don't have a lot of time left, girls..." Pickerton told them. "Please...I want to hear your song one more time." Octavia, fighting desperately to keep from crying, nodded and quickly took her cello out from its carrying case. She worried to herself about Pinkie, hoping she would be able to make it in time. She looked to Aquarina, and the look on her face told her that she was thinking along the same lines. Another cough broke them from their thoughts. Without another moment's hesitation, Aquarina began to sing her part. Her voice was slightly shaky, but still she sang as best she could, her beautiful operatic soprano ringing out. Octavia, taking a moment to wipe her eyes, brought her bow down, providing the bassline. Pickerton laid his head back on the pillow as the two harmonized flawlessly, pouring their emotions into their performance. Still, it was lacking one element.
As if it had been timed perfectly, the bedroom door creaked open. Goodie covered her mouth with a hoof, feeling tears form instantly as the pink mare poked her head into the room. She gave her mother a warm smile as she made her way up to her sisters. She opened her mouth and added her alto to the piece for the first time in years. Pickerton's ears perked up, and he turned to face the girls. As soon as he saw her, his eyes went wide.
"...Pinkamena..." he whispered, feeling his eyes water as well. Pinkie's voice trembled as she sang her part alongside her sisters, but still she pressed on, offering one hoof to her father. He took it, his grasp much more feeble than she'd ever felt it. The sisters continued their song for their parents, Aquarina taking it upon herself to hold their mother, who had succumbed to sobbing moments earlier. It was the first time in years that all five members of the immediate family were together, and by the time the song came to a close, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. The pink mare smiled to her father.
"Hi daddy," she said quietly. Pickerton just stared at her for a few moments, before pressing his front hooves against the bed. The rest of the family watched in wonder as he managed to summon up the strength to sit up for the first time in days.
"I missed you so much, Pinkamena..." he whispered. With that, the floodgates opened. Pinkie felt like a little filly again as her father and mother hugged her, tears cascading down her cheeks. Her sisters soon joined in, their little family reunited once more.
"I missed you all so much too," Pinkie said through sniffles. "I'm sorry I left, but..." Her sentence was cut off by her father covering her mouth with a hoof.
"Don't be," he told her, taking her hoof in his. "You needed it...and I can't tell you how proud I am of you for going out and following your dreams."
"I love you, daddy," Pinkie told him.
"I love you too, Pinkamena," he responded. "I love all of you." Pinkie felt his hold on her hoof begin to loosen. Her hoof shook and tried to reach for his again, but his hoof fell limp as he lay back on the bed and closed his eyes, a content smile on his face.