//------------------------------// // Trip Report // Story: Sweet, Solemn, Sad // by Shingo //------------------------------// Pinkie sat in an open room on a plush velvet couch. A lamp on an end table was beside her and six metal balls, all attached to the same frame. A coffee table with a box of crayons on top of a stack of paper sat in front of her. The pink pony happily hummed to herself while bobbing her head to her rhythm. The door beside her opened up and three ponies entered the room: a violet alicorn wearing a lab coat with her mane tied in a bun, a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail, and a butter yellow pegasus with her mane covering her right eye. “Pinkie,” the alicorn said. “You’re going to have some of our friends participating with you.” “Hi Doctor Princess Twilight!” Pinkie greeted. She gasped as her eyes fell on the pegasai. “Oh my gosh! Hi Dashie! Hi Fluttershy! Are you here because you’ve hit a block too?!” “Hey Pinkie,” Rainbow said. “You could say that. I haven’t been able to think of a new routine for months.” “What about you, Fluttershy?” Fluttershy rubbed her hoof along the carpet. “I’m scared.” “Fears can’t hurt you, Fluttershy.” Pinkie offered a big smile. “All you have to do is laugh and they’ll-“ “If I laugh, he’ll get hurt,” Fluttershy interrupted. “I don’t want to hurt him.” “Him?” Pinkie tapped her chin. “Who would you hurt by… oh.” “He’s bigger,” the canary pegasus mumbled. “And he terrifies me, even though he’s my friend.” Pinkie leapt off the couch. She grabbed Fluttershy up in a soft yet firm hug. Fluttershy smiled and returned it. Twilight coughed. “Ordinarily I’d join you two in a hug, but we’re burning daylight.” She gestured to the couch. “And you do not want to do this at night.” “So,” Rainbow flopped onto it. “What exactly are we doing? I know that Pinkie and I are going to get a creative boost from it and it’ll help Fluttershy deal with Spike, but what we going to do for it? Write a test? Because I’d rather model for Rarity than write a test.” “You’re not writing a test.” Twilight levitated a clipboard to her. She scribbled along its surface. “You’re going to be taking a chemical that’ll interact with your consciousness. And I’m going to administer the chemical as well as act as a facilitator to make sure you’re safe.” “Chemical?” Fluttershy asked. “It’s not dangerous, is it?” “It’s not toxic if that’s what you mean.” Twilight continued writing. “The chemical itself can’t hurt you. But your mind is a different story.” She placed the clipboard down. “You’ve all signed the release forms, but let me warn you. You may be taken to a state of pure bliss, or fall into the deepest darkest hell that you can imagine.” Fluttershy and Pinkie held each other, their eyes growing in terror. Rainbow rolled her eyes. “But both of them are equally healing,” she continued. “Embrace it and don’t fight it. If you really want to escape, take a couple of deep breaths. Understand?” The volunteers nodded. “Good. I’m going to observe the effects on your brains while the chemical is interacting with it. We’ve provided everything you’ll need for this to be a safe and relaxing environment.” Pinkie raised her hoof. “Yes Pinkie?” “What’s this chemical going to be used for?” she asked. “For medicine.” The colour in Twilight’s eyes faded slightly. “There are ponies who are hurting because their own minds are trying to kill them. Most medicine hasn’t worked on them. So we’re using this as an alternative. But because the EDA hasn’t approved this for mass distribution yet, we have to run experiments.” Pinkie nodded. “Okay.” “Any other questions?” Twilight’s volunteers were silent. “Then let’s begin. How would you like to take the psilocybin? Capsule or mushroom?” ~~~ The world was nothing but a black expanse for Pinkie. Her hind legs were tucked to her chest and her forelegs were wrapped around them. She floated in liquid but she was dry. The space felt safe, the space felt warm, the space felt welcoming. Sound was muted and everything incoherent. Pinkie smiled, or she thought she did, everything was perfect. She opened her eyes with a gasp. Pinkie twitched as she felt something dripping off her. The room’s colours looked as if they were made with water colours. To her right was a cyan fur stretched over a caricature of a pony. The caricature moved a green stick over a white rectangle. A trail of green spread on the square. Beside the cyan was a yellow back with strands of pink at both of its ends. It giggled to itself and couldn’t seem to move. The left end faced Pinkie, showing wide turquoise eyes and toothy smile. Immediately, they turned back and the giggling resumed. Pinkie looked to her left. She found a violet brush of paint holding out a yellow circle. “Here Pinkie,” it said. “Eat this. You’ll feel better.” Pinkie grabbed the circle. It formed a yellow plum with splotches of red at its bottom. The colours swirled together while the dimensions shift. The plum felt liquid in her hooves, but she was aware that it was solid. “Should we be concerned?” the caricature asked. “We’ve been trying to get her to eat that plum for the past two hours, but she hasn’t eaten it. And she’s not acting like Flutters and me.” “She should be fine, though I’ll admit I’m surprised that she’s been able to sit still for three straight hours,” the paint said. “She’s probably very introspective right now. I wouldn’t be surprised if…” The paint’s words became muffled to Pinkie. Her eyes drifted down while she yawned. Darkness slowly covered her vision. She placed the plum beside her just as the last of the light disappeared. Pinkie was once again floating in a dark void. She could feel roots spreading from her chest out in all directions. Her heartbeat was in her ears as the roots spread. She could feel it beating, soothing her every worry. A smile stretched across her face. The roots connected to another, and she felt a second heart in tune with her own. Roots spread from the second heart to another, followed by another, and another. With each new connection, Pinkie felt another heart beating along with hers. It grew from tens, to hundreds, to thousands in a matter of seconds. Once the roots stopped, Pinkie felt over six billion hearts beating along with her own. Each fell into a single rhythm, never stopping or missing a beat. This is so warm. I feel, so light, so wonderful. She placed a hoof on her chest. Everyone’s happiness, their sadness, their ambitions, their love, it’s amazing. ~~~ Pinkie blinked and the colours in the room become semi realistic. Everything was bright with their colours slightly oversaturated. A click to the right captured her attention. Sitting on the floor were Rainbow and Fluttershy, a chess set between them. Rainbow lifted a knight and placed it up and to the right. She looked up at Pinkie. Her pupils were dilated and a smile was stretched across her muzzle. “Welcome back,” she said. “How was your trip?” “I don’t think I can put it in words for any pony.” Pinkie held up a stack of paper. A detailed crayon sketch with Pinkie floating in the center of a black space underneath the word ‘Connection’ had been drawn on the first sheet. “So I made a comic to show them!” “So it was good?” Pinkie nodded. “I’m amazed you can say that.” Fluttershy took one of Rainbow’s rooks with a bishop. “You were sitting in that couch for eight hours.” “And yet I got just as much data from her as I did from you two.” Just over a dozen pieces of parchment floated around Twilight with just as many quills scratching into them. “How do you each feel?” “Amazing,” Pinkie gushed. “Like I woke up from a comfortable nap.” Rainbow moved her queen. “Or like I took the first sip of coffee that’s at the right temperature.” “Calm.” Fluttershy stretched her wings. “And everything looks so beautiful.” “That’ll be the afterglow. It’ll last a couple of hours.” Twilight handed two sheets to each of her pegasus friends. “In a month, I’d like you all to fill these out. Rainbow, I want you to get Rarity to answer these questions about you at the same time. Fluttershy, get Applejack to do the same as Rarity.” Five sheets were handed to Pinkie. “And Pinkie, get the Cakes to do the same.” “Sure.” Rainbow tucked the sheets under her wing. “Get what you were looking for, Twi?” “I think so.” Twilight stood up. “Come on, I’ll walk you three home.” Fluttershy pushed all of the pieces into a nearby box. As she cleaned, Pinkie and Rainbow stretched. Twilight placed a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder. “You alright?” “Alright doesn’t begin to describe it, Twilight,” Pinkie giggled. She placed a hoof on Twilight’s chest. “I felt every heart on the planet.” “Literally or metaphorically?” “It’s a mystery!” Pinkie said in a faux wail. Twilight giggled as her parchment bound themselves together. Fluttershy opened the door, leading the four out. Pinkie casually cantered at the end. She stopped at the doorway, flicking the lamp off. The shadows in the office were a deep shade of purple rather than dark to her. She smiled at the distorted beauty as she closed the door with a click.