//------------------------------// // Beginnings // Story: Pinkie // by lordcurly972 //------------------------------// Pinkie Pie leaned her head against the shower wall and blankly stared in front of her. The water softly beat down on the top of her head. She focused on just feeling the water and listening to it. The sound was almost entrancing; she averted her gaze from the wall to the shower head. She watched as the steady stream of water poured from it. She closed her eyes and thought about the sleeping pills she had taken before getting into the shower. They would eventually take effect and she would fall into a deep sleep and left to drown in the ever rising water that was gathering in the tub. The reason she was doing this was unclear to her. She just couldn’t seem to find the happiness in life like she used to, ever since what she let happen to the Cake twins while they were under her watch. Her friends had tried consoling her, but soon left her to her own devices after several failed suicide attempts. They felt they should let her work things out own her own, they said if she truly wanted to commit suicide she would do so. The feeling of abandonment sent her into a deeper depression. She sought out counseling, but couldn’t afford the payments any longer. And thus she was left in this position, standing in the shower, waiting to die, with nothing but the soothing sound of running water to keep her from backing out. She could feel herself drifting off to sleep, it wouldn’t be long now. She inhaled deeply and slumped over into the tub of water letting it all fade to black. She awoke with a start in nothing but darkness. She blinked several times to see if her eyes could adjust and find any form of light, nothing. “Hello? Is anyone there?” She called out. She waited a few seconds but there was no response. She stood up and looked around her, nothing but darkness for as far as she could see. She lowered her gaze to the ground, or what she thought was the ground, “So this is what it’s like to be dead, to live in an eternity of darkness.” She picked her head up and began to walk forwards, maybe if she went far enough she would find something. After all, she had to do something for the eternity she would be here. As she walked forwards her hooves made a soft clacking sound with every step she took, as if she was walking on hard wood flooring. She listened intently on the sound, there was no echo. Meaning the space could travel on forever in all directions. The thought made her tremble, was she really going to be forced to live in this forever. What had she done? She doomed herself to nothing but darkness and emptiness. “I guess it’s better than living sad all the time though,” She thought out loud. She continued walking for what felt like hours, but who knows how long it truly was. The sense of time could have been different for wherever she was at. She was just about to lie down and give up when she caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a dim light. She stopped and reached up to rub her eyes. After rubbing them she blinked several times to see if her eyes weren’t just playing tricks on her. Once her vision focused, she was astonished to see that the light truly was there. She took off full gallop towards the light; she stopped just short of it and gazed upon it. It wasn’t like the light films and stories portray after you die. It was more like a light from an overhead lamp. She looked up to see if there was a beginning point, but it seemed to go on forever. Was there an end to anything in this strange place? She walked around the light, continuing to stare at it. What was its purpose? Why was this the only lit area of this never ending void? She stopped and stared at the ground beneath the light. And lying at its center was a music box, but not just any music box; it was Pound Cakes music box. Pinkie was stunned. Why was this here? Was someone trying to play some cruel joke on her, using her guilt as the punch line? She looked around to see if anyone would jump from the darkness. She couldn’t explain it but it felt as if someone or something was watching her. A chill ran down her spine. She stopped looking around and went back to the music box. Something was telling her to pick it up, some unknown force seemed to be pulling her towards it. She stepped into the light; it felt so warm and comforting. It seemed to wash her troubles away, for a short while it made her forget she was dead. It made her forget that she was trapped here, but as soon as the warmth had flooded her body it was gone again. She was brought back to reality. She looked down at the music box; she could see Pound Cakes name carved into the lid. Mr. Cake had gotten it for him his first day out of the hospital, a day after he was born. Pinkie was beginning to get choked up. She turned away from the box and began to cry. She turned back towards it and wiped the tears from her eyes. She took a few more moments to gain her composure back. After she stopped sniffling and her heart returned to her chest she reached out a hoof to touch the box. As soon as she came in contact with it the light overhead went out and a deafening beeping noise began. She threw her hooves up to cover her ears. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! It felt as if something was trying to bore its way into her skull. She began spinning around the emptiness. She pushed her hooves tighter against her ears. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! She couldn’t seem to keep the sound out. She curled up in a ball on the ground and began to tremble. She could feel the foam pouring from her mouth. It was going to kill her, but could she really die twice. She felt something trickling down her hoof; she knew her ears were bleeding. BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! She bit down on her bottom lip as tightly as she could. Foam continued to pour from her mouth, and she began to tremble harder. This was what she was doomed to live, this endless torture. Her entire hoof was covered in blood and more kept coming. She guessed this was what she deserved; this is what all ponies deserved for taking the easy way out. She would suffer many more years of depression rather than having to endure this torture. Suddenly, the beeping stopped, and was replaced with a cheerful tune. She opened her eyes, to her surprise she was lying in her bed. Sunlight streamed in through the window and illuminated the room. It appeared to be early morning, maybe eight o’clock. She held her hoof up to her face, no blood. She rubbed her mouth and ears. No blood, no foam. “Was it all a bad dream?” She asked herself, “All of it, the suicide attempt, the black void, the music box. But, it all felt so real.” She glanced around the room and she noticed something odd. This was the room above Sugar Cube Corner. She hadn’t stayed here since before the accident. She sat up in the bed and threw the covers off of her. How did she get here? She climbed out of the bed and stood at the center of the room. She looked around her; she was having trouble grasping reality. She didn’t know what to believe was real. Could all the life she had lived after the accident been a bad dream? Or was she dreaming at this very moment. Trying to think about it too hard made her head ache. She decided to let it alone for now and try and regain her bearings. She left the bedroom and went downstairs to the bakery. It was empty; it wasn’t too much of a surprise seeing as to how it wouldn’t open for another hour. As she looked around the bakery she noticed everything appeared to be brighter even though the shutters to the shop remained closed. Everything had a certain gleam to it, as if somepony had furiously cleaned the entire shop. She shrugged it off; it was probably the effect of waking up from such a horrible nightmare. She left the front of the shop and headed into the kitchen to look for Mr. and Mrs. Cake. She pushed the swinging doors open and walked into a completely empty kitchen. “Odd,” Pinkie muttered out loud, “the Cakes are usually up baking today’s batch by this time.” Pinkie noticed a note lying on the counter; she walked over to it and began reading it. “Dear Pinkie,” she read aloud, “went to Appleoosa for Southwestern Bake Off. We will be back on Saturday, look after the shop while we’re gone. Love, Mr. and Mrs. Cake.” Pinkie turned the paper over to see if anything was written on the back, then crumpled it up and threw the note away. Pinkie still felt that something was very odd, that something wasn’t quite right. She shrugged it off and walked back into the front of the shop to lift the shutters and started cleaning the place up for business today.