//------------------------------// // Part 1 // Story: Silent Ponyville: Reunion // by Chapter 17 //------------------------------// Silent Ponyville: Reunion The fear of loss tends to create fear of the truth. Part 1 ------ Something was wrong. As she walked in to start her shift there was a noticable abundance of worried faces and hushed voices in the lobby as she made her way to the front desk. She could hazard a guess as to what it regarded but thought it best not to jinx anything by saying it out loud. "Morning Nurse Cure. You might want to wing it up to the administrative office." The receptionist said, reading the look on the white coated pegasus mare's face before she could even speak a word. Oh no. "Thanks." She said with a prompt nod before turning and walking back out the front door. They did have a working elevator but it was primarily for injuried pegasus ponies that were unable to fly, for everypony else there was a series of entrance balconies, one for each floor, running up the side of the building in a column. Soft Cure flew right to the top where the clerical workers and the Cloudsdale General administrator kept the hospital in organized working order, away from the often hectic environment of the lower floors. It was impossible for anypony to miss the crowd of curious ponies babbling around the adminisrator's door. No no no no no no! "Don't you all have better things to be doing?" She scolded as she approached the group. They all glanced over to her, their excitable murmurs stopping for a moment before they resumed the wild mass guessing amongst themselves. Soft Cure gave an indignant gasp at being ignored and tried again, "I'm serious! Just get back to your desks, you're creating a scene!" She repeated with a stomp of her hoof. "Hun, the scene was made when the administrator pulled Lance in there lookin' like he'd just seen a ghost, if you wanted to keep a scene from being created you're a bit late." One of the clerical mares answered her finally. The nurse's eyes narrowed in irritation. "My name isn't 'hun'. The name tag that patients look at when they first meet me doesn't read 'Nurse Hun'." "Whatever, sweetie!" The mare answered dismissively before turning back to her circle of friends. Soft Cure glowered after her but decided it wasn't worth adding a petty spat between coworkers to the already tense atmosphere of the room, opting instead to just pace her nervous energy away while she waited. It wasn't much longer before the door opened and the room went silent as an amber colored colt in a white lab coat with a dark red mane who looked just shy of middle age stepped out with his gaze aimed low, closing the door behind him with a rear hoof. He then spotted the first pair of hooves in front of him and looked up at last to see the assembled crowd. "Were you all really so bored that you had to stand out here and wait?" Lance observed bitterly, squinting at all the ponies around him through eyes surrounded by dark rings of fatigue. "So did you just get fired or wha-URF!" A younger stockroom colt piped up only to be interrupted by a kick to the ribs by nurse Soft Cure. "Oh, go put some gauze rolls on a cart or something!" She chastised the colt as he retreated, aiming a sour look back at her. She then turned back on the crowd, "Everypony, back to work, nothing to see here, you've all got much more important things to be doing instead of pestering Dr. Strongshy!" There were a few grumbles but the administrative staff obliged her and dispersed back to their desks and their paper work. Soft Cure turned to face the doctor but before she could get a word out he had already stepped past her. She took a few quick steps to catch up before matching pace at his side. "Are you alright Lance?" "No." "What happened?" He didn't answer as they approached the floor's entrance port. Lance leaned forward a bit, looking down and taking a noticably long moment to gauge the drop to the third floor that housed his office. He stepped back, having to take a moment to regain his demonstrably poor balance before he took to the air and flew downward to the target floor. Nurse Soft Cure was right behind him, concern plain on her face as she watched him stumbling through actions he normally did without thinking every day. "What happened?" She repeated. "Do you really want to discuss this?" He asked with an obvious twinge of annoyance in his voice. "Of course I do." She replied immediately. "Then shut up and wait until we get to my office." He said in a harsh whisper. Her eyes widened briefly at the severity of his response, but she mentally shrugged it off and fell into silent step behind him. The moments passed by as Soft Cure tensely looked this way and that as though expecting an attack but they were soon safely in his office behind a sound deadening door. "I'm sorry to be so short with you nurse, but there are already enough sharks circling without adding more blood to the water by discussing such sensitive matters out in the hall where anypony passing by could hear them." He explained as he walked over to the section of wall dedicated to holding his medical degree and the various honors that been bestowed upon him for his years of work. He paused for a moment then shook his head to wake himself up a bit more. "You...you're not looking well." He ignored Soft Cure's observation and answered her earlier question instead, "My patients have suffered from a string of complications resulting from my treatments and surgeries recently. They were all mistakes. A misdiagnosis here, a poorly thought out prescription there, maybe throw in a poorly tied suture or two. Just yesterday one of my patients died in her sleep from post surgical internal bleeding that no doctor with my experience should have made the mistake of allowing to happen. Her family is filing a malpractice suit against the hospital, and the other patients I've misled and butchered the past week might be following behind them." "Oh...no...the administrator...he didn't...did he-" She did a poor job masking the rising panic in her voice but did not finish the question before she was interrupted. "No. Though they had every right to fire me if you ask me. Officially I'm just on vacation. Taking some time to clear my head." He looked away from the degree and accolades he had brought shame to and wandered over to his desk, opening one of the drawers and reaching inside, "Unofficially, they're questioning whether I'm worth keeping around, reputation or not, and I'm to hide away until they decide what to do with me." She let out a breath of relief, but the sharp panic only turned into a dull dread in her chest instead of dissipating altogether, "Lance, if there is anything I can do to help you, you had better tell me, alright?" "I will." He said, obviously not meaning it as he pulled a fresh bottle of pain pills from the drawer. He held it between his hooves and pulled the top off with his teeth before carelessly letting some spill out onto the desk. After seperating six from the rest he took the chosen pills in hoof and downed them without even bothering to get some water. The remaining strays were grouped together and then swept back into the bottle. While he did this Soft Cure furrowed her brow in thought, following a hunch as she walked over to the small trash bin next to his desk. Inside was a fairly alarming amount of empty pill bottles matching the one he had just taken double the recommended dose from. Her attention shifted back to him, noting that though he'd had lines under his eyes for years now they had been unusually severe for a while, not to mention the dark rings around his eyes. He also looked thinner, and now that she thought of it he hadn't seen him eat one bite in months. She had pulled off more than enough consecutive all nighters to know a very common cause of headaches, eye strain, and nausea... "Have you been sleeping well?" She asked, stepping over to stand in front of his desk. He flinched, face visibly darkening, "Nurse Soft Cure. I told you, just now, that if I need your help I will ask." "Well pardon me for not believing you after seeing you've let yourself get this bad. What is it? Insomnia? This is something we can treat you know." She persisted, but immediately regretted it. His hooves slammed onto the desk, causing Soft Cure to step back and lower her ears in wide eyed surprise as he released his anger full force upon her, his haggard eyes boring a hole straight through her, "Who are you to be talking to me about what we can and can not treat?! Do you think I haven't tried everything already?! Do I strike you as the type of pony who would simply allow this condition to persist?! If I could make any of the medications actually work I would endure sleeping as long as I needed to be at my best for my patients but it's like my brain just won't let me out of self preservation!" "E...endure sleeping? What...do you mean, endure sleeping?" She asked nervously. "I..." His anger seemed to dissipate and his head flopped down the desk with a sigh, "I feel like a stupid little foal saying this but...dreams." "...Nightmares?" Soft Cure asked raising an eyebrow in disbelief, "I don't get it...I mean, I can understand why you'd have them Lance. We've both seen some terrible things here...well, you more than me...uh...obviously." She coughed awkwardly, "I guess what I'm wondering is why now are they suddenly so bad that you can't sleep?" "I don't know." He closed his eyes to give them rest as he spoke, "I don't mean that in an 'I find it difficult to figure out' way either. I can't remember them when I wake up. But every time I can manage to fall asleep I'm forced awake by the dreams inside of two hours, like clockwork. I only remember what it's like waking up from them, and every time it's so traumatic for some reason that I immediately regret having fallen asleep." "Forgetting dreams isn't unusual but that doesn't leave us much to go on..." She brought a hoof to her chin and thought back. Soft Cure probably paid more attention to Lance than any other pony in the hospital, much to the detriment of a social life already atrophied by years of dedicated medical study. The mistakes on his part hadn't started all at once but she remembered thinking how odd they were coming from him of all ponies. At first they were small things she could just correct and move on without much more thought since really, catching little errors here and there and generally being a second set of eyes was just part of her job, but they had begun to add up until they were in this current mess. She first began to really notice it shortly after... "Lance...how long ago did this start?" He knew that tone. It was the one she used when asking a question she already knew the answer to. His only response was to open his eyes again, the dark look back on his face to warn her of the territory she was approaching. It was answer enough for her, so she simply asked her next question. "What did she say to y-" "That is none of your business and I would thank you to not press the issue." He cut her off sharply and lifted his head off the desk, "I'm going to fill out the proper paperwork to make sure my patients are all covered during my absence, and then I'm going to leave. Go start your shift." "But-" "Go. Start. Your shift." He repeated firmly. Soft Cure shot him a hurt look of worry before wordlessly walking out of his office. If, perhaps, she had been persistent enough she may have gotten some information from him, but that would only fray his nerves further. Besides, there were two sides to the conversation that had taken place that day, and if Lance wouldn't tell her anything there was another source to seek that she had always been much better at coercing... ------ "Oh my goodness oh my goodness oh my goodness!" The hurried pegasus muttered through the broom handle in her mouth while sweeping up the last remnants of the mess of bird seed that had been unleashed by a hungry little mouse chewing through the sack. The offending mouse squeaked for attention from his place in time out atop the nearby table as his tiny stomach rumbled, having been caught before he could partake of his ill gotten gains. The yellow pegasus turned towards him and frowned before setting the broom down at her hooves. "Don't you squeak at me in that tone of voice mister! You have your own food, you don't need to go stealing any bird food!" To another pony her brand of scolding might have been adorable but the mouse took it quite seriously, cowering back while aiming a devastatingly cute pair of big shiny eyes at his benefactor. Her face softened and she sighed before walking up to pet the little creature assuringly. "I'm sorry I raised my voice at you, Rainbow Dash is coming home from that air show in Stalliongrad she was invited to by the Wonderbolts later today, and we were going to go spend some time together this afternoon. That means I've got to get all of the chores done early, so I'm in an ever so urgent rush and perhaps a teensy bit on edge. But that doesn't change the fact that you still need to stay out of the other animal's food little friend, and if you're just a bit patient I'll be getting some food for you in no time, can you do that for me?" She explained and held her hoof out. The little mouse nodded in understanding and hopped aboard so Fluttershy could lower him back to the ground. He scampered across the floor and disappeared into the hole in the wall in which his family lived. "Good boy." She said after him with a warm smile on her face at last. It only lasted long enough for her to look back down and see the broom at her hooves, reminding her again of the task at hand and forcing another sigh out of her, "Right." She was about to pick the broom up again when she was interrupted by a familiar tug on her mane that directed her attention over to a white rabbit pointing at her front door. "Is something wrong Angel Bunny?" She asked as she knelt down to his level. He shook the paw pointing at her door for emphasis. "You want outside? But there's a rabbit door you can use already." She guessed, looking over at the small door in question. He shook his head. "Is something wrong with my front door?" She guessed again, examining her door to see if perhaps there was a rusty hinge. He shook his head more fervently and pointed again while stomping his foot for even further emphasis. "...do you want it painted a different color?" She was rather at a loss at this point. His paw hit his forehead hard enough to be audible before he pantomimed a knocking motion. "Oh, you want to tell a knock knock joke?" Fluttershy stood back up, sounding a bit more sure of her guess this time. Angel Bunny gave her the most deadpan stare he could manage. "Won't you need something to write with though?" She asked, recalling that though she could talk to animals, doing the reverse was always a bit more difficult. It was unclear where the little white rabbit had obtained a pillow on such short notice but one clearly hit the oblivious pegasus in the face just as a hoof knocked on her door. "Oh, somepony's at the door! Maybe Rainbow Dash got home early!" The smile returned to Fluttershy's face as she flew over to the door while Angel Bunny threw his paws in the air in a quite sarcastic celebratory gesture then hopped off to find a carrot. She hovered in front of the door to check if there were any small critters beneath her before she landed and pulled the door open. It was not Rainbow Dash. "Oh! Um, hello...can I help you?" Fluttershy instinctively shrank backward at the sight of the unfamiliar pony. It was a white coated mare wearing a conspicuously inconspicuous ensemble complete with sunglasses, a wide brimmed hat, and a plain mid length dress that hid her cutie mark. She didn't bother to offer her own greetings in return, instead just stepping in as Fluttershy was forced to move aside to accomodate her. The mysterious visitor turned and poked her head out of the door, looking around to see if anypony had seen her enter before she shut it. "I...I...guess you can...come in." Fluttershy practically squeaked. "Fluttershy, I need you tell me just one thing and then you never have to see me again." The incognito pony finally spoke up as she faced back towards her unwilling hostess. "N-nurse Soft Cure! What are you doing here?" She wasn't quite as nervous anymore. Their history was rocky to say the least, but at least this was a pony she actually knew! "Getting some answers is what I'm doing! Now, what did you say, or do, to Lance when you visited him?" Soft Cure asked as she pointed an accusing hoof. "Huh? Um...with all due respect Miss Cure...well...th-that's between my father and I." Fluttershy answered while taking a step away from the pointed hoof. "Let's not do this the hard way, what did you do?!" Soft Cure repeated and advanced menacingly. "I don't...I don't know what you're...t-talking about...we just talked." The familiarity did little to stop this new rattling of her nerves as she backed away and stuttered her reply. "Don't test me you little brat! Tell me!" Her blue eyes glowered at the younger pony over the top of her glasses. Fluttershy's rump bumped against the wall as she ran out of room and was forced into a sitting position to keep her head moving away from the childhood tormentor glaring daggers at her. "I didn't do anything to him Miss Cure! I wouldn't dream of it!" She adamantly denied as she remained practically pinned against the wall. Soft Cure stared at her silently for a moment before she raised her hoof and swiftly brought the back of it across her former charge's face, eliciting a yelp of pain from the frightened yellow mare. A heavy silence settled over the room as the nurse looked down at Fluttershy, who slowly brought a hoof up to her numbed, quickly bruising cheek as though her mind needed time to realize she had just been struck. "I didn't fly all the way over here and put up with that irritating pink pony who, by the way, gives the most rambling, useless directions ever, just to get back talk from you! Do you know what's happening to Lance?! No, of course you wouldn't, you abandoned him the first chance you got! I don't know what's going on in that head of his but I have been watching him wilt away ever since your visit, because of nightmares apparently so bad they make even a veteran doctor and surgeon unable to sleep! You said, or did something that set this off, and I have all day long to stay here and 'talk' to you until you tell me what it was!" The anger and bitterness that had built up over years of rejection quickly seeped into her voice as she spoke, reaching a crescendo that she punctuated by giving Fluttershy another hoof mark on the other side of her face to match the first. Tears ran down the element of kindness' face as the all too familiar pain of Soft Cure's hooves began to set in. She didn't feel the old grip of terror on her chest like before though. Nopony had ever laid a hoof on her in anger since that time long ago...since she was a little filly...a little filly being towered over by adult ponies with whom she looked eye to eye now. There was no fear, just an internal voice asking her why she was still putting up with this. She wouldn't raise a hoof in her own defense against her father...but against his nurse? Even the question faded from her mind then, replaced with something else entirely that turned her blank expression of shock into a scowl that would have made the little bird seed thief from earlier try to claw his way through a wall to get away. "Get out." Fluttershy growled in a low voice. "What?!" Soft Cure retorted through clenched teeth. "Get out." The bruised mare repeated, louder this time. "Don't you dare talk to me like that after all the trouble you've caused!" Soft Cure shouted as she brought her hoof up a third time. It would never get the chance to inflict a third bruise. "I SAID GET OUT!!!" Fluttershy screamed as she reared up and sent Soft Cure flying backward with a gust of wind from the strongest flap of her wings she could manage. The nurse landed with a pained grunt then quickly rolled back onto her hooves and stood, only to have the anger she had been venting suddenly snuffed out entirely. It seemed like a paradox that somepony so gentle looking would be able to wield a weapon so potent, but it seemed Fluttershy had inherited the soul crushing stare of her father. The tables had turned and now it was Soft Cure cowering away from Fluttershy, who stood her ground with wings flared out and head held high to make herself look as imposing as possible. "I am not a little filly anymore nurse Soft Cure! You can not just come into my house and hit me until I do what you say! You are not welcome here! Please leave!" Fluttershy demanded politely as she stared down her unexpected visitor full force. So focused were the two mares on each other that they neglected to notice the door opening. Soft Cure gulped in terror but managed to convince her hooves to stop carrying her back towards the door, her voice actually trembling as she replied, "I...can't...I can't leave until I find out how to help him. I'm...I'm not leaving!" "Uh, yeah." A third voice suddenly spoke from behind the nurse. Both mares turned to see a cyan pegasus familiar to both of them standing in the doorway looking none too pleased with the situation she had just walked into. "Yeah, I think you actually are leaving." Rainbow Dash said as she glared murder at Soft Cure while closing the door behind her, "But not just yet." "Rainbow Dash! You did get home early!" Fluttershy said happily, seeming to forget her rage of moments prior. She smiled gently, her bruised cheeks reminding her not to overdo it. "Care to explain those hoofmarks on my marefriend's face Ms. Only Other Pony In The Room?" Unlike Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash had no problem with playing the role of aggresor when the situation called for it, and did it ever. With a much more athletic looking and very, very angry pegasus blocking the only escape route she knew of, Soft Cure was suddenly sweating bullets. "You...you don't understand, I-" She stammered out before Rainbow Dash was directly in front of her in no seconds flat. "No I think I understand pretty well! You hit Fluttershy in the face!" There was a comical squeaking noise as the vengeful weather pony got right into the nurse's face, their snouts scrunching together, "Twice! What, did you feel like reminiscing about the good old days when you beat up poor abused little fillies?!" "But-" Rainbow Dash didn't bother letting her finish. Soft Cure was suddenly on the ground with a sky blue foreleg holding her in a headlock, "You are so lucky you work in a hospital lady!" "Wait!" Fluttershy cried out as she zipped over to stop things before they got out of hoof. The cyan pegasus answered with a groan of disbelief and looked up at the mare she loved, "Really? You're just gonna let her get away with it again?" Fluttershy nodded, "It's okay. I already told her she's not to come back ever again. Just let her leave." Rainbow Dash leveled one last glare down at the nurse trying to make her own grimace resemble a disarming smile, then sighed in exasperation and let her go before standing. "Fine. I was going to give her a pair of bruises to match yours, but I won't." Soft Cure let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as she too stood up. Unfortunately she made the mistake of not proceeding to move out of hoof's reach of her new nemesis. "Thank you ever so much Rainbow Da-" THWACK ------ "Okay everypony, is everything here?! It is! Yay! Oh my gosh this is gonna be the best surprise in the history of surprises! We're gonna get the Equestrian party record keeper ponies down here and tell them about it and they'll be like 'Wowie zowie an outdoor surprise party of this size in broad daylight, that's an Equestrian record!' but first Rainbow Dash is gonna come out and be like-" The door to Fluttershy's house burst open and Nurse Soft Cure careened out minus hat and sunglasses sporting a prominent black eye. After she landed on the ground in a heap she looked back in fright to see Rainbow Dash framed in the doorway. "If I see you in Ponyville again there's gonna be trouble!" "Hrm, no, that's not what she'd say after she saw all these super duper fantabulously fun decorations!" Pinkie continued obliviously as the party posse she had assembled gave a collective gasp at the goings on behind her. "Whoa...I was just out here two minutes ago, where'd all this come from?!" Rainbow Dash marveled, briefly forgetting recent events at the shock of seeing streamers, party hats, benches full of confectionery delights, and a large banner welcoming her back in large rainbow colored letters all seemingly materialize out of thin air in the short time she had been inside. Also there was a fully inflated bounce house. The question of how it was put up in less than two minutes still baffled Equestrian physics majors a great many years later. "Yeah that's more like it! ...also, SURPRISE!" Pinkie shouted merrily as she spun around to face the guest of honor. Her beaming smile faded after a few moments, realizing her fellow party posse members had missed a step before looking back at them, "Hey, we're all supposed to say it at once remember?" "Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy scolded as she stomped out the door behind her, "I told you not to...oh my!" She stopped in her tracks at the sight of the festivities, but was greeted with yet another chorus of gasps at the sight of her bruised face. "What's everypony so gaspy over?" She turned back to the two pegasi and got her answer, "Oh my gosh Fluttershy are you okay?!" She zipped over in a pink blur and started looking the yellow coated mare over at one angle after another in rapid succession, "Are you bleeding?! Are your teeth okay?! How many hooves am I holding up?! Does this hurt?!" "Ow." Fluttershy replied softy after Pinkie poked her cheek with a hoof, "I'm fine Pinkie, nothing an ice pack won't cure." "Well what happened? Did you get attacked by that roving gang of bandit squirrels I saw last week? Don't let their size fool you, those little critters can pack a punch, and I'm an expert on punch!" The pink party pony continued. "What happened is already taken care of and over, nopony needs to worry about it." Fluttershy assured her and the crowd. "Oh no! Her marefriend is beating on her and now she's making excuses to protect her! The horror!" Lily cried out, ever the drama queen. As liable as she was to cry wolf over a puppy sniffing at her garden the scenario she suggested was at least plausible this time. Rainbow Dash found all eyes on her rather quickly. "What?! Why would I even do that?! I love Fluttershy! It was that white pegasus right the-...where'd she go?" She had begun to point at the spot Soft Cure had landed only to see that the nurse was nowhere to be seen. ------ "Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid!" She chastised herself as she galloped away along the road into town, thankful the emergence of that brutish pegasus and her former charge had distracted the crowd long enough for her to escape. Normally she would fly if she were in a hurry but going along the road instead of profiling herself against the sky made it less likely any potential pursuers from the party would spot her. But nopony escapes from Pinkie. "Hi!" She said while popping out of a bush to the side of the path right next to the fleeing nurse. "YEEP!" Soft Cure squeaked as she lost her hoofing in surprise and faceplanted right into the dirt. "Woops! I know you pegasus ponies like using your wings and stuff but you should really try to practice with your legs more, trust me! You looked totally funny though! You were like WHOA, then BAM! Unless you scraped your knee or something, then I'd kinda feel bad, you didn't scrape your knee or anything did you? If you need a band-aid I've got ones with cupcakes on them! Well, more like little pictures of cupcakes, wow could you imagine band-aids with actual cupcakes on them?! Those would be the best band-aids ever!" Pinkie rambled as she looked Soft Cure over while expertly balancing a ribbon wrapped box containing a slice of cake on her head. "No. I'm fine. Just perfectly fine. I have a black eye and dirt in my mouth, but I'm just peachy." She deadpanned while letting her head remain where it was on the dirt. Her wit went unappreciated, as Pinkie had proven immune to sarcasm on many an occasion and would not disappoint on this one. "Oh, that's super great! Anyway, I'm sorry I couldn't throw you a party like I usually do for new ponies I haven't met before, but this morning my Pinkie sense went off like crazy and I knew Dashie was coming home early and she's one of my bestest best friends ever so it was like 'duh!' I had to throw her a welcome home party today! I'd ask if you could stay for this one but Dashie said you were in a hurry and had to go, I think she's kinda sore at you for some reason!" "No...really?" "It's okay though, I'm sure she'll get over it then next time you come to visit I'll throw you my patented ponyville welcome party! But just so you don't feel left out from this one , I brought you some cake!" She placed the colorful little box in front of the grounded nurse, still sporting her cheery grin as always, "I've got to get back now, my duties as the Ponyville Party Pony demand my attention, now you go and have a swell day, okay?" "I'll see what I can do." She half growled with narrowed eyes. "Great! Ciao!" Pinkie replied in her usual bubbly manner, bouncing her way back down the path back towards Fluttershy's cottage while she hummed a tune. Soft Cure continued to glare at the box in front of her as though it were responsible for all her woes as of late. She grit her teeth and raised a hoof to smash the gift, but found herself unable to do it, holding her hoof still in the air until she finally groaned in defeat and grabbed the box's ribbon in her mouth as she stood back up, "Stupid...crazy ponies being so nice at the same time they're being so irritating..." ------ She found herself in the middle of town sitting at an outdoor table of one of the local cafes feeling sorry for herself and holding some ice wrapped in a washcloth over her eye. "Well good job, nurse. Your idea to come out here on little more than a hunch was a rousing success! Now not only are you no closer to helping that brilliant colt who doesn't love you back, you've also got a lovely shiner to complement the dirt all over your dress and your missing hat and sunglasses, both of which you liked very much. Oh, and this cake. I don't even know what this cake looks like. It's probably pink." She opened the box. It was pink. "Yep. Pink. On pink. This cake suffers from chronic pink." "Who are you talking to?" Asked a random colt whose curiosity had been piqued by overhearing her monologue. Her looks, aside from her dirty dress and black eye, may have also played a factor. She definitely looked like a pretty mare in need of pleasant company after a bad day. "I am talking to this slice of cake, it has been a long day for me, do not ask, please go away, thank you." Soft Cure replied without even looking away from her formidably pink conversation partner. "Uh...kay." He obliged her. "So cake, you are quite literally the only thing I have to show for having come down here. I don't suppose you have some secret scrap of psychological wisdom to share that would fix everything?" ... The couple sitting at the next table promptly moved one table away while looking at her oddly. ... "Okay, good, the cake doesn't talk. I'm at least not going insane to boot. But you, cake, are still not very much help. I bet you don't even taste that good." She took a bite and chewed slowly. Then stopped. Then chewed a few more times. Her eyes grew large and dewy with joy at the sheer rapturous miracle of flavor resting on her tongue. Never would she have anticipated such a simple confection being so delicious. "Oh my gosh this cake." ... Her cake high suddenly crashed back down to earth as something devastating occured to her, "Sweet Celestia now I'm going to have to come back and talk to the pink one on purpose if I want to buy any more!" ------ The party had proven to be grand, but it was a Pinkie party and that was to be expected. The guest of honor had spent quite a while with her eye on the horizon like a guard hound but when she finally saw a pair of white wings and a long blonde mane headed away from town she had relaxed considerably and finally gotten back into the swing of things. Quite some time later the sun was setting and partied out ponies were waving their farewells as they trotted off down the path talking amongst one another about how spectacular an afternoon it had been. "You sure you don't need any help cleaning up Pinkie Pie? This was a big one, after all." Rainbow Dash pointed out as she looked around at the menagerie of discarded cups, plates, napkins, streamers, party hats, one blacked out Berry Punch, and bits of confetti littering the ground around Fluttershy's house. "We'd be happy to help...if you want." Fluttershy offered as well. "Nah, thanks girls, but I'm an expert! Years of throwing parties have transformed this pony into an efficient post party pickup professional! I'll have this all cleaned up in no time!" Pinkie responded, brimming with confidence as she expertly wielded a small broom handle with a nail on the end. "Really sure? I mean the sun is already setting and-" The cyan pegasus was interrupted by a pink hoof pressed to her mouth by a pony who suddenly looked fairly serious. "Look Dashie, last time we did this whole 'which pony picks up after the party' bit things got really weird up in the bath tub afterward, then that totally crazy storm thing hit, then I died but came back, then we were in space and stuff. Let's not tempt fate by doing it again hm?" Pinkie explained. Rainbow Dash looked very, very confused and what sounded like a muffled "What?!" was heard behind Pinkie's hoof. "Just go hang out with Fluttershy, I got it all covered here!" She continued, the infectious smile springing back onto her face as her hoof lowered. "Uh, okay, if you insist?" Rainbow Dash relented with an eyebrow still raised quizzically. "I do! Now, you two have a super good night!" She faced the mess left behind after the party, lowering her body in preparation to pounce with a dangerous looking smirk, "Now it's just you and me...HYAH!" She jumped headlong into the fray with a flurry of cleaning. Rainbow Dash looked over at Fluttershy to find her looking just as confused as she was, "Did that really happen? 'Cus if it did I must've conked my head afterward something fierce." "If you did then I did too, because I don't remember any of that either." Fluttershy replied, shaking her head. "Just Pinks being Pinks then I guess." She concluded with a shrug of her shoulders, "Well now that I've got you all to myself, you up to watching the sunset on a nice quiet hilltop?" It wasn't a suggestion one would typically expect of Rainbow Dash, but if it made Fluttershy happy, then it made her happy. "Oh that sounds just wonderful-ow." Fluttershy started but then winced as she smiled just a little too much. Rainbow Dash felt a brief flash of anger at the reminder of the scene she had walked into earlier, but rather than let it get to her anymore she decided to just let herself enjoy the rest of the evening with her marefriend. "You need some more ice?" "No, it's fine now, the swelling's gone down, it's just going to be sore for a bit is all." She lifted herself off the ground and hovered next to her love, leaning her head down to give her a quick kiss on the cheek, "Let's go find that hill." Rainbow Dash nodded with a smile and a soft blush on her cheeks and took to the air with her, "When we get there I'll tell you all about the show!" "Ow! Quit pokin' me with that stick!" Berry Punch said blearily off in the distance. "Hey, you fall asleep in a pile of empty cups at a pinkie party, you assume the risk of accidental poking if you stay there during clean up!" Pinkie explained through the aforementioned stick in her mouth.