Thump. The impact brought many images to Twilight’s mind. A book slammed shut half written, to be cast aside, story aching for a final meaning that would never come. A door closed in her face, not violently, but determinedly and irrevocably shutting her out in the cold. A blow to her chest left her dizzy, wheezing and tearful. None of these images, however, could block out her sight of the real cause: a heavy clod of earth, landing on her friend’s ribs. Her friend, lying at the bottom of a deep grave, could not react. She lay by the side of the hole, watching as spade full after spade full dropped in. When there was nothing left to see but a few dirty tufts of pastel hair, the last of the other mourners were heading away. Twilight stayed, watching the growing pile of earth entombing her friend, crushing her and sealing her in forever.
Big Mac finished smoothing the ground over with the back of his shovel, and came over to her. With a big hoof placed comforting on Twilight’s back, he let her know that it was time to go home. She got to her feet, then turned to face the red giant. “I feel like there’s more I should do. I don’t know what, but to just leave her here in the mud like this… Isn’t there anything?”
“Nope,” came the defeated response. His watery eyes held hers until she turned for home. As she walked home through the streets, there wasn’t a happy sound in the air. Every creature in Ponyville seemed overcome by the loss.
+++++
Twilight trudged up the stairs towards her bed. Her muzzle’s fur was still thick and heavy with all her spent tears, and a choking tightness made it hard to breathe. With her head drooping and her hooves trailing leadenly, one by one, the flight seemed to stretch out endlessly. Eventually, however, she reached her destination and threw herself onto it. She buried her face in the pillows; she was no longer crying, but the heat, the darkness and the soft pressure were somewhat comforting in themselves. She lay like that for several minutes, just heaving breaths in and out past her bedding. When she heard the tread of light hooves coming up after her she buried herself harder and covered her ears. She would not be consoled. She should not be consoled; the situation warranted nothing but misery. Not until the visitor knocked on the wall inside her room did she look up, scowling.
Pinkie Pie was in the doorway, leaning against it nonchalantly and smiling slightly as if at a shared secret joke. When she saw that she had her friend’s attention she bounced over, with her absurd four-legged bound. Twilight’s face twisted in confusion, “N-no,” she stuttered, “No, Pinkie. Not even you could. It’s not … It can’t be.”
“Don’t be silly Twilight. You’ve seen me in all kinds of places before. You should be used to that by now. Besides,” she giggled, “I’d hardly just leave you like that, would I?”
“No. But, Pinkie, I saw you buried,” Twilight’s tears started to flow again. “How are you here? We’ve got to tell the others! They still think that you’re dead!”
Pinkie came right up to Twilight and gently nuzzled her neck, “But I’m not here Twilight. I am dead. You saw me.” She was still smiling happily, and there was a slight laugh in her voice. Twilight couldn’t make the slightest sense of how a ghost could be so cheerful about being dead, especially one so attached to the pleasures and excitement of the material plane. Or for that matter, how she could feel Pinkie against her skin.
Realisation flashed behind Twilight’s eyes as she understood that Pinkie had pulled the most astounding, and frankly cruel, prank of her career. She jumped up to stand on her bed, now grinning back, “No! Ghosts don’t exist, so you’ve got to be alive. I don’t know how, but you are. Ghosts aren’t real, and you can appear anywhere. Oh, Pinkie Pie, you’re fantastic!”
A high pitched, snorting laugh replied: “Oh Twilight, you’re always so silly with your ‘logic’. Ghosts don’t exist, and I don’t exist. I’m in your head. You just can’t deal with Pinkie being gone. We were such good friends.”
“No, we are such good friends. We are friends now. You’re here now and, and I just have to put you back inside yourself. I’m an alicorn now, and magic is my special talent. Of course I can tie you back to your body. You’ll be back, just like before. It is you. I can hear you. I can see you. I felt you touch me! IT IS YOU!” Tears were now rolling freely to thud into Twilight’s sheets.
The smile finally fell from the dead earth pony’s face. “Twilight, stop. I’m not real. I’m gone. Everypony has to die at some point. Maybe we’ll see each other again, but I can’t come back.” She pressed a hoof into her friend’s chest, “It hurts, in here. I know it does. But you aren’t the only one, Twilight. Everypony is hurting, and I can’t make them happy again. Nopony is smiling; they’re all so sad right now. You need to be with our friends. You need to help them, and they can help you.”
“But Pinkie, I …”
“Stop. I want you to Pinkie Promise that you’ll go to them and help them smile again. For me. I don’t want all my friends to be so sad, Twilight.”
“Pinkie,” Twilight pleaded, but half-heartedly. As she looked into her friend’s unusually solemn eyes, she knew that she had to do as she was asked. Even if it meant that she couldn’t stay here with Pinkie. She sniffed again, then nodded.
“Cross my heart,” Pinkie prompted her.
“Cross my heart,”
Pinkie waited for her to catch up, and they continued together. “Hope to fly,”
Then Pinkie stopped, and smiled gratefully at Twilight as she finished her promise: “Stick a cupcake in my eye.” By the time Twilight lowered her hoof, she stood alone.