//------------------------------// // Rainbow Dash 7 // Story: Unwell // by HazamaBrony //------------------------------// “Whatever you do, don’t let me chicken out,” Twilight said glancing at the entrance to the boutique and dancing from hoof to hoof. “Sure thing, Twi, but are we actually going to go in sometime? It feels like we’ve been standing out here for hours,” I said. “It can’t have been more than five minutes!” Twilight exclaimed, before shooting a glance at the clock tower. “Or not. Still, fifteen minutes is a lot shorter than hours.” “Still longer than I like to be standing around doing nothing,” I said, struggling to keep the annoyance out of my voice. “That’s only because you are a very active mare. Oh! I wonder if I could find some way of measuring the way time passes for each pony! Maybe if I took a brain scan as they were doing some activity that they enjoyed and compared it to—“ My patience snapped. “That’s it! No more stalling!” I all but yelled, before marching up to door and knocking on it loudly. Twilight let out a noise that was half way between a whimper and a squeak. I probably would have found it cute, if I hadn’t been so peeved at all the false starts that we had. It had been three days since I had stopped working at Bon Bon’s shop. The first day off I had spent just lounging around the library, keeping Twilight company as she worked on her project. Eventually, as I was just about to head home, Twilight had told me that she had wanted to tell our friends about A.C.M.S., and that she wanted me to come with her to help her. I had agreed. I wasn’t sure how much help I would be with explaining the details, but I thought that Twilight just wanted me to tag along for support. Not that I minded. The day after that, Twilight and I had met up in the morning to get breakfast before heading out to talk to our friends. Twilight wanted to visit Rarity first, then Pinkie, as they lived in Ponyville itself, before working out way out to the outskirts of town to stop by Fluttershy's, then Applejack's. The biggest problem with that plan, however, was Twilight herself. Every time she began to go to Rarity’s house, she would find some other thing to do. If it wasn’t stocking up on quills, it was making sure that she had enough scrolls for her project. No matter how hard I tried to talk to her, she would put talking to Rarity off for another hour, and then another, until the sun was starting to set. It was maddening, and I told her so. I made her promise that she wouldn’t do anything like that today, and she had mostly kept to her word. Or she did, at least until we arrived at Rarity’s. Then she just sort of froze up, and made us stand around the front door. Luckily, that same reluctance to move seemed to be sticking around, considering that she hadn’t bolted when I knocked on the door. “Welcome to the—Oh! Rainbow, Twilight! How good to see you!” Rarity beamed at us as she opened the door. “What’s the occasion?” “Hey, Rarity, could we come in? We need to talk to you,” I said, glancing back at Twilight. Maybe she had- nope, still frozen in place. Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Why, Rainbow, when you phrase it like that, it make me rather nervous. What’s wrong?” “We’ll talk about it inside,” I said, waving for Twilight to follow us inside. She glanced at me, pale underneath her fur, but nodded and trotted after us. As soon as we were seated at Rarity’s kitchen table, she turned to us with a worried expression on her face. “Now, darlings, tell me, what has gotten you both so serious? Especially you, Twilight.” Twilight jumped at the sound of her name. “Oh, what? Um… b—before we tell you anything, you have to promise that none of this leaves the room, no matter what!” Rarity frowned. “Very well, I promise.” “Pinkie Promise?” Twilight asked, her voice shaking. Rarity’s frown grew even more pronounced, but she did the familiar motions. “Now, dears, please, tell me what’s going on?” “Wait,” I said, “Is Sweetie Belle home? This isn’t really something you would want her to overhear.” Rarity shook her head. “No, she’s at our parents.” “Okay, good. Go ahead Twi,” I said. “I--- um… I…” Twilight stuttered, now shaking slightly in addition to being pale. I leaned over to whisper into her ear. “You don’t need to do this if you don’t want to.” “No, I have to now,” Twilight whispered back. “Then what’s going on? You didn’t have this much trouble telling me.” “I had a whole week to prepare! Telling you wasn’t this spur of the moment!” “Twilight, Rainbow,” Rarity said, interrupting our conversation, “I do believe I know what it is you are trying to say.” “You do!?” Twilight and I yelled at the same time. “Yes, and I must say that I am flattered, but unfortunately I must decline,” Rarity said, a sad look in her eyes. “You decline…? You decline what?” Twilight asked, while I was still trying to restart my brain. “I am so sorry, my dear, but I am not attracted to mares in the least, nor do I wish to enter a polygamous relationship. My shining prince will me mine alone, and I, his!” Rarity said with a dramatic flourish. Twilight facehoofed, and I finally got my brain communicating with my mouth again. “We are not asking you to join our relationship! By Celestia, Rarity, how did you even come up with such an idea?” I said, a little louder than I meant to. “Oh, um… I may have been reading some novels…” Rarity said, blushing. “Let me guess. That new romance series set in ancient Equestria? The one where the three princes fall in love with each other?” Twilight said, smirking a little. “I will neither confirm nor deny anything,” Rarity said, muzzle in the air, but the stuck up effect was ruined by her good spirited grin. “In any case, darlings, I may have jumped to a conclusion, but still, something serious is obviously going on, and I would like to help in any way that I can.” “Thank you Rarity, that means a lot to both of us,” Twilight said. She took a deep breath and held it for a second or two before releasing it slowly. “It’s… um, about me… Tell me, Rarity, have you ever heard of Abstract Cutie Mark Syndrome? It is more commonly referred to as A.C.M.S.” Rarity’s eyes flickered to the ceiling for a moment and she tapped her chin. “No, I cannot say that I have. I take it you are afflicted with this… syndrome?” she asked, looking at Twilight worriedly. Twilight nodded. “Yeah, I am.” “Oh, I’m sorry. Is it… well, what is it?” Rarity asked. “It’s a mental illness,” Twilight said simply. “I’ve been hiding it from you girls for long enough, and I felt that it was time to come clean. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, but I just didn’t feel ready.” Rarity look at Twilight with a compassionate expression on her face. “Darling, I completely understand why you didn’t feel like coming to us with this until now. It is a rather personal part of your life. I also understand why you made me Pinkie Promise not to tell anypony. I do have a reputation as a gossip, though completely undeserved—“ I almost stopped myself from snorting in laughter. Almost. “Very well, a mostly undeserved reputation,” Rarity continued, pointedly not looking at me. “Still, I am quite touched that you have come to me with this. Thank you, Twilight.” “No, No, thank you, Rarity. I was so worried about one of you girls rejecting me, I almost didn’t sleep at all last night.” Twilight said with a laugh. “No, I would never! None of us would ever reject you for something like this!” Rarity said, sweeping Twi up into a hug. After a period of time that was entirely too long for somepony else to be hugging my marefriend, I coughed. Rarity and Twilight both jumped at the sound, separating and looking at me. “This is nice and all, but do you have any actual questions about A.C.M.S., Rarity?” I asked. “After all, you don’t really know anything about it.” Rarity glared at me, but Twilight turned to her and said “That’s actually right, Rarity. You see Rarity A.C.M.S. has a variety of symptoms, including but not limited to—“ “Stop!” Rarity shouted. Twilight and I both looked at her shocked. “Just, stop, Twilight. I know you in particular feel that more knowledge is always a good thing, but I’m not as sure of that. I don’t really need to know every single minute detail of this to still be your friend, now do I?” She smiled sadly. “As you both know, I am somewhat of a hypochondriac, and I fear that if I knew the intricacies of this… syndrome… I would never stop jumping at shadows when I’m around you. Just…just tell me what to look for in the worst case scenario.” Twilight looked taken back, and I was trying to decide if I should be mad or not. “All right, Rarity,” Twilight said, "do you remember the smartypants incident?” “Ah, so I should be on the lookout for more behavior like that?” Rarity asked. Twilight simply nodded. “Good to know. Remember, Twilight, this doesn’t change a thing between us. Now, was there anything else you wanted to talk about?” Rarity asked, with a smile so strained that a foal could tell how fake it was. “Not really, Rarity. I, um, we still need to talk to the rest of our friends, so we should get going,” Twilight said, then got up and headed to the door. I hurried to follow her. “See you later, Rarity,” I said, keeping my voice as neutral as possible. Once we got outside, Twilight turned to me, looking puzzled. “Should I… should I be offended by that?” “I don’t really know. I… well, do you think she was telling the truth about being such a drama queen that she would always think you were on the verge of another… another whatever?” I asked, just as confused as Twilight seemed. “When I think about it, it does seem to make sense. Rarity is prone to overreacting. I wouldn’t want her to be too uncomfortable around me. Still…” Twilight trailed off. I shrugged. “I guess talking about some things just makes some ponies squeamish. Next time we should ask about how much they want to know.” Twilight froze. “Oh, Celestia! I didn’t even think about that! Instead of thinking about how Rarity would react, I just went straight up to her and shoved this in her face! Oh, no wonder she reacted like that! I cannot believe how rude I must have—“ “Whoa, Twilight, calm down,” I interrupted, wanting to stop the oncoming panic attack. “Let’s just accept that the both of you are at fault. You could always talk to her later and apologize, if you feel that you really need to.” “Right, you’re right,” Twilight said, taking in a big gulp of air. “So, should we head to Pinkie’s now?” “If you want to, Twilight,” I said, gritting my teeth a little. I really didn’t want to put this off another day, but it was Twilight’s show, and I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. “… I do. After dragging you around all day yesterday, I would feel bad about making you come out another day. And, after all, I did promise. And talking to Rarity didn’t go as badly as I had feared. Not as well as I had hoped, but still…” Twilight gave me a small grin, “better than I had feared. Now, let’s get going.” Twilight set off towards Sugarcube Corner at a brisk pace, leaving me to scramble a little to keep up. “Hello, Mr. Cake. Is Pinkie in today?” Twilight asked as we walked through the door to the candy shop. Mr. Cake looked up from the oven and gave us a cheery smile. “Yes, actually. She was working extra hard yesterday, so we gave her the day off. She’s spent the whole day up in her room, planning another party.” “Really? That works out well,” Twilight said. “I was afraid that we would have to track her down. Do you mind if we speak with her?” Mr. Cake just chuckled. “Of course i don't mind! Like I said, it’s her day off. Go talk to her as much as you want. I’ll be down here.” “Thanks,” I said, turning to march up the stairs, but Mr. Cake called out to me. “I do need you to try to keep it quiet, however,” he said. “The twins are asleep. We tried our best to soundproof Pinkie’s room, but still, please don’t let her do something like fire off the party cannon.” “Sure thing,” I said, turning and marching up the stairs. When we got to Pinkie’s room, Twilight was looking a little antsy again. Right before I tried to knock on Pinkie’s door, she grabbed my hoof with her magic. I gave her a moment to compose herself, but she didn’t let go of my hoof. “Twilight, we have to at least talk to her now. If we don’t, Mr. Cake will tell her we came by without talking to her, and you know that would hurt her feelings,” I said, trying to remove my hoof from her vice grip. “But, what if she doesn’t want to be my friend anymore after we tell her this?” Twilight said. I had to roll my eyes at the very familiar question. I opened my mouth to respond, but— “Silly Twilight, I would never stop being your friend,” Pinkie said from behind us. I whirled around and took in a deep breath to ask Pinkie how she did that. Some other ponies might have screamed at being so suddenly surprised, but not me. I’m too cool for that. But before I could calmly and quietly say anything, Pinkie shoved her hoof into my mouth. “Shhh!” she hissed, “the babies are sleeping. I need you both to be quiet. Got it?” I nodded, and Pinkie removed her hoof from my mouth. “Where did you come from, Pinkie?” I asked, in a voice that in no way wavered. Seriously. Too cool. “Oh, I heard you two talking outside my door, so I decided to come say hi, since you weren’t coming in,” Pinkie said with a laugh. “But the door is soundproof!” Twilight said at the exact same moment I said “But you came from behind us!” “Shhh!” Pinkie hissed again, giving us a glare that faded away as soon as we quieted down. “Don’t worry yourselves with little details like that. I never do.” Twilight let out a noise of confusion, and looked like she was going to argue with Pinkie some more, but instead she said “I see. Well then, could we talk to you in your room then, Pinkie?” “Okey dokey lokey,” Pinkie said, before opening the door to her room and waving us through like a showmare. Twilight let out a giggle, which I took as a good sign. “All right!” Pinkie exclaimed as soon as the door closed. “Now we can be as loud as we want! Hmmm… should I get the party cannon?” “NO!” Twilight and I yelled at the same time. Pinkie just made a silly face at us. “I know, I know, I was just kidding around! So, what has brought you to Auntie Pinkie’s room?” I looked over to Twilight, and she was staring at the ground and chewing her lip. I started to say something, but Pinkie beat me to the punch. “Twilight, you don’t have to tell me anything. But I just want you to know, I love having you as a friend, and I promise that I will never stop being your friend. If you did something bad, I might be angry or disappointed, but I will still be your friend. I Pinkie Promise,” she said, looking as serious as I had ever seen her. “Th—thank you, Pinkie,” Twilight said, sniffling a little. “That means a lot to me. But I do need you to promise one more thing. Please Pinkie Promise that none of what I’m about to tell you leaves this room.” Pinkie nodded, then went through the motions of the promise with the same serious look on her face. If the situation hadn’t been so important, I would have laughed at the clash between Pinkies face and her wild gesturing. As soon as Pinkie finished, Twilight took a deep breath, and let it out. “Pinkie, have you ever heard of Abstract Cutie Mark Syndrome? It is more commonly referred to as—“ “A.C.M.S., right?” Pinkie finished for her. “Yes, I have heard of it.” Twilight’s jaw fell open, and mine did the same. “I’ve heard about it, but I don’t really know much about it beyond a few of the symptoms, and some very vague mentions in some fiction novels and such,” Pinkie continued, seemingly oblivious to our shock. “I gotta say, though, some of those books play it for laughs, and I don’t really like it. It just seems a little like they are making fun of something that is really hard for the pony in question, and on top of that, it’s something they can’t help. On the other hoof, if it is really dark humor, then—“ “Wait,” I said, interrupting Pinkie’s rambling. “You mean there are some ponies who make fun of ponies with things like A.C.M.S.?” I felt my blood begin to boil. Twilight and Pinkie both looked alarmed at my tone. “Well, yes, but not more so than anything else gets made fun of,” Pinkie said, making soothing gestures with her hooves. “More often, they just don’t do their research. Granted, that’s not much better, considering that it spreads wrong information about it, but it’s not really in ill will.” “Well, I still don’t like it,” I said, settling down and folding my wings back in. I must have been really angry to have unfurled them like that without even noticing. “That’s understandable, considering,” Pinkie said, nodding sagely. “Considering what?” I asked, rather confused. “Considering that Twilight has it, and that you are dating, ergo it is only natural for you to feel upset, because Twilight has it, right? I mean, she looks nervous about something and you brought up A.C.M.S., so I just assumed that she has it. Did… did I screw that up?” Pinkie said, looking more and more worried as she talked. Twilight just shook her head. “No, you didn’t screw that up. I do have A.C.M.S.” Pinkie beamed at her. “Well, I have been reading a lot of mystery novels lately. They’re fun, but I don’t like the fact that all of them are about murder. Couldn’t the mystery be about who took the last pair of horseshoes or something? That way they could throw a party at the end without it feeling weird. Because a party after a murder is kind of odd. Unless—“ “I think we’ve gotten off topic again,” I cut in, not wanting to be here all day. Pinkie is really cool, and a great friend, but sometime you have to steer the conversation in the right direction, or you won’t actually accomplish something. “Right!” Pinkie exclaimed, standing straight up on her hind legs and wrapping Twilight up in a hug. I could hear Twilight’s spine crack under the pressure. “I just want to tell you that you will always be my friend, and that this changes nothing between us. In fact, I think it might be a little hypocritical of me to even think about letting this change our friendship.” “Pinkie… I… can’t…breathe!” Twilight choked out, causing Pinkie to instantly drop her, before sticking her tongue out and making a comical airheaded expression. “Well then,” Twilight said, picking herself up from the floor, “thank you, and—wait! What do you mean it would be hypocritical of you?” “Hm? Oh, that,” Pinkie said. “Well, it probably hasn’t escaped you that I act somewhat oddly sometimes. What I mean to say is that I don’t think that I am neurotypical either.” “Not really the right word to use in this situation, but I know what you mean. But still, I wrote off all of the weird stuff you do as just you being you…” Twilight said, cocking her head to the side a little. “Well, of course it was just me being me! Who else could I be?” Pinkie said with a giggle. “But, still, Twilight, don’t forget that everypony has their problems,” she said, going serious again. “And the mark of a true friend is being able to see and help with those problems, not get angry or laugh at them. I consider you a true friend, and I hope you consider me one as well.” “Of… of course I do!” Twilight cried, tears in her eyes, and this time she was the one to sweep up Pinkie in a hug. I felt a little awkward just standing there, but I didn’t want to interrupt them either. Eventually, they separated, and both of them wiped their eyes. “So, Pinkie, how much do you want to know about A.C.M.S.? You said you already knew a little bit about it,” Twilight said. “Tell you what, Twilight. You just tell me as much as you want to. The only thing I ask is that you tell me warning signs so that I know when to help you,” Pinkies said, smiling. “Deal. Ahem…ahem…” I had been around Twilight long enough to know that when she began clearing her throat like that, she was about to start a long lecture. This time, though, it was going to be stuff I knew already, so I decided to find something else to do. “Twilight,” I said before she had a chance to get some momentum on her speech. “I’m going to go downstairs and get something to eat. Just let me know when you are ready to go to Fluttershy’s.” “Sure thing, Rainbow,” Twilight said, smiling at me. As I walked out of the room and shut the door behind me as quietly as I could, I could have melted with relief. It was nice to see Twilight so comfortable talking to another pony about this, especially after the way that it had gone with Rarity. Still, we had Fluttershy and Applejack to visit. I could only hope the second half of the day went as well as the first.