//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Last Laugh // Story: The End of the Rainbow // by Charles Spratt //------------------------------// Chapter 1: The Last Laugh “WOOHOO!!!” yelled Scootaloo. “YEEHAA!!” screamed Applebloom. “BEST PARTY EVER!!” shouted Sweetie Belle. When they came off of the Daisy go round, all three of them were dizzy beyond compare. When they finally got their bearings together, they all looked at each other, than up at Pinkie Pie, then they fell down in laughter. This was the best cheer up party EVER!!!! When they finally got up, Sweetie Belle said, “Thanks for throwing this party to cheer me up, Pinkie! It makes the fact that I’m the only blank flank left seem like such a minor thing!!” “You’re welcome, Silly Billy!!” Pinkie replied. “So you don’t mind that we got our cutie marks, but you still don’t have yours?” asked Applebloom. “Not in the slightest!” Said Sweetie Belle. “By the way, how did you get yours?” Pinkie asked the other 2 CMC members. They looked at Sweetie, who gave them a nod saying that she wouldn’t mind if they told their stories. They nodded back, and both upped their rumps to show their marks. Applebloom went first. “Well, it all started last week. We were just having a regular day on the farm, when suddenly, it was attacked by a large fury of timber wolves!! My family and I did what we could to fight them off, and eventually won! Once we took down the last one however, they started regenerating! Instantly, I rushed to pick up two of their sticks. I bent the sticks, and tied the stick ends together. I then used my ribbon on the sticks to create a bow. I picked up a nearby apple, and used it as ammo. I shot it at the big one in the front, but I missed. I instead hit one of the ones in the back, which launched it into 1000 sticks. The timberwolves seemed intimidated by this, and ran off with tails between their legs. That solved the timberwolves invasion, but that still left a large hole in the barn that needed fixing. Using the timberwolves leftovers, I crafted some tools, and used the rest of the wood to repair the barn. Once I finished, I felt an oddball tingle on my flank. I turned around and saw that I had earned a cutie mark!” said Applebloom, showing off her rump. On it was a hammer and a wrench, on top of one another in a skull crossbones style. Scootaloo then started her story. “Well, I was trying to impress Rainbow Dash with my Scooter tricks, and was feeling a bit more daring than usual. I decided I would show her my Sonic Cyclone, a trick I’d been practicing, but hadn’t quite been able to pull off. I rushed off into town at top speed, and looked for a cart to get some air off of. Rainbow saw what I was trying to do and helped, turning over an empty cart for me. I launched off of it and started my routine. First, I backflipped while standing on the scooter, successfully landing on it. Next, I held onto one handlebar while letting the rest of me glide for a bit. Finally, I did the grand finale, which is where I always messed up. I was heading toward the 94 pool by this time, and was about to land in it. I immediately started spinning on my scooter, rotating around in circles. This time, I’d spun so fast that the pool water actually went into a mini cyclone I’d made. I then hopped off my scooter and spread my wings, using the draft to ascend. I couldn’t fly, but all I needed to do for this trick was glide to the ground. I glided out of the cyclone and landed gently on the ground. Rainbow seemed really impressed, and actually started applauding! I was like OMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! At that moment, I felt an odd tingle on my flank. I looked back and saw a tornado cutie mark appear!!” said Scootaloo, showing off her cyan colored tornado cutie mark. Sweetie Belle looked at her two friends, and smiled. She was glad they got their marks, and in such incredibly cool ways as well! She hoped that the way she got hers would be just as cool! Two hours later, the party ended. The CMC thanked Pinkie for a job well done, and headed home. Pinkie packed up the daisy go round and headed back home to plan her next party, this one for Fluttershy’s birthday, which was going to be in just a few days. Pinkie got so excited that she hopped back home, humming every step of the way. The next day, Pinkie woke up and began singing a tune, causing the whole town to start singing in unison with her, just like every time she sings in town. She bought her supplies, and once she got everything she needed, she headed off to Fluttershy’s cottage. When she got there, she knocked on the door. When Fluttershy came out, Pinkie hit her with the party cannon! “HAPPY PRE-BIRTHDAY, FLUTTERSHY!!!!! OMIGOSH, THIS BIRTHDAY IS GOING TO BE THE BEST EVER!!!! WE CAN PLAY GAMES, EAT CAKE, PLAY GAMES WHILE EATING CAKE, LAUNCH FIREWORKS, EEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!” Pinkie squealed in glee. When she looked at Fluttershy, who was shivering slightly, she stopped the over the top hyperactive voice and just talked normally. “Sorry if I scared you Fluttershy.” She said sheepishly. “It’s alright, Pinkie. If anything, I think I’m awfully lucky to have a friend who knows my birthday and wants it to be the best it can be.” Replied Fluttershy calmly. “You do?!?! OMIGOSH, THIS IS GONNA B…, oh right, quiet voice.” Said Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy giggled and said, “Well, I hope that you make it as good as you say.” “I will Fluttershy! I can Pinkie Promise you that!” said Pinkie, going through the motions as she said that. “Well, see you tomorrow then!” said Fluttershy. “You too!” said Pinkie, as she walked back home to begin planning and preparing. The next day, everypony gathered where Pinkie’s invitations said to go, in town square. When the Mane six got there, they all hugged Fluttershy and told her happy birthday, to which she thanked them. Then they waited for Pinkie to show up with her party stuff. At noon, four hours after the invites said the party would start, the Mane six became very worried. Pinkie may be a bit of a spaz at times, but she still loves throwing parties more than anything else in the world, not to mention, she Pinkie Promised, which was something else Pinkie took very seriously. The Mane six figured that something terrible must’ve happened to her, and split up to investigate. After 35 minutes of intense searching, Rainbow Dash found an odd gold ring on the floor of Sugarcube Corner. When she tried to pull it up, she lifted up a whole section of the floor, revealing a hidden staircase. Rainbow figured that Pinkie must’ve been in there, and went down. “Pinkie Pie!” yelled Rainbow, “You are four hours and 40 minutes late for what was supposedly the best party ever! C’mon, let’s get up there and…” Rainbow’s words were cut short by what she saw. At the bottom of the stairs was a medium sized workshop. Candles lit the entire room. Balloons were covering the ceiling. In the center of the room was Pinkie Pie, who was face down on a 75% complete banner of Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash flew over next to Pinkie, and nudged her. “C’mon Pinkie, wake up!” Rainbow said to her. Pinkie simply rolled over. “WAKE UP PINKIE!!!” Rainbow screamed. Pinkie didn’t move a muscle. Immediately, Rainbow picked her up and shook her. When that didn’t do anything, she flew up a little distance and tried it again, to no success. At this point, Rainbow got really worried. Rainbow put Pinkie down and felt her pulse. What pulse? There was none. Rainbow realized what that meant, but still kept shaking Pinkie regardless, in the hopes that she could get Pinkie to respond that way. “Please Pinkie Pie, get up!” pleaded Rainbow as she shook her. No response. After a moment, Rainbow Dash stopped shaking her, knowing that she wasn't going to come back. She sat down on the floor, still holding Pinkie in her arms. As she looked down upon her deceased friend, she felt some tears build up in her eyes. She tried her hardest to hold them back, but was unable to do so. When one of the tears fell on Pinkie’s mane, Pinkie's eyes opened slightly. Pinkie looked up at Rainbow and quietly said, "Rainbow?" When Rainbow heard these words and realized that Pinkie was still alive, she immediatly started talking excitedly, "Pinkie! You're still alive! Oh, thank goodness! I thought..." said Rainbow, before being silenced by Pinkie, who was putting one of her hooves over her mouth. Rainbow looked down at Pinkie, who seemed to be lacking all of her normal energy. Pinkie lightly hugged Rainbow, and started quietly whispering into her ear. “Rainbow, I can’t make the party.” Pinkie quietly said. “What?!?!? Why Not?!?!?!” shouted Rainbow. “I don’t have the energy to, Rainbow.” came Pinkie's reply. “Yes you do! You always do!” said Rainbow, who was beginning to tear up again. Pinkie tried to lift herself out of Rainbow’s arms, but was unable to do so. She looked into Rainbow’s eyes, and said, “I barely have the energy to talk to you. I don’t think I can throw this one.” “No… don’t do it, Pinkie…” pleaded Rainbow Dash. “Rainbow Dash, could you… could you do one last thing for me?” asked Pinkie, her voice beginning to fade out. “I’ll do anything, Pinkie Pie, just please don’t die!” Rainbow Dash said between tears. “Could you and the others, carry on my torch?” asked Pinkie. “What does that mean?” “It means that, I don’t have much longer. I want you and the others to do what I’ve been doing my whole life.” “Throw parties?” “No, though that would be nice.” Said Pinkie Pie. “Then what?” Pinkie cleared her throat, and began reciting a poem: “Just keep smiling, if only for me If nothing else, cause then you'll see The world around you is always in need but give it a smile and it will be freed Freed from the chains that bind it down Freed from the hate that makes us all frown Freed from the sorrow that darkens your day so that our friendship can wash it away Even now, when you feel down and the world makes you frown I'll be here, right with you to make your smile shine like new" “But… But Pinkie…” said Rainbow Dash. “Don’t cry too much, Rainbow.” Said Pinkie, as her eyes began to shut. “Just keep up the smiles, brighten everyone’s day. Please Rainbow Dash.” “…Okay ‘sniff’, I will Pinkie, I promise!” “do you… Pinkie Promise?” “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye” “Thanks, Rainbow Dash…” said Pinkie Pie, releasing a small smile before her eyes permanently shut. “No… Why Pinkie Pie…?” Rainbow Dash just sat in place for a bit, with Pinkie in her arms, crying softly while trying to still keep a smile up. Suddenly, she heard several footsteps rushing down the stairs. She spun around and saw her friends rushing down. When they saw the body, they all gasped and surrounded Pinkie’s body. “Is… Is she…?” asked Fluttershy. Rainbow slowly nodded her head. “No…” said Rarity. “Why…” said Twilight. “How…” said AppleJack. The next day was the funeral. All of the ponies in Ponyville attended the funeral; The Mane six, The CMC, The Mayor, everyone; and none of them had a happy expression on their face. They were even less happy during the funeral, which recapped everything Pinkie had done for others, ranging from stopping the Parasprite invasion, to making the Royal Wedding a huge success, to several big parties she had thrown for everypony in Ponyville. At the end of the funeral, the mayor asked if there was anyone in the audience who would like to put something in the coffin with Pinkie, as a sort of sendoff gift. Several Ponies stepped up and deposited something in there. The most notable ones were Cranky, who gave a medium sized bag of confetti and his blond toupee, DjPon3, who put in her sunglasses, and Cheese Sandwich, who added Boneless 2 to the mix. The Mane five only had one thing to give. Each one had brought a picture of Pinkie and themselves during one of her many parties. They all held their pictures close to themselves for a moment, then deposited them in the coffin. Upon delivery of these pictures, the mayor closed the lid and had the burial pony begin doing his job. In two minutes, the deed was done, and every pony went home with tears in their eyes. Everypony except for the Mane five, that is. They walked over to the tombstone, which had an engraving of her cutie mark on it, above the words “Never stop smiling.” Upon closer inspection, they saw that an R, an I, and a P were floating in those balloons, as well as the syllables Pink, ie, and Pie. They stared at the grave, and were failing to do any smiling at all. In fact, they were bawling quite a lot. “Rainbow Dash, could you… could you do one last thing for me?” said a familiar voice. Rainbow looked up. “Don’t cry too much, Rainbow.” Came the voice again. Rainbow spun her head around, but couldn’t find where the voice was coming from. Wherever it was, the other four didn’t seem to hear it. “Just keep up the smiles, brighten everyone’s day. Please Rainbow Dash.” “…Okay ‘sniff’, I will Pinkie, I promise!” said another voice. Rainbow looked around, and then realized that that voice she heard was her own. She realized she had to let the others know about Pinkie’s last wish. Rainbow flew home, grabbed a scroll with her handwriting on it, and flew back to the burial site before anypony knew she was gone. She got everypony’s attention, and then said this: “On the day of March 6th, 2017, a great pony, Pinkie Pie (scientific name Pinkius Pieicus) met her end doing what she loved, which was preparing a party for another pony to smile in.” Rainbow cleared her throat, looked at the grave, and began reading off of the scroll. “In honor of you, and your innate ability to make us all smile in our darkest hours, I present this poem I wrote as a last statement, Pinkie Pie. I hope you enjoy it and rest in peace.” Rainbow cleared her throat again, and began reading: “Whether through the good, or through the bad You were forever happy, never sad When others were depressed, you’d smile and laugh, which brightened the life of those in your path You were preparing your best, a birthday for your friend We were all prepared to be surprised once again But then you died and in us, sadness did slink I felt our smiles quickly go extinct I prayed high above that that your cheer could return So we could all escape our inner concern But my prayers went unanswered, both then and today All of us felt our joy get smashed into disarray But just when I felt that our sadness was controlled I heard you whisper from Death's dark hold "Just keep smiling, if only for me" "If nothing else, cause then you'll see" "The world around you is always in need" "but give it a smile and it will be freed" "Freed from the chains that bind it down" "Freed from the hate that makes us all frown" "Freed from the sorrow that darkens your day" "so that our friendship can wash it away" "Even now, when you feel down" "and the world makes you frown" "I'll be here, right with you" "to make your smile shine like new" That’s what I heard, and it rang deeply inside As I went to your house and saw that you’d died As I sat with you, crying in pain Some of my tears, they fell on your mane And as they touched, do you know what I did see? I saw you get up and smile at me! You told me to smile, if only for you And the reason why I already knew The world around me was still in need But if I give it a smile, it shall be freed. The chains that bind it will be thrown away And it’ll give a smile, one that will stay And all the world’s darkness will run astray And our friendship will help lead the way Even now, as you continue to fade I still know, in my heart you stayed I may not hear you, touch you nor see But still I know, you’re right next to me And from today, till the day I die You'll always be here, my Pinkie Pie...” When the poem finished, Rainbow’s friends all looked at her in awe. “Darling, that was spectacular!” exclaimed Rarity, “Did you write that?” “Yep, sure did!” said Rainbow. “Was…Was that Pinkie’s final wish?” asked Fluttershy. “Indeed it was!” replied Rainbow Dash, “she wanted me to tell you when the time was right. I couldn’t think of a better time, so I told you in poem form!” “So she wants us to move on and spread smiles in her place?” asked AppleJack. “That’s what she said!” Rainbow replied. “Well, I say we should do just that!” said Twilight, clearly motivated. “YEAH!!!” yelled everypony else. The mane five carried on back to Ponyville, determined to make the world smile, even in Pinkie’s absence. As they walked off, a cool breeze blew past the cemetery, making the five of them ready to face the future. If only they knew what the future contained… To Be Continued…