~By matcha cheesecake~
“Are you all right, darling?”
“Of course I am, silly filly! Why wouldn't I be?”
Indeed, everything’s back to normal now. We've just defeated Discord and Ponyville’s no longer the chaos capital. I shuddered at the memory of the horrific things he did to our home. Rose and lavender checker pattern? Seriously? But more than that, I shuddered at the pony I became under his thrall. The humongous diamond I coveted so much turned out to be a plain old boulder, but I could have lost so much more in that fiasco.
The worst part was that I knew my greed was not entirely caused by the thrall.
I studied my friends as we headed towards The Golden Oak Library, to see if they felt the same way. Fluttershy was understandably wracked with guilt for being cruel to everypony, especially Pinkie Pie. Applejack walked especially close to Twilight for some reason, while Rainbow Dash kept apologizing and hovering over all our heads. Pinkie Pie...
Pinkie Pie was giggling.
Now, I was not my pink friend. I was not at all a connoisseur of smiles and laughter, as she liked to put it. But I knew enough to notice the way her nose scrunched up with each giggle and the way her lips twitched with each smile. I knew enough to differentiate a hollow laugh from a real one.
When we reached the library, I cut Pinkie off from entering and called over my shoulder to the rest of the group.
“Twilight, darling, would it be all right if Pinkie and I stay here for a while? I’d like to have a word with her, privately.”
“Sure, Rarity. Just let me get your Elements first.”
I lit my horn and wrapped a levitation field around the Elements of Generosity and Laughter, and almost tossed them over my head. Thankfully, Twilight caught them in her magic. Even more thankfully, she didn't say anything about my urgency but simply closed the door for us.
“What’s up, Rarity? Whatcha want to talk about?” Pinkie was rocking her weight forward and backward, an odd smile plastered on her face. I felt the wrinkles forming between my eyebrows.
“You’re not all right.” It wasn't a question.
Pinkie giggled in reply, but the scrunching of her nose was more noticeable now. Her irises did not quite sparkle like the Grade-A sapphires they were. Carefully, she tilted her head to one side. “What do you mean?”
“Pinkie Pie, please,” I sighed and stepped closer, practically nose to nose with her. “I've known you since we were little school fillies. It’s okay to let it out.”
Pinkie’s smile dropped so fast, it literally felt like she took off a mask. She sunk to the ground, making herself as small as possible. I immediately wrapped my forehooves around her and held her close.
“I was so scared, Rarity.” It was barely a whisper, but I felt her whole body tremble with each word. “One minute we’re all super-duper friends. The next, everypony is laughing at me and calling me names. It was horrible.”
Pinkie Pie never cries.
Or rather, she never lets anypony see her cry. So I yanked a couple of flowering bushes with my magic and made a small enclosure around us. I’m sure Twilight will understand when I apologize later.
“It’s all okay now, darling.” I whispered between her sobs, my hoof smoothing over her mane. ”We’re all still super-duper friends.”
“I thought everypony hated me. I thought you hated me.”
“Come now, darling. You know I’d never hate you.”
She pulled away enough to look me in the eye. Her eyes were red and her cheeks were covered in tear stains and bits of grass. Her smile was not as wide as earlier, but there was no twitching or scrunching of nose.
It was beautiful.
“I still wish the chocolate rain was permanent, though.”
“Oh, you.”
She giggled at that so much, our makeshift bush house shook and rained us with leaves. But this time, her laughter was warm and real. I chuckled along with her.
And then I knew we’re all right.