Scootaloo woke up the next morning when she heard her name being called out softly. She opened up her eyes and rolled over to see Soarin' sitting on the floor looking over at her bed.
"Did you want to get up now or sleep later?" he asked.
Scootaloo sat up and hugged Soarin' "Good morning, Daddy!"
It was a little awkward to hear the name Daddy to Soarin'. It would probably take him some time to get used to being called that name. He thought of coming up with his own affectionate name for her, and to him, the color of her coat reminded him of a pumpkin. "Good morning, Pumpkin. Are you hungry?"
Scootalooo let go of Soarin' and her nostrils twitched as she sniffed the air. "Yes. What smells so good?"
"Pancakes," Soarin' answered. "You'd better get downstairs before they all disappear." Dash and, er, I meant your Mother and I are waiting."
"Let's go! I'm starving!" Scootaloo said. She then bounced herself out of her bed and raced downstairs. There she saw the kitchen table with three plates and what seemed like mounds of pancakes that nearly hit the top of the ceiling. "Mom!" Scootaloo cried out. She raced over and hugged Rainbow Dash.
"Hey, Scoots! I'm so glad that you're awake now. We are both very fortunate that I was able to keep Soarin' occupied with snacks because he would have eaten all of these pancakes by himself. It took me a very long time to make this, but I wanted to make something special for all of us on our first day together as a family. Go have a seat. There's a special gift that I had made for you."
Soarin' walked in and sat down at the table. "Try on your new necklace, Scootaloo. It looks really nice."
Scootaloo sat at her seat, in between Soarin' and Rainbow and looked at a sparkling necklace with a sea shell attached. At first she thought that it was a different shell, because it looked much more prettier, but then she saw the cross on the center of the shell.
Rainbow Dash took the necklace and put it around Scootaloo's neck. The two little magnets clicked together and Scootaloo looked down at her new, sparkling necklace.
"What do you think?" Rainbow asked.
"It's absolutely stunning," Scootaloo said as she stared down at it. "But how? How did you make it look so much better and so...." Scootaloo paused for a moment to think of a good word to use to describe what she saw. "Dazzling?"
"I didn't make it like that, Scoots. I simply took it to Rarity and she polished it up carefully and used her magic to make it all sparkly like that. She's pretty generous to take the time out of her busy day to do that for you."
"It really is amazing," Scootaloo said. "I can't wait to show Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom. I'm going to wear it every day because it has so much meaning to me."
"May we eat now?" Soarin' asked. He had his hoof just inches away from the plate that had the most amount of pancakes.
Rainbow Dash pushed over a small plate for Scootaloo and said, "Okay, we can eat." She sat there and watched the two ponies pig out within an instant. She wasn't feeling well, mainly because of what she put her body through at the arcade yesterday and she was exhausted from getting up early to see Rarity so that she could tell her the news and get that necklace made up, but here she was, still able to feel happy and enjoy the start of a brand new life together. No matter what might happen between the three of them, Scootaloo would be always worth it to her.
"Hey! Can we do some more fun and awesome things together, today?" Scootaloo asked with a mouthful of pancakes.
"I think we might be able to manage something," Rainbow said. "But I need a nap soon as I'm not used to being up this early any longer."
"But how come? I thought all Wonderbolts get up early and exercise."
"Eh, Scoots. This Wonderbolt is a little different now a days. Do you remember that talk we had a while ago about our disabilities when you surprised me with that wheelchair that you, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom decorated for me?"
"Yes, but you're out of that wheelchair and flying again, so everything's all better, right?"
"I'm sorry, Scootaloo, but that's not so. I still have problems, and I hope you may understand that I'm not as outgoing and energetic as I used to be. I need lots of rest these days."
Scootaloo sunk low in her seat. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I thought you were all better by now. I'll always think you're the best though and nothing will ever change my mind."
"You're such a sweet kid, Scoots. Thank you for understanding." Rainbow Dash quickly finished her plate and said, "I think I need to take a nap right now, but when I wake up, we most certainly can go to the park and do something fun. Maybe you can play a video game with Soarin' until I wake up." Rainbow Dash got up out of her seat and walked into the bedroom. She fell face first onto her pillow and began to think to herself. She realized right then and there that if she were not suffering with her disabilities, then there would be no way in her mind that she'd ever consider having kids, whether adopted or not because she'd be too busy focusing on being the best Wonderbolt possible. She also realized the tipping point of her decision when it came to adopting Scootaloo. It was because of that traumatic incident with those two bullies that hurt Scootaloo very much. What happened to Scootaloo was terrible, but if that had not happened and her heart was not broken for Scootaloo in such a way, she may not have ended up adopting her, and now was the perfect time for it since Scootaloo would have both a mother and father in her life. It was all pretty crazy and she trusted the Lord to provide good things through some of her most terrible and darkest times. The warmth from the blankets relaxed her achy body and she quickly fell asleep, but that sleep was very soon disturbed when she felt something hit the back of her head. Rainbow Dash reached behind her head and grabbed the strange object. She then picked her head up off the pillow and brought the object in front of her eyes. She blinked a few times when she realized that it was a scroll with a little red ribbon tied around it. Rainbow Dash quickly opened it up and read the letter, "Dear Princess Rainbow Dash, there's no time to explain, but we need you to meet us at the library. Pinkie Pie is in trouble and I'd like all of us to be together for her. Your sister in Christ, Twilight Sparkle."
"Princess Rainbow Dash?" Rainbow thought to herself. "I guess she had written dear Princess so many times that it's engraved into her brain." Rainbow Dash decided not to dwell too much on that and got out of bed. She raced over to the living room where Scootaloo and Soarin' were playing a video game together.
"Up already?" Soarin' asked.
"Ready to go to the park, Mom?" Scootaloo asked.
"Not right now," Rainbow answered. "I just got a letter from Twilight about a rather urgent issue. I have to go visit her but we'll do something when I get back, I promise. You two have fun playing together."
Rainbow Dash left the house and flew down to the ground. She was too tired to fly at this moment since she was in need of a nap, so she decided to walk. She thought about what could be wrong with Pinkie Pie and wondered how she was doing. She hoped that it wasn't anything major or tragic since she recalled just how extra bizarre she was behaving from her last encounter with her.
Upon walking through Ponyville, she saw a familiar looking mare that caught her eye. The mare she was staring at had an amber colored coat and an orange colored mane and tail with a treble cleft for a cutie mark. She was also hammering a sign into the ground which was a large music note that advertised her business. Rainbow Dash knew she had to be somewhere, but she couldn't help but say something to this pony. "Hey there."
The mare turned around and greeted her. "Hi, my name is Melody. Are you interested in taking music lessons?"
"Actually, maybe one day, but you're the pony who I think gave lessons to my husband, Soarin', right?"
"Soarin'?" she asked. "Ah, yes, and you must be his wife he tells me about, Rainbow Dash."
"Yeah, that's me. I was really impressed with what he was able to do and I never knew he had that kind of talent in him. You must be a great teacher since he was able to learn so quickly."
"Soarin' worked very hard and he doesn't have a very good musical ear, but he was desperate to succeed and he kept telling me that you were the main reason why he kept wanting to improve and write his first song. He wrote most of that guitar solo himself, I just helped better it a bit."
"That's really amazing, he did work very hard at home whenever he could. Now I just need to get him singing lessons."
"That can be arranged as well," she said. "He told me that he wrote lyrics to his song, but I never heard him sing."
Rainbow Dash giggled. "Maybe that was for the better, but it was really adorable, regardless."
"Would you be interested in taking a tour of my home or trying out some of the guitars or other instruments? I just recently moved into Ponyville to start up my business."
Rainbow Dash looked toward the direction of Twilight's house for a moment. "Hm, I really should be going. I just wanted to stop by and tell you how impressed I am with Soarin'. I didn't know that you could teach an old dog new tricks."
"One is never too old to learn new things and with enough dedication and passion, you can do anything. Perhaps you both can take lessons together." The mare handed her a card with her information on it. "I don't want you to be late to where ever you have to go, but here's my card and I hope to see you and Soarin' again soon! Have a great day."
Rainbow Dash thanked her and then continued to walk to Twilight's house while thinking about how cool it might be to play guitar with Soarin' and maybe nickname herself, Rainbow Thrash. She turned a corner and was only one block away from Twilight's house when suddenly, a mare swooped down from the air and landed in front of her. It was Risk Taker and she greeted her with a warm hug.
"Rainbow Dash! I have been looking all over for you. How are you doing? How is your pain?"
Rainbow Dash answered, "Hi, Risk, my pain has been really bad lately and I still sleep a lot, but I'm really happy that Soarin' and I decided to adopt a filly that is close to both of our hearts. Her name is Scootaloo and she's had a rather difficult time in her life."
Risk seemed very upset that Rainbow was still suffering with great pain. She would spend long amounts of time in prayer every day for her, hoping and asking that Rainbow would be healed of her pain and would be given more energy. She especially felt bad because she was part of the reason why she was suffering. The orange Pegasus was happy to hear that she decided to adopt and congratulated her on that. "What a wonderful thing to do! I'm sure you'll be a great mother to her."
"I hope so," Rainbow said. She then thought about the news that she read in the paper and brought it up to Risk. "Did you hear that they caught Emerald Envy?"
"I was the one responsible for tracking her down and turning her in. It was quite a battle and she tried to get away, but she couldn't run forever."
"Wow," Rainbow said. "How did you know where to find her?"
"I guess I never told you this before, but Emmy told me she was going to flee to Manehatten in hopes to escape authority right after her plan to get you hurt. I didn't know where exactly she'd be, but I was a close friend of hers at one point and I was able to guess the most realistic place she'd be hiding. The whole thing was insane, and the guards found that she had written plans to hurt others. I'm so glad that she's not a threat to anypony else, but I really hope that she can change." Risk paused for a moment. "Just like me."
"There's always hope," Rainbow answered. "We can't give up representing what is good and showing kindness and compassion." Rainbow Dash became curious about her friend and asked. "So where have you been? I haven't seen you in a while."
"I was wondering the same thing about yourself. I used to see you roaming the streets of Ponyville, but I guess I haven't seen you lately because you're in so much pain and you said that you have been sleeping a lot more. I spend much of time writing friendship letters to Princess Celestia and visiting Manehatten. I started attending church services in that building that was formerly a place called Unbridled. I am considering moving into an apartment near that building."
"Oh, gosh," Rainbow thought to herself. That building used to be the most vile and unmentionable place in that entire city where Rarity once fell victim to money and prostituted herself for riches. "I remember Princess Celestia saying something about that place becoming a church, but why exactly do you want to go there?"
"I feel like that city has the most unbelieving ponies there and I feel called to go and share my story. I'm still going to come visit Ponyville often and talk to you and Twilight, please don't think I'm just going to forget about you."
Rainbow realized that there was a someplace where she had to be and it was kind of an emergency. "That all sounds wonderful and everything, and I'm really glad to bump into you, but I sort of have an emergency and I have to be somewhere."
"Oh, I have to go visit the Princess very soon anyway. I'm just so happy that I got to talk to you again and I'll try to make some time to visit you." Risk turned and was about to leave but turned around and asked, "Hey, Rainbow?"
"Yes?"
"Please feel better, I hate knowing that you're still suffering and I pray everyday for you."
"I don't think I can control that, but I have all the love I need from my husband and from friends like you. It's a little crazy when I think about it, but a lot of good things happened because of my sufferings. Never count out God to take something terrible and use it for good later on."
"Amen," Risk said and then left.
Rainbow Dash continued on her way, hoping that whatever the problem was, it was not major and her spending time talking with Risk wouldn't make matters worse. There she saw in the distance, Twilight's library with all her friends, minus Pinkie, standing in a circle discussing matters in front of Twilight's house.
"Hey girls, I'm here," Rainbow said while making herself a part of the circle.
"Well, it took ya long enough," Applejack said. "I think we all expected ya to be the first one here bein' that yer so fast and everythin'."
"Yeah, well, I got caught up into a conversation on my way here. I know this is an emergency and I'm sorry about being a bit slow. Where's Pinkie anyway? Is everything okay?"
Twilight answered her, "Apparently not. Mister Cake sent me a letter telling me that Pinkie Pie has really spiraled downhill with her mental well being and got into major trouble on the job. He said that he's sending her on her way to me."
"Was there a reason why you sent that letter to me in my bed? I mean, how did you know that I'd happen to be there at that moment?" Rainbow asked.
"Well," Twilight said awkwardly. "I figured you'd be there maybe because of Soarin'. I just hope I didn't interrupt any, um, private business between you two."
"Figures you would think that," Rainbow slyly said. "But thankfully, I was just trying to take a nap. I did think it was quite humorous how you wrote to me as Princess in the letter."
"I did?" Twilight asked.
"She wrote to me as Princess too," Rarity said.
The rest of her friends agreed that they all got letters saying Princess.
"Whoops," Twilight said. "I guess my mind was racing so much when I heard the news that I wasn't thinking very clearly and I usually write to the Princess about serious matters."
Twilight and her friends waited outside for Pinkie without saying much more. They were worried for her and said a prayer together for their troubled friend. When they finished their prayer, they looked and saw her coming towards Twilight's house with her head hanging low. Pinkie walked up within a few feet of them and then stopped.
Her friends waited for her to say something but she did not speak. They simply stared at her awkwardly, but nothing was said.
Twilight looked at her friends nervously and realized that she was probably better off making the first move. Twilight pawed nervously at the ground and then broke the silence. "So, Pinkie. Long time I guess." She waited for a response but there was none. "Um, how are you?"
Pinkie Pie sighed and put her head even lower to the ground, her nose almost touching the dirt. "Fine," she said in a tone of voice that spoke of great apathy.
Twilight continued. "Mister and Misses Cake told me that you were having problems and..."
Pinkie Pie fumed and the anger took over her mind. She picked her head up and shouted, "I'm fine and there are no problems in my life!"
Twilight and her friends stepped back a bit when they noticed that Pinkie's coat had turned from pink to crimson red.
Rarity blinked a few times and asked, "Is Pinkie's coat a completely different color or have I had one too many glasses of wine to drink today?"
"Pinkie's coat is definitely a different color right now," Twilight admitted.
"Huh?" Pinkie looked at her front leg and noticed that the shade of her coat was very different. "It's probably just how the light is reflecting off my coat. You should have probably thought of that since you're supposed to be so smart with your science facts."
Twilight felt a little bit insulted at Pinkie's calloused remark. "Pinkie, that doesn't make sense. Your coat wouldn't turn into a different color just because of the sun light and..."
Pinkie Pie cut her off and her coat became even darker. "Don't you dare tell me that I'm wrong. My coat is fine and you're all delusional." The crazed mare's breathing became very heavy and she looked as if she was about to snap at any moment.
Fluttershy was cowering behind Applejack, afraid of this never before seen Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie Pie fumed at her friends. "You know, I thought my friends really cared about me at first, but I can clearly see that all you are interested in doing is judging me and criticizing everything about me! It's no wonder I left you all in the first place. Maybe I'll just turn and go home now!"
Rainbow Dash stepped forward and was about to say something, but Twilight put her hoof to her side and whispered, "You'd better let me handle this one just to be safe." Twilight looked back to Pinkie who was boiling with rage and animosity. She had about a hundred Bible verses going through her mind about anger, but she decided that perhaps it would be sagacious to not quote any Bible verses because she saw that Pinkie Pie was overly sensitive to the slightest bit of criticism. "I apologize, Pinkie. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings and criticize you in a negative way. Your coat is fine and you look great. It looks like you've been working out quite a bit." Twilight gave the biggest forced smile in hopes to make Pinkie forget about her anger. A soft squeeing sound happened when Twilight smiled. For ponies sometimes made squeeing sounds like that of a rubber ducky being squeezed when they smiled. She was hoping that Pinkie would think that she was trying to be kind, truthful and not sound like a cutie mark kisser.
Pinkie Pie's breathing started to calm down and her coat slowly turned back into the regular pink color. She regained her senses once more and answered, "Thanks, I guess. And yeah, I have been going back to the gym, especially since my usual work out at home ins't working. I used to be able to workout my abs by leaning against my bed and laughing as I watched comedy movies, but they don't make me laugh anymore for some reason." Pinkie paused for a moment and asked, "So what do you want from me?"
"Mister and Misses Cake said that you were coming to visit us today and that perhaps you were...." Twilight Sparkle thought very hard of how she wanted to word this since Pinkie was so easily angered and agitated by how things were worded. "Well, uh, please do not take this in any negative way, but Mister Cake said that you haven't been the same lately and he wanted us to talk to you about it to see if we can help you first before seeking other alternatives."
Pinkie Pie felt a small burst of tension in her body and she was angry since she had already told them that everything was fine, but she could no longer hide the lie that she was living behind because the hurt was too great. "I-I-I get angry sometimes," Pinkie admitted in a remorseful tone of voice. "And so many times, while I'm in the house, the oxygen goes off and I can't breathe, but somehow I don't die. It's really weird."
Twilight's mind attempted to figure out what on earth she meant by turning the oxygen off. "Hmmmm. Anything else? We haven't seen you in such a long time."
"Yeah," Pinkie sighed. "I don't really sleep anymore and my body feels like it's going to shut down, so I've been spending as much time as possible at the gym just to make sure that I don't die since you said that exercise was good for me a while back. I seem to be constantly afraid of dying at any moment and often have random thoughts of terrible ways that I might die, even though I also have frequently brief, but very intense moments where I want to kill myself when I get upset. I also have so much trouble remembering things and I can't read anymore because I don't have any focus. I often feel like I'm becoming dumber and my mind is slowly starting to become erased. It's almost like my mind and body feels like it will..." Pinkie paused for a moment to think of the word she wanted to use. "A trophy?"
"Atrophy!" Twilight said. Twilight's mind began connecting the pieces of information that was given to her. "Do go on, I'm interested in hearing more. Is there anything else odd that's going on in your life that you feel comfortable telling me about?"
"Yeah, I get these really crazy heart races and sometimes it's hard to get settled down for bed. I have to spend at least three to four hours a day exercising strenuously for just a chance of getting some sleep. I also had to go back to the dentist because this filly destroyed all her fillings because I grind my teeth so much. Apparently, I'm not aware of doing it." Pinkie pie looked at Twilight who seemed to be very deep in thought. "What are you thinking about, Twi?"
Twilight blinked a few times when she suddenly realized what Pinkie was going through. "That's it!"
"That's what?" Pinkie asked.
"Pinkie, do you remember how we always used to kind of joke about how you were manic and everything?"
Pinkie Pie nodded her head yes. "Uh-huh."
"Well, I think you have gone into the down side of being manic and it seems like you are describing symptoms of having a mixed state. Remember how I always admonished you that the highs in life you experienced would eventually come crashing down?"
"Yeeeeeeees," Pinkie Pie said sounding slightly annoyed again.
"It sounds like you have finally hit that stage where you need a little help and I know exactly what to do to fix you up!" Twilight said with excitement. "I have been waiting to use this medicine for a long time."
"Since when do you know anything about medicine?" Pinkie asked. "I thought you were supposed to only know about the Bible."
Twilight laughed. "You know that science fascinates me just as much as theology, especially since I used to study and practice chemistry in school. Learning about nearly anything is fun to me. You fit the criteria perfectly from what you have described to me and chances are, if it looks like a duck, if it waddles like a duck, and if it quacks like a duck, then there's a really good chance that it's a duck. In other words, it's really obvious to me what you're going through and rectifying this little problem should be a very simple task for me."
Pinkie Pie frowned. "You can't be an expert at everything, Twilight, and I don't need medicine. I already know what the problem with me is and how to fix it."
"Do tell," Twilight said.
"I'm demon possessed and I'm going to find somepony who can perform an exorcism and get me feeling normal again."
Twilight bit her lip hard. She forgot that Pinkie thought about things quite differently. "Pinkie, I really don't think you are demon possessed. It's really obvious that you're bipolar and have very high anxiety with the heart racing, feelings of suffocating, near constant fear of death, obsessive compulsions with the exercise, rapid mood cycles."
"I'm not bipolar!" Pinkie shouted. "And if I am, it's not that bad. I know that a demon must have entered my mind during my sleep because I have been having bad dreams lately."
Twilight saw that she wasn't going to convince her friend so she decided to make a little deal with her. "Okay, Pinkie, how about this? You let me fix you up a little something special and if that doesn't work, then we can go find somepony who would be willing to perform an exorcism on you. Deal?"
"No!" Pinkie said. "I don't need your help. In fact, God helps those who help themselves!"
Twilight sighed. "You know that quote is no where in the Bible, Pinkie, and the Bible clearly shows us that God helps those who cannot help themselves."
"Well, I don't want it!"
Applejack was getting tired of listening to Pinkie rejecting her friend's help. "Hey, listen, Pinkie! Yer crazy and ya need to shut yer trap and just take the dern medicine that Twilight has fer ya! Quit bein' such a pain in the flank! Ya almost as bad as that time when ya were diabetic and I had to literally drag ya to the farm!"
Twilight wished she had an apple to stuff into Applejack's mouth right now, but she had none. She simply put her hoof to her face and whispered, "Applejack, I really don't think your brutal honesty is wanted right now, perhaps it's best to be silent."
The words from Applejack seemed to pierce through Pinkie Pie's mind and caused her great anguish. Pinkie Pie growled like a rabid dog and her coat rapidly turned back to that dark shade of red. She stared at Applejack with rage and slowly drew her hoof across the ground as a million negative thoughts flooded her mind.
"Perhaps ya just need a good kick in the flank again," Applejack said.
That did it. That last comment sent Pinkie into a frenzied rage and her mind had snapped. Without even thinking, she lunged at what was now her enemy in her mind. Pinkie Pie sunk her hoof into Applejack's left cheek.
Applejack and her friends stood there stunned for a moment that Pinkie would ever do something violent like this, especially to her own friend and sister in Christ.
Pinkie Pie attempted to wrestle Applejack to the ground and surprisingly, she almost knocked her down since she was much stronger from exercising so much, but Applejack was still stronger and managed to push her down to the ground.
Pinkie Pie found herself looking up at Applejack and kicked all four legs up into her chest as hard as she could.
"Stop!" Twilight yelled out. "Stop, Pinkie!"
The other ponies gathered around closer except for Fluttershy, she made sure to keep her distance because she was terrified. The ponies began to shout at the struggling pink mare. They eventually had to pin her legs down to the ground to prevent her from hitting Applejack.
Pinkie tried to move her legs but couldn't, so she resorted to biting Applejack's leg as hard as she could.
"Son of an onion!" Applejack cried out. She shook her leg in an attempt to free herself from the clenched jaws of Pinkie, but doing so only made her bite harder, like a savage wolf. Applejack was surprised at how hard she could bite and didn't expect it to hurt this much. She figured that perhaps Pinkie's jaw was so strong because she could practically talk the legs off an iron pot. "Pinkie Pie, let go, or I'm seriously gonna let ya have it."
The mad mare growled and clamped down even harder.
Applejack couldn't take the pain anymore. She raised her other hoof and slammed it into Pinkie's face but it was not enough to free herself. Applejack hit her again and again and the third hit finally forced Pinkie to let go. Applejack pulled her front leg back and looked at it.
Twilight looked at her friend's leg that was now starting to swell up. "Applejack, you might want to ice that. It looks pretty bad."
"I'll be okay, but golly! Pinkie Pie may be right all along. She must have a demon inside her! I ain't ever seen a pony so out of control before."
Twilight turned back to Pinkie and saw that she was dazed and sobbing softly. Pinkie had never been hit that hard in her life before and Applejack hadn't nearly used as much force as she could have on her.
"What should we do with her," Rainbow asked while still pinning Pinkie down.
Twilight looked at Applejack's leg and then back to Pinkie's face. "I think that two ponies need to come inside and get some ice therapy first. Pinkie looks pretty out of it. Would you carry her in, Rainbow?"
Rainbow was a little bit afraid that she might snap again and bite her, but she obeyed Twilight's request and scooped her up in her front legs.
Twilight followed the other ponies into her home while taking notice of Applejack's limp.
Spike stood there dumbfounded as he looked at Pinkie Pie's bruised face. "What happened?" he asked. "I thought I heard arguing outside as I was cleaning the kitchen."
"No time for questions now, Spike. Pinkie got into a little scuffle with A.J. and we need two ice packs now."
Rainbow Dash set Pinkie down on the floor and then sat next to her.
Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy sat down next to the two ponies, but Fluttershy still kept her distance a bit because she was afraid of Pinkie. What she saw traumatized her a bit.
Twilight sighed and said, "Okay, please make sure the library stays in one piece. I'm going to work on something that I have been preparing for a very, very long time. I won't be too long, really." Twilight walked over to a door nearby and ventured down into the basement hoping that Pinkie wouldn't cause anymore trouble. She was also a bit afraid because Pinkie wasn't a normal pony and seemed to defy logic and science. She remembered that one time when she tried to figure out how her Pinkie senses worked, but that only ended in utter failure and acceptance that she couldn't always have an explanation for everything. This new problem seemed to be much more like an easier fix and she only hoped that Pinkie, as odd and sometimes scientifically impossible to explain, would be able to benefit from her solution that she had in mind.
Spike had come back with the ice packs and gave them to the wounded ponies. "So what exactly happened?" he asked with curiosity and concern.
Pinkie Pie dropped the ice pack and lost control over her emotions. This time, her coat was a dark shade of pink and her mane and tail fell flat. "Twilight is going to send me to the pillow room and lock me up for good because I'm the anti-Christ and I don't know why, but I hate you all so much sometimes! Jesus doesn't love me anymore and I'm going to die and go to Hell for what I've done. I'm the worst kind of Christian imaginable and I don't even consider myself a Christian anymore!"
"Whoa, Pinkie," Rainbow said. "Slow down for a moment. I'm so sorry you are having a really difficult time with your emotions, but Twilight is not going to throw you in the looney bin and Jesus certainly still loves you, just like the rest of us."
"But why? Why do I have such agonizing thoughts that do not leave my mind? The words play over and over in my mind that I am the anti-Christ and the thoughts are so strong that it's almost like I can hear it audibly, but I know I'm truly not hearing it. Nothing else makes sense other than that God allowed a demon to enter my mind and take over my body. I'm just so afraid of dying right now and my heart feels like it's going to pound out of my chest. Dashie, don't let me die. I don't want to die right now." Pinkie Pie clung to her friend's body shaking and sobbing.
Rainbow Dash was a bit nervous that Pinkie was still unpredictable and could resort to being violent again, but she hugged her friend regardless. "Pinkie, I do not know why you have these problems. I wish God would take away my psychical pain and other problems in my life, but we all have something broken in us. There's no nice way to put it. We are all broken in some way and just because we may suffer and fail in different areas in our lives doesn't mean that God will love us any more or any less. Even if you truly stepped away and renounced your faith in Christ, we would still love you the same." Rainbow Dash paused for a brief moment and added, "You do know that, right?"
Pinkie Pie picked her head up and smiled. "No, I didn't, or at least I forgot. I thought you hated me, Dashie."
"When did I ever hate you, Pinkie?"
"It all started when I wanted to hang out with you, but you said that you didn't have time and that you had to go shopping instead of spending the day with me. I took that as a made up excuse and believed that you didn't like me anymore."
Rainbow Dash remembered that day. "Honestly, Pinkie, I really did have a busy day and I couldn't hang out with you, but if I knew you were going through this, I would have made sure that I would have spent time with you as soon as I possibly could. You told me that you didn't want to see me again after I told you that I was busy anyway."
Pinkie Pie thought about this for a moment. "You're right, I did say that. And I only said that because I felt so deeply rejected and hurt that you couldn't hang out with me. Again, I don't understand where this anger comes from, but I'm not even angry at this moment. Right now, I'm just terrified and very sad at what I have become. I remember how you warned me before that I was becoming something different and I see that I have become like a monster. I'm so confused and I don't understand anything."
Rainbow Dash picked up the ice pack and put it over Pinkie's swollen eye. "Pinkie, relax. You hit a bump in the road but we're going to be here to help you recover. You don't have to understand anything right now."
"But I feel so bad, what should I do?"
"Right now, I think it's best that you show a little bit of love to Applejack," Rainbow suggested.
Pinkie Pie felt very guilty at this point. This was the second time that she had lashed out at Applejack. "Applejack, you don't have to forgive me, but I'm very sorry. I don't think I can forgive myself. I must have hurt you pretty badly."
Applejack sighed. "Eh, I've been through a heck of a lot worse. I don't know what yer goin' through, but yeah, I forgive ya. Don't feel bad bout it."
"Thanks, Applejack. I don't know what overcame me," Pinkie said. "You're right though, I should have just shut up and listened to Twilight."
"Well, I'm pretty sure Twilight's goin' to figure out what's been causin' ya to tick like that."
The door had opened and Twilight came out hovering a glass bottle and placed it on a table near them. She then went into the kitchen and came back with a glass of water. "Here, Pinkie," Twilight said as she levitated over a capsule and a glass of water. "I made this up for you; It should really help you out."
Pinkie Pie sniffed the pill and then frowned. "But I don't want to take medicine," she admitted. "Why can't you all pray for me right now and ask God to heal my mind?"
"We do pray for you, Pinkie. But praying alone without doing anything else is not a good idea," Twilight said. "It reminds me of the ponies who think they can give out Bibles to the poor without any food or water, as if that deed alone will solve all of their problems in life and make their hunger and thirst go away."
"So you're suggesting that we don't give Bibles to the poor anymore?" Pinkie asked.
"No, don't get me wrong. They do need Bibles, but they also need clothes, food, water and shelter. Similarly, you need prayer and medicine together or else really bad things are bound to happen with you. I have seen and read enough reports from Mister and Misses Cake about your behavior."
"There has to be another way around this rather than drugging me. How do I know that you know what you're doing when it comes to this? You're not a professional Doctor."
"Do you have to be a professional mathematician to know math?" Twilight asked.
"No." Pinkie replied. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Then how do you know that one plus two equals three? Why not say something ridiculous like if you add one and two, you get twelve since those two numbers next to each other would make that number? Why does one plus two equal three, Pinkie?"
Pinkie Pie put her two front hooves to her head in frustration. "Twilight, stop. You're hurting my head. I don't know why it equals three. I guess it's because everyone agrees and that's what my school taught me. I still don't think messing with medication is something you should be doing. Don't treat me like some kind of lab rat that you can test on."
"Pinkie, didn't you get into enough trouble already? The Bible is my top priority of study, but that doesn't mean I can't know anything else aside from that. I used to study chemistry for many years before I took more interest in the scriptures. This won't hurt you. It would be scientifically impossible for this to cause you any harm. In fact, what I put in here might be considered fake homeopathy bull among medical doctors. If I were to hand you over to real medical doctors, they would give you things that would most likely be quite harmful. There are sadly no safe and natural treatments that would be effective for what you suffer with except for one very specific treatment." Twilight looked at the pill briefly and smiled.
"But what's in it?" Pinkie asked. "How do I know you're not secretly angry with me and are going to make me take something that might kill me?"
Twilight was rather disappointed that she was not being trusted. "Amino acids aren't going to kill you. Look, I have L-Tryptophan in here to help calm you down and improve your mood as well as Taurine to help your racing heart, which is also an antioxidant that supports neuro and cardiovascular function. There's also some Lithium which is found in even the purest of natural spring waters and is the most effective weapon we have against many mental disorders."
"Lithium!?" Pinkie Pie shouted out. "That stuff is dangerous! I heard they give that drug out to ponies who are really crazy."
"Didn't you hear me say that it's all natural and found in the purest of spring waters?" Twilight asked.
"Yeah, but arsenic and lead is also natural too," Pinkie said.
Twilight frowned at Pinkie Pie's wise ass remark. She knew that she was afraid and such an ignorant statement only proved how little she knew about medicine. Twilight sat down on the floor and smiled warmly at her skeptical friend. "How about I give you some science facts, and really good reasons to take what I'm offering you?"
Pinkie Pie's anxiety was very high and she put her head down and sighed. She knew that having a scientific discussion with Twilight would leave her feeling confused and overwhelmed since Twilight really enjoyed going deep into discussions like these. It was one reason why Rainbow Dash would playfully call Twilight an egg head sometimes. She began to think of some way out of this conversation, but nothing came to her mind.
Twilight waved her hoof in front of Pinkie's face. "Pinkie? Hello? Would you like to hear what I have to say?"
Pinkie Pie snapped out of her trance-like stare and then slowly nodded her head yes.
Twilight put her hoof back down to the floor and smiled. "Now, what is your major fear about taking lithium?"
"I don't want to take any drugs; they scare me."
"Well, you are in luck because lithium is not a drug."
"It's not?" Pinkie asked.
Twilight shook her head no. "Nope, unless you are going to classify foods, minerals, and vitamins as drugs, then yes, but it's not what you're most likely thinking about , and I can give you a little more insight about why I am so captivated by this widely misunderstood mineral." Twilight cleared her throat. "Let's talk a little bit about this substance first and why I am fascinated by it. Lithium is not a drug as I stated before. It's a mineral that belongs to the same family as sodium and potassium and is one of the most misunderstood minerals in existence. It's used for treatment of OCD, bipolar, schizophrenia, Lyme disease, depression and despite all of these new drugs that come out every year, lithium is still the number one suicide prevention medicine. It protects the brain from dozens of different offensive chemicals and toxins, both synthetic and naturally occurring. Now there is much confusion because other forms of Lithium such as citrate or carbonate are potent forms that gives potentially severe and damaging side effects due to the extremely high doses. They are not well absorbed and thus need to given in much greater doses making them toxic to the body."
A fly buzzed by Pinkie's face, but her attention was locked on Twilight which spoke volumes that Twilight's words had her captivated.
Twilight noticed the serious look on Pinkie's face and how the fly didn't distract her. "Now, you told me before that you have deep concerns that you feel as if you're getting dumber and your mind is slowly being erased over time, correct?"
Pinkie Pie nodded her head yes. "I really believe that I'm going to develop Alzheimer's disease. I keep forgetting so many things, even just seconds after I was told to do something and that makes me feel the need to check things over and over again. It really eats up my time and I feel as if I can never be too certain that I did something right or have everything that I need."
"A good example of what Alzheimer's is really like is not forgetting your keys to the house, but forgetting how to use them to open the door. I understand that forgetfulness is a concern and why you might be afraid of developing Alzheimer's judging from your examples."
"I just don't want to end up forgetting who I am or how to breath," Pinkie said glumly.
"Then it might interest you that healthy ponies take it for anti-aging and brain health. Lithium prevents brain cell death and stimulates production of new brain cells. Back in the old days of medicine, something like that was believed to be impossible and quackery. We have come a long way in understanding the science behind this. The right amount can be healing and the wrong amount can be dangerous. As I said before, therapeutic doses of citrate and carbonate have very low bioavailabilty which means they are poorly absorbed by the body's cells. Pharmaceutical citrate and carbonate lithium can include a whole list of unwanted side effects such as frequent urination, thirst, nausea, hoof tremors, vomiting, and in even worse cases, drowsiness, muscular weakness, poor coordination, ringing in the ears, and blurred vision. Kidney damage and hypothyroid are very likely to occur and that's actually listed as a warning insert on the box or inside the packets. I have even heard cases of ponies who began to have major problems with their vision while taking these forms of lithium."
Pinkie Pie bit her lower lip. "So what form of lithium do you propose I take?"
Twilight closed her eyes proudly and shouted, "Orotate!" Twilight then put her hoof to her mouth when she realized how loud she must have sounded because the inner nerd inside of her was so enthusiastic. In a much softer voice, she continued. "Orotate in a supplement form has a much better bioavailabilty profile as well as greater intracelluar absorbability. Severe depression can be treated by only one hundred and fifty milligrams of orotate compared to nine hundred to one thousand eight hundred milligrams of carbonate or citrtrate. That's a HUGE difference and there's no need to monitor blood levels for toxicity at orotate's dose. And since you mentioned your fear of developing Alzheimer's disease, lithium will improve symptoms of Alzheimer's disease and it may also prevent latent Alzheimer's disease from manifesting. One of the toxins believed to contribute to Alzheimer's is the heavy metal aluminum and orotate will protect the brain from the negative effects of aluminum. This is powerful yet safe stuff.
"That sounds a bit....too good to be true," Pinkie admitted.
"I agree with you! It's a miraculous medicine! Listen, schizophrenia, depression, manic depression, multiple personality disorder and OCD have been disparaged as personality problems or character flaws and are sometimes blamed on the patient as well as many other real disabilities which is horribly wrong and flat out lazy. Many of these mental illnesses are not bizarre personality variances but instead are the result of poisoning with very common toxins found in nature and industrialized society. I'm saving you from the ghastly side effects of brain chemistry altering drugs that have been known to make problems worse and cause other ponies to snap and kill themselves or other ponies. We are talking about ponies who were using common pharmaceutical grade anti-depressants and anti-psychotics, most of them prescribed by a medical doctor and all of them come with warnings about crazy and life threatening problems that can happen because of using these drugs. It's even crazier and more risky when you go to a doctor seeking help and they start throwing in multiple anti-depressants together or combining other drugs with them, which is very common and there have never been any safety studies done for that. I know quite a few ponies who are on up to four different anti-depressants at once and even if the patient feels worse, they will sometimes keep upping the dosage or adding more drugs which causes a snowball effect of health problems." Twilight put her hoof on Pinkie's shoulder and continued. "I don't want that to happen to you and I'm sure that's a road that you don't want to venture down. God forbid if they were to know that you attacked Applejack in the way that you did, they truly would throw you into the pillow room and give you some of the most dangerous mixtures of drugs, and I'm not simply saying that to use fear tactics on you in order to get you to comply with what I want you to take. This is the truth and I want you to be well and safe, both physically and mentally. There are terrible treatment plans in both the mainstream medical practices and also in the alternative medical practices."
PInkie Pie, feeling overwhelmed and confused by all of this information started to cry again.
Twilight wiped a tear away from Pinkie's face and then slowly dragged her hoof down her cheek as she spoke softly to her. "The truth can be so hard to find, but if you look hard enough, you can cut through the nonsense and find what is right and what is good for your mind and body. I know you are afraid, but nopony wants to see you suffer and we are all here together for you, Pinkie. Do you understand me?"
Pinkie Pie sniffled and nodded her head yes.
"I don't mean to be rude and interrupt," Rarity said. "But if this kind of lithium is so good compared to all these pharmaceutical drugs, then how come medical doctors don't use what you're giving Pinkie?"
"This can be a very long discussion topic, but I'll spare you the time and give you the too long; didn't read answer. Everything can be summed up with one simple motive for the big pharmaceutical industry. Money. Doctors are going to give out drugs from the big drug companies because there is much more money to be made and they are trained and pressured to do so without thinking about the consequences of the patient or any better alternatives or traditional medicines that's been used for thousands of years. It's a very sad thing and I think that most doctors truly start off with good intentions, wanting to help ponies, but are eventually forced to give in to a broken system that cares for profit over good health and wellness. I believe some of them want to treat sick ponies with other methods, but can't because doing so would greatly put their profession at risk. You always hear stories about how doctors refuse to take certain treatments for themselves and their families, but have no issues with giving these same controversial treatments to other ponies. I still practice and preach what still should be preached today but is sadly long forgotten among the medical establishment. Thou shall first do no harm and also another statement I think A.J. might strongly agree with, let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine by thy food."
"Amen!" Applejack said. "There's almost never a time when I git sick 'cause I got the best food a pony could ever ask fer! I drink my raw eggs and some apple cider vinegar every mornin'!"
"That's so unkind and terrible," Fluttershy said.
"And I'm sure it wouldn't surprise you that big drug companies torture and destroy countless critters with pointless tests in order to avoid law suits for when ponies get injured or killed by these drugs that still to this day, do not have an effect as powerful or give any potential curing as the stuff we have been using for ages."
Fluttershy could not say anything because the information had upset her so much.
"Soooooo," Twilight said after a brief moment of silence. "Back to what I was preaching before, lithium orotate improves mood, memory, motivation, aggressive feelings, fatigue, headaches, and other mental functions with a tiny amount." Twilight turned to Rainbow and said, "It also may help those with fibromyalgia pain and it is used to help those with viral co-infections." Twilight levitated the pill near her face and smiled as she studied it closely. "I'm really excited to see how this will impact you being that you're Pinkie Pie and everything. I also plan to treat your sleep problems because I know that sleep is usually a huge issue for ponies with mania. Five-Hydroxytryptophan, melatonin, and some other natural supplements come to mind. We need to promote healthy sleep by supporting and maintaining melatonin, GABA, and serotonin levels. I'm also sure we can pick up some good teas like Valerian Root and Passion Flower to help you settle down even more at night. Your circadian rhythm is probably so out of whack." Twilight looked back to Pinkie and asked, "Would you like me to go a bit deeper into the science of this or are you convinced?"
"Uh, I'm good," Pinkie said knowing that Twilight could perhaps talk about this stuff until her jaw fell off.
Twilight smiled as she approached her friend with the medicine "Great! You can take one now."
Pinkie Pie backed up against the wall and dropped the ice pack she was holding. "I'll take it under once circumstance."
"What circumstance would that be?" Twilight asked feeling extremely disappointed that her science talk wasn't enough to overcome Pinkie's fears.
"You all have to take a pill, including Applejack."
"Aw, heck no!" Applejack protested. "I ain't takin' no pill. Is that thing even organic? How do I know that it's safe for me and not Pinkie. Why I ought to..."
Applejack's words were cut short by Twilight. "If this is going to make Pinkie take the medicine, then you'll trust me and take it as well. Did you not hear the wonderful benefits of this supplement? Were you even listening to anything that I said about lithium orotate? It can't hurt you and I wasn't pulling made up facts out of my flank." Twilight smacked her front hoof against the other in order to make an emphasis on what she was saying. "There are hard case studies on the things I said and are proven to be true." Twilight then used her magic and gave Applejack a pill.
"Golly! Pinkie Pie at one time went 'round the town forcin' religion down pony's throats, I'd never guess that she'd be forcin' pills down our throats either, why I can't stand that..."
Applejack's sentence was cut short when Twilight used her magic and stuffed the pill into Applejack's mouth. Applejack was so startled that she accidentally swallowed it. She coughed a few times and when she realized that she had already swallowed the pill, she sat down and said, "Well, I sure hope I don't keel over and die. I never took a pill in my entire life."
Twilight Sparkle shook her head in disappointment after listening to Applejack. She emptied the small bottle and used her magic to levitate another five additional pills and gave the rest of her friends one, including herself. "Look, Applejack took one and she's still standing strong, now the rest of us are going to take one as well." Twilight looked up at the pill that she was holding up with her magic and said, "Thank you Jesus for good, safe, healing medicine. Amen." She then placed the pill onto her hoof and then put it into her mouth. She waited for a brief moment for the rest of her friends to do the same and then she swallowed the pill.
The other ponies weren't so sure about this idea, but they did it for Pinkie and they also trusted Twilight's teachings.
Pinkie Pie looked down at the pill in her hoof for a moment and then looked up to see a glass of water hovering in the air.
"These pills are pretty easy to swallow, but if you need the water, it's right here," Twilight said.
Pinkie Pie shoved the pill into her mouth and then grabbed the water from Twilight and with one mighty gulp, she closed her eyes tightly and swallowed the medicine.
"See, Pinkie," Twilight said. We all took one and we're okay. In fact, I might be taking this little proprietary blend on a regular basis as well. I'd never give anypony anything that would cause any possible harm to them, you can trust me on this. These are veggie based capsules as well."
Pinkie sighed. "I'm sorry that I made everypony else take my medicine. That wasn't right of me."
"Consider that everypony got a healthy treat. A rather expensive one too," Twilight said.
Applejack grunted a few words of disapproval.
"You'll be fine, Applejack. It can only help, if anything," Twilight assured.
"So is that it?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Am I all better now and never have to take another pill again?"
Twilight laughed. "There are no free lunches in medicine, Pinkie and you probably won't notice a change the first time around."
Pinkie Pie looked down disappointed. "Oh, I see."
"Cheer up, Pinkie," Twilight said. "When you start feeling better, you won't even care that you take medicine. In fact, it's so safe that you can take more of these pills if you are having an extra bad day and there are no withdrawal symptoms if you ever miss a dose or choose to stop."
"Wow, this medicine is like a miracle," Pinkie said.
"It really kind of is," Twilight said. "We should be thankful that God gave us good medicine on this earth."
"You know, I'm beginning to feel better already," Pinkie admitted.
"Impossible, unless that's just a placebo effect," Twilight said. "But I'm certainly glad you are feeling better, regardless."
Pinkie Pie had no idea what placebo meant but she didn't want to ask her at the moment. She felt that she had asked enough questions about matters. She decided to break the silence by changing the topic. "So, how is everypony doing? It seems I haven't talked to any of you in a very long time."
"I had a little argument that got me kicked off of the farm for a while, but things are better now," Applejack said.
"I've been having a small crisis with my critters for a while," Fluttershy said.
"I'm having a bit of trouble raising my son," Rarity said.
"And I was stressed to the max about the debate," Twilight said.
"When is that going to happen?" Pinkie Pie asked.
The other four mares wanted to know as well.
"It already happened," Twilight said.
"WHAT!?" her friends shouted in unison.
"Oh, my," Fluttershy said. "Did you forget to tell us when it was going to happen?"
Twilight did not look amused. "I sent letters to you all long ago about the event and included the date, time and location."
"I can't believe I forgot about it," Rarity said. I have been going through so much trouble at home that I didn't even think to check the letter again to make sure what time it was."
"Yeah, same here," Applejack said.
The rest of her friends agreed.
"Wow, we're sorry we didn't come to support you and watch the debate. You did win the debate, right?" Rainbow asked. "I can't imagine another pony being as smart as you."
"Aside from my parents, Spike was the only one to come and cheer me on, and no, I lost the debate." Twilight paused for a moment. "By a total of four votes."
"Ouch," Applejack said. "We're awfully sorry fer fergettin' bout yer big debate. I'm no expert at math, but it sounds like if ya had our support and votes, ya would have won."
Twilight sighed. "Yeah, don't worry about it. I understand that each and everyone of you have been going through some really hard times. It sucks that I didn't win, but as long as you all are still in one piece, I'm happy. I just hope Princess Celestia isn't secretly upset that I lost, although she had some very kind words for me after the debate and she did send me a letter with strong words of encouragement and a video of the debate."
"Wow, can we watch it?" Pinkie asked.
Twilight looked disappointed. "I don't feel like watching it and I have other things to do today. I'm sad that I lost and the whole thing felt like a disaster since I fainted on stage; It wasn't really a very formal debate to begin with anyway. I feel like I could have done better and I had to improvise on so much of the debate because my notes were poorly written since my original works got destroyed. I actually didn't even end up using any of my notes now that I think about it. I know I could have cross examined my opponent more as well, but he seemed to be content to just let me talk most of the time anyway, and by most of the time, I mean nearly all of it. I simply kept responding to questions and comments from him until I was done finished speaking or until he thought that was enough and cut me off. I guess I was also under a bit of stage fright and wasn't thinking very well since there were so many ponies there watching my every move. My opponent was a nice fellow though; he even treated me to dinner afterwards and apologized for mocking me and calling me names for what I represented. He said that he gets uptight and agitated when other ponies don't see eye to eye with him, and I guess that's understandable."
"So maybe we can watch it later when you're feeling better and have more time? I'm sure all of us want to see it, right?" Rarity asked.
The rest of Twilight's friends agreed.
Twilight gave a weak smile. "Okay, we can watch it another time. I promise." Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash and asked, "Has there been anything new with you, Rainbow? You have been very quiet today."
Rainbow Dash couldn't believe that she forgot to tell her friends, aside from Rarity, about the big news since she was so concerned about Pinkie. "Yeah!" Rainbow said as she perked up. "You all wouldn't believe what Soarin' and I decided to do."
Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Twilight Sparkle looked at her with anticipation. They didn't have the slightest clue about what she was going to say.
"Nopony can guess? Well, I'm really surprised that Pinkie didn't get any crazy senses, but I'm officially a mother!"
Rainbow's friends looked a bit stunned.
"Really?" Twilight glanced at her belly and asked. "You don't look pregnant to me."
"I'm not pregnant," Rainbow said. "We decided to do something better and adopt!"
Pinkie Pie's jaw almost hit the floor. "I knew I had some kind of strange pinkie sense, but it was so dull and hardly noticeable because I think I was so sad and angry. I can't believe that not only did my pinkie senses fail when it came to reminding me about Twilight's big day, but my senses also failed to tell me about this big news. Who is the lucky little filly or colt you decided to adopt?"
"We decided to adopt Scootaloo and we may adopt more ponies in the future," Rainbow proudly said. "We both agree and think that it's more important to adopt and help those who are already in need rather than bringing new life into this world."
"That's a wonderful thing to do, Rainbow," Twilight said. "Congratulations and I think we already know that you're the perfect role model and parent for Scootaloo!" Twilight paused for a moment when she remembered Rainbow's concerns about Soarin'. "So I take it that you and Soarin' are good again for whatever reason that was causing you to be concerned about him?"
"Oh!" Rainbow said. "Yeah, I screwed up. It turns out the mare he was secretly visiting was a music teacher and he spent a lot of time and effort in learning guitar so that he could write me a special song."
"Oh, wow," Twilight said. "That sounds really romantic."
Rarity sighed. "Something like that would be like a dream for me. Although considering my past, I don't think I deserve anything like that anyway, being a single mother and working at that unmentionable place in Manehatten. I guess I'll just stick to reading the Psalms and checking out romantic novels from Twilight's library."
"I'm sure there are good stallions out there who would be interested in you, Rarity. Just give it some time and don't lose hope," Twilight said.
"But what about you?" Rarity asked. "You never seem to care about finding any special stallion for yourself."
"Oh," Twilight said with an awkward smile. "That's because I'm not interested in stallions."
The rest of her friends stared at her as if they perhaps misheard the words that she spoke.
"Um, if you're wondering, I'm not interested in mares either. I'm actually asexual."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Fluttershy curiously asked.
"It means someone who has little to no sex drive or sexual attraction to anyone," Twilight said. "It's pretty rare from what I've heard, but I take a lack of libido as a blessing considering how busy I am with everything and would rather be focused on my studies, and not to mention the counseling I do with so many ponies when it comes to lusting issues."
"So you have no romantic desires?" Rarity asked. "How is that even possible?"
"Well, let's just say it's there but it's very low and it's not important to me anyway. You girls are getting really personal with these questions. The most important relationship in my life is with Jesus and that applies to all of you as well. Not everypony is called to be in a relationship like how you all are thinking. Let's not forget that we worship a stallion who was single throughout his entire life here. I don't mean to discourage anypony when it comes to finding a mate, but I think for me, it's best to stay committed to what I do and be abstinent."
"There's always some pony that can change your mind," Rarity said.
"We'll cross that bridge if we ever get to it," Twilight said with a wink.
Pinkie Pie was deep in thought. "Well, I wasn't thinking like that. When I feel well, I love everypony, no matter if they're mare or stallion and I'd want nothing more than to be in a relationship with every single pony on this earth. All I care about when I'm feeling normal is making friends and cheering up ponies and I'm still not sure what you all are talking about or mean by sex drive or romantic desires. I'm not even sure if I know what those words actually mean."
Applejack hid her face in her hat. "Pinkie, ya made it sound like ya were some kind of funny filly at first, but knowin' how different ya are and everythin', it wouldn't surprise me one bit if ya truly were one. Nor would it surprise me if ya turn out to be bi and not just in the sense of bein' bipolar."
"A funny filly? I think you mean a silly filly, because I used to be really good at being one of those." Pinkie sighed when she realized how bad things were going in her life lately. "Just not at this moment."
"We kind of figured that you'd think that way," Twilight admitted. "Don't worry, we're going to get you back to the good old Pinkie Pie that felt well and exuberant." She was about to change the topic until she heard a sudden knock at the door.
Spike instantly went over to see who it was.
Twilight's ears perked up "Who is it, Spike?"
"Mormons," He answered.
"Crud," Twilight said. " I forgot that I made a special promise that I'd go out with them for lunch today with Spike, but Pinkie Pie needs us to be here for her. I don't know what to do." Twilight looked at Pinkie and asked, "Pinkie Pie, do you need me to stay here with you?"
"Ya made a promise and ya better keep yer word!" Applejack said sternly.
Twilight sighed. "Yes, I suppose that is true, but I asked Pinkie how she feels."
"Um, I think I'll be okay, and you should listen to Applejack since you made a promise and it would be a sin not to keep it," Pinkie admitted.
"Well, that is true, but I don't want to leave you so quickly. Did I at least cover everything you'd like to know about lithium?" Twilight asked.
"I think so," Pinkie answered. She still had a bit of guilt and regret written on her face.
The knocking on the door grew louder and faster.
"Okay! I really need to get going." Twilight paused for a moment and gave Pinkie Pie an innocent kiss on her snout. She spoke to Pinkie in a much softer voice. "Don't ever feel bad for the things you can't help or control and don't ever think that we'll ever give up on you or not love you anymore. It's okay to not be okay in life sometimes."
Applejack distanced herself a bit. She didn't quite understand this filly kissing business and was still unsure about it. Bro-hoofs were enough and even hugging was pushing her levels of comfort, but she didn't say anything because she knew Twilight was sane and she was told that Pinkie Pie was very affectionate.
Twilight put her hoof to her mouth when she realized that she forgot to bring up the extra medicine that she compounded in her little work lab in the basement. "Pinkie, I forgot to bring up more of the medicine and I need to get going now! It's in the basement on the wooden table in an orange bottle. You can't miss it! Remember, it's the orange bottle."
Pinkie Pie watched as Twilight quickly gathered some things and then smiled and winked at her before racing out the door. For the first time in a very long time, she felt loved and accepted and even though her friends had always loved her despite what her mind believed before, they really proved it today, regardless of how obstinate and stubborn she was, which made her heart glad.
Spike grabbed a top hat and followed Twilight out the door before closing it.
"Well, it's been quite an interesting day," Rarity admitted.
"Yeah, and I still ain't happy that I got forced to take medication. I ain't ever taken a pill in my life before.
"Oh, now hush, Applejack," Rarity said. "You know that Twilight is the brains of this group and she gave good reasons why it's safe and healthy."
Applejack took off her hat and scratched her head. "Yeah, I guess. I just hate the idea of takin' a pill and I guess I have a bit of a phobia when it comes to takin' em'. I always thought that pills were fer the sick only and I'm healthy enough because I git all the nutrients I need from my organic farm."
"And that's a good and wise thing to do," Rainbow said. "But sometimes we need to get more of certain nutrients that are hard to get from most foods. Even I, as a Wonderbolt, had to take quite a few supplements to stay in tip top shape. Rhodiola Rosea is just one of the few supplements that comes to mind."
"And what in tar-nations is that?" Applejack asked. "Never heard of a pill called rodeo before."
Rainbow Dash laughed. "I said Rhodiola, not rodeo! it's an adaptogen, a plant that can thrive in very harsh conditions when it comes to cold, wind, intense radiation exposure, drought, and even reduced oxygen from over ten thousand feet into the sub-arctic mountains which might explain much of it's exceptional healing powers. It's popular among athletes and helps with many things other than helping our bodies to adapt to stressful situations. I know that Soarin' takes it everyday before training and I remember learning much about it from Spitfire when I was training with the Wonderbolts."
"Interestin'," Applejack said. "But why do they call it that name?"
"Because it smells like roses when the plant is cut," Rainbow answered.
"Wow!" Pinkie said. "I know that I have seen health food stores that sell all kinds of vitamins and maybe if I buy all the bottles, I'll get super healthy and feel better."
"No, Pinkie," Rainbow answered. "The whole goal is to minimize expenses and it really is best to get whatever you can from food first before considering supplementing. I know you tend to have all or nothing thinking but sometimes it's even harmful to take too many supplements and not all of them are made equally. Some of them are scams and can lead to health problems including cancer. Rhodiola is possibly the safest and most effective herb on the market and the product should contain at least three percent rosavins and one percent saidrosidesl, but let's clear it past Twilight first before we put you on anything else. I'm sure she knows all about it anyway."
"Yer talkin' like Twilight and I'm not sure if should be concerned 'bout that or not," Applejack said.
"Hey, I'm not that smart," Rainbow said. "But I only know some things about this supplement because I learned a lot about it at the Wonderbolt's academy. I kind of had a crash course on it there as well as other supplements that help enhance our performance like D-Ribose. Mixing those two supplements together in a cup of homemade ginger tea is quite a good pick me up."
"So is everything okay now?" Fluttershy asked. "I have to get home and take care of my critters."
"I guess so," Pinkie Pie said. "Thank you all for coming and I'm really sorry about that incident, Applejack. I'm sure you all have important things to take care of."
Applejack got up from the floor and limped over to the door. "E-yup. I got lots of work to do on the farm since my family has been strugglin' without me fer that short while. I already forgave ya before and ya don't need to be apologizin' twice since I forgave ya the first time. Take care of yerself and don't burn any buildin's down in your manic states." Applejack tipped her hat. "Adios!"
The rest of her friends got up and followed Applejack.
Rarity waved good bye in a fashionable manner. "Ta-ta, darling. Do know that we're always here for you."
Fluttershy, still shocked at what happened earlier, calmly said, "Good bye and feel better. Maybe try some yoga to calm your nerves."
Rainbow Dash stood at the door and stared at Pinkie. She knew that Pinkie Pie really looked up to her and was kind of overly attached to her. "If you want to hang out sometime this week, I'll make sure to take some extra time out to have a filly's night out. Sound fun?"
Pinkie Pie smiled and nodded her head yes.
"The door's locked so make sure that you remember to get your pills downstairs before leaving. Remember, Twilight said they are in the orange bottle on the table. Twilight also said you can take more than one pill if you're having a bad time. Would you like me to go down with you to get the medicine?"
"I think I'll manage," Pinkie said. "Thanks for taking time to do something special with me this week. I think I'll take advantage of that."
"Okay, Pinkie. Remember to close the door on your way out, it's already locked. I hope to hear that you'll be feeling much better soon. Twilight is no dummy and she knows what she's doing. Later, sis." Rainbow Dash left the house, leaving the front door ajar.
Pinkie sighed even though she felt so loved by her friends. There was a lot of things on her mind and they were being exaggerated by her imagination and fears. Pinkie walked over to the door that led to the basement. The lights were already on and she descended down the stairs into Twilight's lab. Each step she took let out a creaking sound from the old wooden stairs. Pinkie Pie stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked around. There was the ultrasound machine that Twilight used for Rarity and countless others. Twilight had used this machines for mares who would come to her home regretting their pregnancy and wishing to terminate it. The simple task of being able to show them that there is a foal moving around and playing inside their bodies was enough to change their perspectives and perhaps even save many lives. How Twilight got such an expensive machine like that was unknown, but regardless of how she acquired it, it was being used for good along with a powerful message.
Pinkie Pie looked at her chemistry lab and found the table with an orange bottle of pills under the dimly lit glow of a light bulb that swung slightly back and forth from the ceiling. As Pinkie moved closer to the table, she noticed that there was another orange bottle right next to the one she saw at first. "Wait, what?" Pinkie asked out loud. She studied each bottle carefully and they seemed to be identical so she opened them both up and looked inside. One bottle contained pills that were white and the other bottle contained pills that weren't white. Pinkie tried to remember what the pill looked like when she first took it upstairs, but her mind had already forgotten. She sat there thinking to herself and decided to take the bottle that had many more pills in it since it would last her longer. She headed back over to the stairs and took one last look at all of Twilight's crazy lab works and realized that perhaps Twilight really was a smarty smart pants and knew what she was talking about when it also came to medicine and other things. She thought about how Twilight led their group so well anyway and how diligent and patient she was. Pinkie Pie looked up at a sign above the stairs that read, 'the larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of mystery.' Pinkie thought about that quote for a moment before she flicked the light switch off and headed back upstairs with her medicine bottle. She was now confident that this medicine would work and she was ready to begin a new and better life with it.