Cloudy and Igneous returned to Pinkamena's room and sat down. The former held the blank form in her hooves as she stared at her own daughter— resting in a dreamless sleep. The mother tried to formulate words in her mind, imagining Pinkamena in her mind. She tried bending phrases, placing things as nicely as possible, but all she could see was her daughter screaming in protest— tears streaming down her pale cheeks— before being tranquilized by one of the doctors.
"How are you going to tell her?"
Cloudy snapped out of her trance and looked at her husband. It wasn't every day that he spoke up.
"I don't know," Cloudy responded.
The older mare turned back to her daughter. She was all Cloudy could look at for the past ten years.
"To think that you would have been happy to wake up. I thought happiness could only come from the outside."
Even with the physical therapy, Pinkamena spent more time asleep than awake. But even when conscious, she didn't do much. Her dead eyes faced the wall and never bothered to move.
"Maybe it won't sway her. Maybe she won't even notice."
"I think we should go spend time with the Daintyflowers," Igneous said.
Cloudy turned to her husband. She was briefly surprised that something as simple as a name would turn her away from her daughter but she quickly figured that it was justified.
"Igneous, we can't lose our heads over this! We need to make a decision!"
"I know we do...but who ever said that we can't take a little break every now and then? And I think we both need to something to calm us down."
A flare of anger flashed over Cloudy but it was quickly extinguished. A cool sensation took over at the thought of peace. Every part of her body relaxed, especially her face.
"But..." she said, still trying to fight against her physical urges. She quickly noted, however, that it was of no use, "fine."
"Okay, then. Let's go," Igneous said as he got up from his seat.
Cloudy reluctantly pushed herself out of the chair. Her eyes remained glued on her daughter even as she was making her way out of the room. It took a large effort to finally break the eye contact.
The couple trudged through the hallways, greeting the friendly nurses and doctors that passed by. Cloudy tried to block out any need of rushing back to Pinkamena but her daughter's forlorn face kept searing her train of thought. Igneous glanced at his wife, whose lips were curled and eye brows furrowed.
"Maybe I should say something to her."
The two continued to move in silence as they approached the stairwell. The stallion occasionally looked at his wife before returning his focus to what was ahead of him. His mind told him to take its advice but he was not quick to carry out the action. Eventually, the couple was on the first floor approaching the main door. Upon seeing the gateway to the outside world, Igneous slowly brought his muzzle toward Cloudy's neck. It was an awkward motion that was unnoticed by the gray mare. The sudden sensation of nuzzling stunned her and diverted her attention from Pinkamena.
"Igneous!" she exclaimed, "What on Earth are you doing?"
"Something that I have seen other married couples do before. I figured it would calm you down."
At first, she was speechless. Such an intimate action made her head feel twenty pounds heavier and her chest warmer.
"Well I didn't need calming down to begin with," Cloudy said, "and what you're doing doesn't feel right."
Igneous pulled himself away from his wife's neck and stared at her.
"I see it happen every night when we have to leave here. You're falling apart, Cloudy."
The stallion's wife's mouth slightly fell and her blue eyes widened.
"You haven't been the same since Pinkamena was first brought in here," Igneous continued, "and I figured it was about time I started to show my concern for you."
Cloudy's mouth slowly closed again and the muscles around her eyes relaxed. She gently gazed at her husband before walking toward the door. Igneous saw his wife moving, his willingness to speak having dissipated.
"Maybe I'll try again, later," he thought to himself before catching up to Cloudy.
The silent couple strode through the streets of Ponyville, the closet town with a hospital. The walk to the train station was automatic, one composed of little thought. The two of them entered the station, Igneous purchased a copy of the Canterlot Press, and purchased two tickets.
"Two tickets to Pershling," Igneous said, "round-trip."
The pony behind the counter was surprised despite hearing that town's name from the stoic stallion before. He was more accustomed to hearing "Nickerlite" from the stoic stallion. The customer paid his bits and in return received his tickets.
The wait for the Friendship Express was short and silent as well. The sound of the train's rusty brakes and exiting passengers were quite enough for the moment. Once the carts were empty, the two ponies entered and took an empty row. The train slowly filled with more riders with places to be, filling it with noise. Cloudy paid no mind to her husband and stared out the window. He followed suit and took out his newspaper.
As the Express started along the tracks, the sight of the outside world raced past her eyes. Ponyville was situated in a beautiful region, one more lively than the barren rock farm. Grass grew where the dirt stood, the sun stood proudly in the blue sky, and animals frolicked on the hills. Cloudy felt something beneath her nose she hasn't felt in years, a smile.
"This was probably where Pinkamena lived all this time."
That name made her shudder, though, as she was brought back to reality. As she continued to watch the lush scenery rush by her, the sight of her daughter playing with the animals and rolling in the grass twisted her stomach.
"If this is what her 'life' was like....then who would I be to take such memories away?"
Her eyes never left the landscape during the ride. Eventually, the train's wheels screeched and Cloudy's body fell forward, only being stopped by the seat in front of her.
"Come on," Igneous said, "let's go."
Cloudy turned to face her husband's lifeless face. She briefly took in its plain details before standing. The couple waited for the crowd of passengers to file out of the train's narrow doors. Once the aisle was empty, they exited as well.
The Pie farm had no place in the town of Pershling with its strong, healthy trees and its emerald grass. Cloudy was always disappointed that the trees on the farm couldn't flourish like the ones in Pershling despite her best efforts.
The Daintyflowers' small house was fairly close to the train station and the Pies were at its front door within minutes. Each side of the lawn was fluttered with flowers of red, yellow, and blue. Cloudy looked around the display and took in their lovely aromas. In front of her was Igneous, who knocked on the door upon reaching it.
"Coming," a muffled voice said from behind it. It didn't take long, though, for the door to open and reveal Mrs. Daintyflower: a yellow mare with a pink mane.
"Igneous? Cloudy?" she said. A smile then grew on her face, much like her flowers, "It's been a while! How are you two doing?"
He simply nodded his head. Cloudy stared at the mare for a brief moment before emulating her husband.
"Why don't you two come on in, get nice and relaxed," she said as she moved aside. On cue, Igneous placed one of his brown hooves onto the carpet. And then another. And then another. As he entered the house, his eyes maintained a blank gaze, never focusing on any of the furniture or details. Cloudy followed her husband however she was quicker to take in the scenery: the white walls, the brown upholstery, the staircase leading to the second floor, and the doorway to the kitchen were all the immediate sights. As she approached the living room, she noticed some of the other things; the most striking of which was a photo of a filly mounted on a small square. The filly looked identical to Mrs. Daintyflower and held a small smile on her face.
"Is there anything I can get you?" Mrs. Daintyflower asked, "Tea? Salad?"
"No thanks," Cloudy answered. She looked back to see a chair behind her and lowered herself onto its soft cushion. Igneous had sat down in a chair next to her's and Mrs. Daintyflower was still standing, looking on at him. He shook his head.
"We want to talk, though," Igneous said.
"About what?" Mrs. Daintyflower asked as she sat down next to him.
"Pinkamena woke up."
"That's wonderful!" she replied, her grin growing, "How is she doing?"
"Not well."
Mrs. Daintyflower's smile then started to shrink. She turned to Cloudy, whose expression matched her's. Her gaze then moved closer to Igneous, whose face was as static as it had always been, "Could you care to tell me?"
"She's been really sad," Cloudy said. Daintyflower directed her vision toward her as she continued to speak, "She says that she has been having dreams in her coma. They were so good that she thought they were real," she paused as she imagined the flowery, colorful hills she saw on the train rides and the inner words that accompanied them, "She never thought she was in a coma until she woke up. And now she doesn't know how to go on."
Mrs. Daintyflower flashed her a smile and placed her yellow hooves on Cloudy's gray ones, "Well, I think if you give her enough time, then she will gladly accept the real world."
"The doctors are not so hopeful," she answered, "they want to give her this spell that will make her forget all about her dreams. I don't know if it would be best for her, though."
Mrs. Daintyflower's shrank until her lips mirrored those of her. Her eyes, though, held a strong look of understanding. The swirling storm of distress within Cloudy's mind seemed to slow down, even if only a little bit.
"I don't it's fair," Cloudy said, "because I think it would be better for her to learn to let go without some fancy spell. I also think that she has a right to remember the past ten years of her own life...I don't think we have the power to take them away..."
She paused as a new thought came across.
"But at the same time...she's been empty."
Her mouth was still open but the words didn't come out. All she could think about was her Pinkamena—her special little filly that was devastated by that horrible Rainboom. Eventually, though, she managed to continue.
"She barely eats, she wakes up crying. She spends her days lying there, looking at nothing," Cloudy said while seeing those images, "I know that she didn't always show her feelings way back then but this is different. I can see how sad this all makes her and I want to make her feel better but I just can't."
She stopped to take a long, deep breath. All the while, she couldn't help but think of that old, emotionless lifestyle on the rock farm.
"I've never been good with counseling or making ponies happy. When we first met, I just sat here while you cried your eyes out. It wasn't me that made you feel better, it was your family and your friends. They knew how to make you feel better..." she paused for a moment before continuing, "The counselors, the ponies that are good with this type of thing, can't make Pinkamena feel better and I'm worried that no amount of talking or hugging will make her feel better."
She paused to breathe again. Her throat was starting to narrow, weakening her voice. Still, though, she was determined to finish.
"Because of this, I feel like the spell would get rid of the sadness and allow her to recover. I feel that by saying yes to it, I would be helping her get over this mountain..."
The final memory was on that dreadful day. She remembered directing Pinkamena out the door, the explosion, the blast of colors, and the limp body that has haunted her since.
"It's the least I could do to say that I'm sorry," she said as some tears welled up in her eyes.
Mrs. Daintyflower lifted one of her forelegs and wrapped it around Cloudy's neck. Cloudy accepted the gesture and allowed herself to be pulled in.
"I don't think you should give her the spell," Mrs. Daintyflower said. Cloudy's head turned slightly in order to face her. She could see the tears threatening to break free, "Sometimes bad things happen and we want to forget about them. When Fluttershy passed away, I wanted to act like she was still with me. But that's not how we should face them. I know that in time, Pinkamena will accept the truth and be able to move on. She may always remember her dream but she will be able to find happiness in other things. She may be able to make her dream a reality."
"But..." Cloudy said, "how am I supposed to help her? Nothing I say does anything..."
Mrs. Daintyflower gave her a smile and a gentle pull inward.
"Just being there can do great things. But remember this,"
She wiped her teary eyes and stared at her friend.
"If she doesn't get better right away, then don't beat yourself up. Time eventually mends all wounds."
Taking in those words, Cloudy moved back from Mrs. Daintyflower. Her mouth muscles etched a small grin on her face.
"Okay, then," she said, "I'll try."
She then walked over to the door, Igneous following behind, and bid her farewell. Mrs. Daintyflower smiled even after the couple had left her sight. She then walked over to the portrait and picked it up with her hoof. As she held it, her grin grew even more as she remembered days in the park, the garden, and the woods with her little filly.