“Woah, Woah, Woah. You pranked Fluttershy?! I thought you said to never to prank her cuz she was too sensitive.”
The mares had met by the lake on Pinkie’s request to hang out and joke for a while during a slow part of their day.
“I know, and it was totally funny! I almost got the hiccups,” Pinkie said bouncing her height off the ground in front of the hovering mare in front of her.
Rainbow looked at Pinkie with an incredulous look. “And, your first prank, ever, on Fluttershy, the mare we know,” Rainbow blinked trying to understand what she had heard and was saying, “was to pack a skunk into a box, upside down,” she placed a hoof to her temple and looked at the ground below her, “with it’s tail up and to wrap it and shake it before putting it at her doorstep-”
“IN HER DOOR~ WAY,” Pinkie screamed with an excited grin.
“Inside her house?! Ugh, okay and then she opens it and gets sprayed with skunk stink… And that’s funny?”
Pinkie stopped bouncing and covered her mouth with her hooves and stifled another laugh nodding furiously.
“Pinkie, that was just mean.”
Pinkie’s eyes widened slightly and her laughing stopped suddenly. “But, I thought you’d love it.”
“Pinkie I’m all in for a great prank and you know it but a first time prank should be funny for everypony. I don’t think she’d laugh at that, did she?”
“Well,” Pinkie thought placing a hoof to her chin tapping as her eyes looked up. “Oh no,” she said as her eyes fell and locked onto Rainbow Dash’s muzzle. “She didn’t laugh, not one giggle. She wasn’t even a little happy, Rainbow,” her irises shrank, “I didn’t prank her, I bullied her.”
The realization was devastating to Pinkie as she froze in place. Her curled mane lost some of its poofiness and began to fall flat against her neck and back and her bright pink coat darkened slightly. “I-I’m a bully. I was mean, not funny. What if she hates me Dashie? What if, what if I lost her as a friend?”
Rainbow looked at Pinkie with concern, the memory of the last time she thought she lost a friend wasn’t lost on her and the party she threw with those weird items made her mane hairs tingle.
“Pinkie, it was mean but Fluttershy wouldn’t not be your friend. You’re too cool to be hot at,” Rainbow said trying to smirk as she flew next to Pinkie and placed a hoof on top of her head. Pinkie still didn’t move and she felt like touching a statue. “Are you okay Pinkie Pie?”
“I-I lost a friend… I’m a bully, to the prettiest mare in the city.”
“Hey now, I take offence to that,” Rainbow joked patting Pinkie’s head, “seriously though you don’t have to worry, you’re everyponies friend and Fluttershy can’t hate anypony. You should just talk to her.”
“I-I’m a bully, a bully can’t have friends like her. I-I don’t deserve her love now or ever,” Pinkie said falling as flat as a pancake onto the ground below a surprised Rainbow Dash. Pinkie began to reinflate to her normal size but stayed darker and sullen looking.
“Um, Pinkie Pie you’re kinda freaking me out here. Do you need help, like, I can have the girls throw together a party or something if that’d help. Just don’t throw a party for yourself okay? Look, I’m gonna get Twilight and I’ll be right back, she can help.”
“I-I’m gonna be alone forever now.”
“Wait, what?” Rainbow Dash said turning back around and returning to the pink mare on the ground laying as low as she could. “What’re you talkin’ about Pinkie, you’ve got everypony in Ponyville.”
“I’ll never have a special somepony and Fluttershy was my last shot.”
“Woah, Woah, Woah. You and Fluttershy?! Special someponies? Well, never thought I’d hear that but congrats.”
“What congrats?! She hates me now and I’m never going through this again, EVER!” she screamed at a volume that shouldn’t have been possible making Rainbow Dash cover her ears and close her eyes as the shockwave pushed her back and swayed trees nearby and sent ripples across the lake.
Rainbow opened her eyes to peek at Pinkie but she was gone, a small puff of dust where she was was settling and the sound of her scream echoed across the land several times as Rainbow flew higher to try to find Pinkie from the sky.
“What the flock just happened and where did she go?” Rainbow inquired as she scanned every inch of the ground she could see with her skilled eyes to no avail. “I think we need another intervention,” Rainbow said. Her ears perked up and listened for a random response in the distance from Pinkie like what usually happened when she said something to herself like that. Her ears sagged as silence returned.
“Great, I’m going to see Twi, she’s got some egghead answer I’m sure.”
Fluttershy had finished instructing several critters and a bear on how to bring her tub outside and had a parrot leave to town to gather several bunches of tomatoes and any unicorn that could dispel smell. She sat on her haunches sullen and looked at the empty tub before her in the grass on the hill behind her cottage.
I really wish I didn’t have to do this, I really don’t care for outside baths but, she sniffed the air and felt her sinus sting. She felt a tear stream down her cheek and scowled. “Why me?” she said softly. “Why? WHY?! I do everything nice for everypony and help and listen and don’t ask for much at all and now,” she frowned and squeezed her eyes shut forcing the last tear out as she gritted her teeth.
“Now I’m alone except for these critters and animals and it’s ALL PINKIES FAULT!”
Animals scurried and flew away hiding as Fluttershy stood aggressively, wings flared, and teeth bared she radiated anger like she rarely had before. With a final grunt she relaxed and sat again folding her wings to her body and tussled her mane. “But I won’t do anything about it because I knew this is how I was going to be anyway.”
A small bird flew overhead chirping and garnered her attention telling her to look a certain direction. Turning her eyes just behind her to the right she saw a pink tail disappear through the bushes. “Oh dear, thank you mister bird.”
“Chirp!”
“I’m sorry, missus bird.” Fluttershy nodded and galloped toward the spot she had last seen the pink hair.
“Pinkie? Was that you? I didn’t mean what I said, are you here?” Fluttershy asked the brush and trees around her as she cleared into the forested area. A caw from the distance told her a creature was running to danger.
“Danger? Pinkie?! The Everfree! Oh no,” she gasped and galloped ahead toward the next clue to Pinkies location.
Several minutes passed in her gallop before she began to feel her mouth drying but she pressed on. A blackbird flew alongside her and chirped. “Mister, bird, thank you. I need you to tell the others to keep, an, eye, out for my pink friend… And, maybe some, water?”
The bird chirped and nodded taking higher to the skies leaving the panting mare galloping in her own way.
“Chirp chirp.”
“Oh, thank, you.” Fluttershy cantered her gallop slightly and slowed to a trot in the direction her friend had told her to go.
“Chirp.”
“...I-I don’t know, I guess I forgot,” she said stopping and blushing. She opened her wings and took to the canopy and began gliding ahead, seeing a cloud she flew to and through it quenching her thirst mildly but enough to wetten her mouth. She glanced down and scanned the ground ahead trying to see any indication of Pinkie that could show where she went.
Finally she decided to go higher to get a better view and saw Pinkie. “Finally, there she is.” She flew and landed behind the dark pink mare who was trotting blindly ahead. Her legs were scratched and bleeding lightly, her mane had numerous burrs and some sticks across it while her tail was reletively clean, she noted a few leaves.
“P-Pinkie Pie? Are you okay?”
Pinkie kept her head down and her trot steady without a noise she walked through a small thicket that snapped and cracked under her, Fluttershy flapped her wings to go over and saw a new cut bleeding slowly from Pinkie’s left foreleg.
“Pinkie! You’re hurt, please stop so I can help yo-” Fluttershy clasped her muzzle where she had just flown into a low branch and squeaked before hovering after Pinkie to catch up. Landing she looked at her muzzle and sniffed as she tried to sideline Pinkie again.
“Pinkie? Are you okay?” she asked panting slightly looking ahead to make sure she had a few seconds to look at Pinkie. “Pinkie, are you mad? I didn’t mean what I said, it was only yelling.”
She stopped and let Pinkie pass her and lead her through two tight trees with rough bark that Fluttershy did not want to go through. She followed Pinkie closely and winced as the bark pulled a couple feathers from her wings as she pushed through. “P-Pinkie, please stop. I-I don’t know what to do and you’re worrying me. Please, talk to me before you get hurt, more.”
Pinkie slowed giving Fluttershy a chance to catch up. The scene before them was quite impressive. The forest had cleared to show a view of the forest at a long distance from a cliff face the Pinkie stopped at and sat firmly looking blankly ahead. A bunch of clouds were rolling across the forest letting rain fall below it as it moved freely across the landscape.
The air chilled suddenly as Fluttershy felt every pressure change that indicated rain which made her knees tremble since weather was supposed to be managed by Pegasi not by the forest.
“Pinkie please talk to me,” Fluttershy asked cantering to Pinkie and sitting facing her.
“Alone.”
“What? You’re not alone Pinkie, I’m here.”
“No, we’re going to be alone forever.” Pinkie looked to Fluttershy with the saddest expression she’d ever given. Her mane was messy and flat as was her tail. Her forelegs were scratched and bleeding, her coat was dark and her most notable qualities of joy and happiness were gone from her eyes.
“Pinkie?”
“You, me. I realized something and now I can tell you too. We can never have love. We aren’t like the others, Fluttershy.” Pinkie’s eyes were darker than normal and her voice wasn’t cheerful, it was almost dreary.
“No, we aren’t. We are each our own pony. We have each other, right?”
“Rainbow Dash has dozens of ponies after her because of her speed, Rarity has her styles, Twilight has magic, Applejack has her farming. What do we have?”
“Pinkie, I don’t understand. We’re all useful and unique and our cutie marks-”
“Don’t tell us what we’re going to do with our lives to better others, only what we’re good at. Tell me Fluttershy,” Pinkie turned and faced the timid mare before her narrowing her eyes, “how is helping forest animals gonna help other ponies?”
“Wha, well, I guess if a pony has a sick pet they can-”
“Bring it to you? What about a doctor? A veterinarian? A unicorn? And what about me? Balloons for a cutie mark?” She turned to glare at her flank while she continued, “who the hay can’t throw their own parties? Who can’t find any pony to blow up balloons and get a cake from the only bakery in town?”
“P-Pinkie? You’re scaring me.”
“Well at least that’s one thing I’m good at, being mean. I tried to be nice to you and be silly and prank you and all I did was be a bully, I don’t deserve this cutie mark,” she said glaring at Fluttershy’s flank, “and neither do you. We’re some of the rare ponies that don’t have a useful cutie mark. Don’t you see? It’s all a lie,” Pinkie said twitching as a bolt of lightning scattered across the darkening sky.
“A-a lie? No it isn’t. A cutie mark-” thunder shook the ground they sat on drowning out all ambient noise for as far as they could hear for three seconds, “c-can we go, um, not here to talk?”
“Fluttershy, I can’t believe you. Are you okay with dying alone? Surrounded by your animals and not one pony you love in sight?”
“Are you Pinkie Pie? You, you keep being mopey and sad and not the Pinkie Pie I know and love,” Pinkie huffed at that, “and, Pinkie, I don’t know how to say this.”
“Then don’t, there’s nothing that’ll help. When I was a filly I was alone on that boring rock farm. When I ran away to start a new life as a traveling party pony I was alone. All my life all I’ve wanted is true love and I know I can’t have it,” she shuffled closer to the edge as Fluttershy glanced to the leaves blowing above them.
“You’re wrong Pinkie and I’m not sorry to say that. Y-you are right, I guess. My cutie mark takes me away from ponies and into the forest but there has to be a reason. And your parties are very important because we, everypony needs a break and you help the Cakes stay in business.
“Since you started years ago they’ve been the best place to have fun in town and you’ve even given them time to start having fun themselves. Don’t you remember what it was like when you first came to town? They worked all the time and nopony knew anything about them except they baked. Now they’re known as the Cakes, bakes and caterers extraordinaire. They’ve even started entering contests and it’s all thanks to you.”
Pinkie smirked a little at the thought of her parties actually doing good but it faded as another bolt of lightning streaked the sky. “What about you Fluttershy? What’s the good in-” she waited and watched as Fluttershy matched her gaze through the rumbling earth without flinching for once.
“You tell me, you have to have an answer because I don’t right now.”
“Okie dokie loki, your talent is critters but, what if its not.”
“What?” Fluttershy ruffled her wings.
“You have three butterflies and take care of critters and animals but, what if it’s not about animals. What if it’s about ponies?”
“I don’t understand Pinkie, I got my cutie mark after caring about the critters.”
“You got your cutie mark after caring about their feelings. You just made me feel a little better when I was ready to jump from this cliff a few minutes ago.”
“Y-y-you were going to… Oh Celestia, Pinkie that’s awful, why?”
“Because,” Pinkie said rolling her hooves together as rain began to fall around and upon them, “I kinda like you a lot and when I hurt you with that prank I dunno.”
“You didn’t hurt me Pinkie. I just smell bad and it hurt my feelings more than my body.”
“But, I don’t want to hurt you and to know that my first prank on you was almost, evil, just hurts so bad.”
“Pinkamena Pie, I can’t believe what you’re saying. You’re ready to throw away your whole life over one prank? Nothing could be that bad, not even living alone for life.”
“You don’t understand Fluttershy,” Pinkie said lying on the muddy ground two lengths from the edge, “you have your critters. I-I don’t have anything but Gummy and desserts to keep me company at night.”
“You may be right Pinkie Pie, but that doesn’t have to be how it is forever. I-I have to confess something.”
Several bolts of lightning streaked the sky directly overhead sending waves of thunder down upon the mares rumbling the ground and vibrating them out of their places. Fluttershy opened her eyes and looked in startled fear to see Pinkie’s tail cresting the cliff over it.
“Oh no,” she gasped opening her wings and jumping into the air and over the edge as quick as she could onto to be caught by Pinkie inches before her face impacted a stone outcropping a few yards below the edge.
“Fluttershy, why’d you do that? You could have killed yourself at that speed,” Pinkie said with wide puppydog eyes and a bottom lip that trembled for a second before she pulled Fluttershy into an inverted hug. Fluttershy whimpered as her vision telescoped back and she saw the rock that she almost hit.
“P-Pinkie, I thought you were gonna fall to your, death.”
“What? I’d never kill myself silly filly,” she said breaking the hug and inverting Fluttershy to rightway up before setting her down, “I’ve tried and it doesn’t work.”
“You’ve actually tried to kill yourself?” Fluttershy asked incredulously.
“Yeah, when I first got to Ponyville I had a confidence problem and got really down, like I am now. I went to the cliff over there,” she pointed a hoof at a spot with a large stone near the edge and several smaller ones just past it, “seven times I jumped and seven times I woke up fine and dandy at home in the Cakes house, in my bed in my room. Now I just jump here and have time to think about it all without waking up at home.”
“Pinkie, that doesn’t make any… You know what, I’m glad you’re okay but I think I love you, no I really like you too.”
“Wait, you said love. Do you love me?”
“Um, well you see,” Fluttershy shuffled nervously, “no, not exactly. But I think we can try and see where it goes. After all, we have to find a pony so we don’t live the rest of our lives alone right? And, I really think it’s a sweet idea for the best of friends to try something like this.”
“So~, you’re saying there’s a chance you could love me?”
“Well, if there’s a 1:1,000,000 chance I’ll try it with you.”
Pinkie squealed and reverted to her joyful self, mane, coat, and all as she bolted at Fluttershy who gasped and ducked covering her eyes.
“O-oh no, PINKIE!?!” She screamed looking back behind her and at the falling pink mare who was near the bottom. Shutting her eyes she prayed to Celestia that what Pinkie had said was true. She heard a thud and her heart leapt to her throat as she fell to the stone below her and cried loudly as another clap of thunder trembled the ground.
She crawled to the edge and looked over to see nopony at the bottom. Looking to the stones she gasped to see a new stone falling into line from an unseen place.
“Pinkie?” She hopped up and flew to the stones counting them. “1, 2, dadadada, 8. Eight times, eight stones. She’s okay, thank Celestia.” She took to the skies quickly again and flew high above the storm and caught a glimpse of a pony flying away in the distance but he dipped into the storm before she could make it out, ignoring the mystery pony she turned and flew back to ponyville as quick as she could.
”I’m so glad my new, oh my, fillyfriend is okay.” She thought smiling to herself.