After my session with Zecora I went back home with Pinkie Pie. It had been three days since our first meeting and we hadn’t heard a word from Zecora since. I was getting anxious, but the pony who was getting even more anxious than I was strangely enough was...Pinkie.
“What do we do if something awful is happening to you?” she’d mutter every now and then as she trotted back and forth frantically. “What would Twilight and the others think if they got back and found out you were in danger!” she exclaimed at one point in the afternoon. “What if your life’s in danger!” she screeched when we were eating dinner the very next day.
I understood sympathy as much as the next guy but this was ridiculous, if anyone should be stressing out it should be me. So I told Pinkie exactly what I thought.
It was now the fourth day after we’d gone to meet Zecora and still hadn’t heard a single thing from the zebra. I came to find Pinkie Pie pacing back and forth downstairs as she absentmindedly gave cupcakes to a couple that had just finished ordering. I gave a small smile as I passed by the couple who smiled back, turning towards Pinkie who was still pacing the floor I began to wonder if she would wear the boards down if things continued any further.
“Hey uh Pinkie?” I approached her cautiously. “Could you stop pacing for a second and listen to me?”
Stopping immediately with a slight wobble she turned to face me, “Yes?” she smiled encouragingly.
“I get your worried about me and all, but you’re kind of blowing this over the top don’t ya think?” I asked putting a hoof around her in a consoling gesture. “I know you just want to help and I know you’re trying to stay calm for me, but seeing you like this isn’t going to help me to relax unless you take it easy yourself alright?” I said tossing a small smile her way which she returned much to my delight.
“Alright, I guess I’ll go out for a bit but if Zecora comes here then I want you to call me immediately got it?” she stated firmly. Nodding, I watched as the pink mare zipped up to her room and back down carrying a small baby gator on her back. “Alright Gummy you know what to do if Zecora comes right?” she asked while patting the gator’s head.
Gummy didn’t respond but simply looked at Pinkie and blinked, to me it looked like the gator didn’t really give a crap but to Pinkie she seemed to have gotten the answer she wanted, beaming a smile at her pet and kissing him on the forehead she began trotting out of Sugarcube Corner. “Bye I love you and stay safe you guys!” she called.
It was hearing the “I love you” part that made my cheeks flush red for a second but I quickly dismissed the thought as Pinkie talking to Gummy. No way she’d fall for me that easily. Not when she’s got Cheese Sandwich I sighed a bit at that thought. Turning my attention to the gator that now had a whistle in it’s mouth I simply stared at it confused.
“When did you-” I paused and gave Gummy a quizzical look which he only blinked back to in that deadpanned expression of his. “You know. I’ve always wondered what you’ve been thinking” getting a closer look at the gator I continued to stare him in the eyes. And so did he. For a second I thought he had challenged me to a staring contest...that is until he blinked, dropped the whistle and gnawed at my nose with his toothless mouth.
“I guess you’ll be staying quiet then huh?” my ears twitching a bit at the congestion of my voice. Yanking the gator off my nose I placed him back down on the table and gave him one last look, before trotting off to a corner of the room. Sitting down I just looked around Sugarcube Corner for awhile. Although that was boring so I began to feel sleepy.
Just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard a knock on the door which quickly snapped any form of drowsiness away.
If this is who I think it is then there’s not time for sleep I confirmed. Getting up and opening it I saw Zecora looking out of breath.
“We need to talk.”
Zecora and I were sitting in the living room of the bakery home, I’d gotten her some tea that she requested after I listed off the type of brands the Cakes had. The zebra sat sipping her tea slowly as I sat waiting patiently for her to tell me what the dire news was.
“First a question I must ask, has Pinkie Pie gone on a special task?”, when I shook my head she nodded as if that was all she wanted to know. “It is probably for the best, she surely needs the rest. And you my friend, may not like what I will say at the end” her voice had grown a bit grave now and I could feel the sweat starting to form on my entire body.
Gulping I said “Please begin”.
Setting the cup down Zecora looked at me with the utmost sage like silence, as if she was about to reveal the secrets of the world to me. The tension in the air was probably suffocating me because I could feel my breathing quicken as the silence only added onto the stress I was starting to feel. Finally, she spoke.
“First Hailstorm I must say, I’m quite sorry for the little delay. For you see the research took much longer than I thought. I’m sure you’ll be surprised to find out just what I got” she said taking out an old book from one of her saddlebags she put it on the table and flipped open to a page. Most of the pages had either been torn out or the ink had faded completely from years of neglection and old age. The only clear things that were visible were some gruesome drawings that foretold of the effects each spell had on the caster or the victim.
The zebra finally stopped turning pages and tapped one to get my attention. “Take a look at this” she said pointing to the very bottom of the page, from which I could see had a 3 on it. Whether there were any other numbers next to the three or not I wasn’t sure since it was so faded, Zecora tapped the book again to grab my attention.
“Sorry” I muttered before looking at what she was pointing. I had to squint and get really close to the page before I was able to see. The...Time...Spell? No that wasn’t a ‘s’ it’s a c.
For a while my mind didn’t fully process what exactly I was staring out. Like a mist had clouded my thoughts and was blocking anything from connecting. Then it clicked.
“This is a spell book?” I asked Zecora who nodded with a smile, however she waited for me to continue speaking. “Sooooo?” I trailed off my thoughts slowly emerging from the haze. It’s a curse or a really strong spell she’s showing me. “Is this a curse?” I asked her slowly. She nodded. Shooting a hoof up in success I grinned. Then stopped abruptly.
“Wait” my eyes widening with realization, “You don’t think I’ve been cursed or something do you?” I asked skeptically. “You do realize my world has no form of magic, and even if it did there’s a trifling small amount in comparison to here” I stated objectively. “There’s no way I’ve been cursed.”
“While that may be true, have you ever been told by another in your world that they experience the same things you do?” she said raising a hoof and turning the page. It was blank.
“It’s blank” I said flatly. Zecora frowned at my tone but ignored it nonetheless, running a hoof over it words started to appear as her hoof traced down the old parchment.
A Warning To The Fool:
Magic that lasts for eternity,
Nothing can break it.
Not even your destiny.
When two opposites meet then it shall decide.
Just wait and see what your foolish heart provides.
“This is so cliche” I stated. “Rhyming in a curse for crying out loud this may as well be Snow White what is this a fairy tale?” Zecora however was unfazed by my reaction and waited for me to stop talking before she continued. The rest of the words had started disappearing as her hoof came to a slow stop. “Are you done?” she intoned. When I nodded she continued to trace her hoof across the page.
For Karma works in many strange ways.
Each day, each week, each year, each month you’ll always go through a different phase.
Time and time again the spell will start.
For those it hits the punishment will surely be awful,
But crime doesn’t pay, just like a...just like a...waffle?
The last word seemed a bit forced so that it would make everything rhyme. Whoever wrote this warning had made a lot of cancellations in trying to make the word rhyme, in the end the pony must’ve given up because the next paragraph was in normal prose. Though there was something strange that happened next when Zecora’s hoof went over the dialect.
The words glowed and flashed for a split second in blue luminescent light, and then it began...talking?
The book was actually talking! Just like a tape recorder! Astounding couldn’t even begin to express my surprise, but Zecora’s solemn look told me I needed to hear this so I decided to contain my excitement and listen.
“If you ever come across this book...then I’m sorry. I buried this deep within the Canterlot library so that no one would ever find it. I don’t want anyone else to suffer such a cruel fate. I hope one day I’ll find a cure for this horrible thing, this awful curse!” a crashing sound like something had been shattered came as the pony yelled in pure frustration. It kind of pulled on my heartstring as more shattering ensued, muffling some of his yells in the process.
The shattering didn’t stop for awhile, if he were human I could’ve literally been able to picture what he was doing at this moment just judging from the amount of things he was smashing in that room made me wonder what exactly this guy had been through. Finally when the stallion had stopped breaking stuff the only sound that could be heard was his fast paced breathing.
“Sorry bout that...it’s just...when you find out that you’ll be suffering from something worse than death, for the rest of your life” the stallion’s voice had started to shake with despondency. “it really stinks, you know?” he sniffed. “How life works that way. One day you’re living the dream, having the best time of your life...the next you’re suffering from something that constantly makes you ask yourself why me? Why did I have to suffer this?!" a hoof slamming on to a rough surface could be heard followed by sobbing.
I felt a lump growing in my throat as I listened to this. I understood exactly what this fellow was going through, although his situation may have been much more worse than mine.
Zecora had been making a grave face the entire time, the message was being given. It was obvious from her expression that she had listened once, maybe even more before.
Once the sobbing had stopped and after a few minutes of silence the stallion cleared his throat. “Ahem. Alright then...what I’m about to say is important so you better listen up."
“This curse isn’t a joke it’s real. Trust me I should know” he stated firmly. “I want anypony who’s listening to this to not pass this off as something that will get cured by itself or there will eventually be a cure in the future. There’s no such thing, and what’s worse I don’t even know if there are any after effects or whether this curse can affect other ponies. All I know is that like any other curse it. Is. Deadly."
I winced when he said deadly, the tone he’d taken now was much harsher and if I didn’t know any better I’d assume this was one of my parents speaking to me right now.
“That doesn’t mean I’m giving up though or my friends and family, I’ll find a way to get rid of this horrid problem once and for all. When I do I’ll be sure to leave messages behind on how to find the cure.”
The blue glow that had been adhering to the words the entire time the mysterious stallion spoke flickered before the light disappeared. After that they were gone, fading away into the book like they were never meant to be seen to begin with.
I didn’t know what to say, at first denial popped into my head. There’s no way I’m cursed. Magic doesn’t exist! At least not in my world...now that I think about it though there were a few disturbances around Canterlot High a while back, that was around the same time my dreams of Twilight got cut off on three different occasions. Lost in my own thoughts Zecora closed the dilapidated book and was about to put it back in her bag,till I put a hoof on it.
“Wait” drawing the fragile hunk of junk towards me I went to the very back of the book to see if there were any indications of the name of this so-called curse or spell. I was still doubting it, but deep down I knew this was related to me. I just didn’t want to admit it, at least not now.
As I turned the pages and went all the way to the back cover of the book I felt an increasing feeling of dread cast a shadow over me. When I finally got to the back one page was what separated me from the truth. I gave Zecora a quick look, she just stared at me waiting to see for myself. It was obvious she didn’t feel inclined on telling me anything, for now.
Moving the page which tore off as I turned it I saw that the cover was, blank. There was nothing there.
I felt...disillusioned. I honestly wasn’t sure what I had been expecting and this feeling of disappointment only confused me. Why did I feel disappointed? It made no sense to me. That’s when Zecora spoke up.
“As you can see this is no fib. Hailstorm you may not want to realize it, but you’ve been cursed from all the pieces I’ve gathered, that is a sure enough fit.”
“And what makes you say that?” I asked denying the very possibility.
“When I observed you during your slumber, you kept mumbling strange things in your sleep.”
Like I haven’t heard that one before, “yes and?” I asked trying not to sound rude.
“And I found what you said to be quite strange. And so I went to Canterlot Library to find more information...sadly it seems what I brought was just more devastation" the zebra's ears flopped to her side.
I remained silent. “I said that?” I asked quietly. She nodded. It was my turn to have ears drooping.
I didn’t want anyone to know about my other dreams, at least not till I had been able to gather some information on what they even were, but the fact that I had inadvertently spilled the beans like that meant the jig was up. Sighing I said “Well I did allude the parts about them even in my talks with you didn’t I?”
“You did” she said.
I frowned, “Sorry bout that I just wanted to make sure I knew that you could solve my problem before I revealed anything really important and just caused confusion” I confessed. “I just didn’t want to cause a panic with my problems.”
Zecora trotted over to me and gently placed a hoof on my shoulder and smiled “You have a kind heart. To put others before yourself is an amazing feat, just don’t let it be the one that causes your own defeat” her smile widening a bit.
I nodded and after a few seconds of silence I said “So it looks like I may be cursed huh? Well guess we’ll have to figure out just what exactly that curse is or whatever curse is on me won’t we?”
Zecora nodded and drew her hoof back saying “That request, I’m afraid must go to the Princess.”
“How come? If the book was hidden this long and no one ever found it till you tracked it down then how would they even know about this curse.”
“The book was hidden in the library by that stallion, I’m sure he thought it would never be found not even one in a million. However you must think, the princess’s wouldn’t let one of their subjects go in danger without even a blink.”
The zebra made a good point, two rulers like Luna and Celestia wouldn’t turn a blind eye to one of their own without doing everything they could to help. Look at me for example, I wasn’t even one of their own (as far as they believed my story) yet they were still trying to help out (though they haven’t really done much).
“Alright then I’ll tell them” I said with a smile, although deep down I knew that was a lie.
Zecora returned it with an incandescent smile of her own grabbing the book in her mouth she placed it back in her saddlebag before heading towards the door. “I must be on my way, I’ll be sure to inform you though if I find something knew straight away” she said, before trotting out of Sugarcube Corner.
I waved a goodbye to her and watched her head towards a path to Everfree Forest. Once she was gone I closed the door and turned around. Just as I turned Gumy was sitting where I left him facing me with that deadpanned look of his.
It kind of freaked me out for a second, but I quickly got over it. Trotting over to him I pushed all the thoughts of doubt and concern out of my mind.
“No one can ever know about what transpired here” I said flinging him over my back. “Not a single word.”
Pinkie Pie was now sitting in her throne staring at the ground melancholy, as Spike went about grabbing a few snacks for her.
“Cmon Pinkie, take it easy” he said tossing her a smoothie which landed on the magical map table. “Take a load off and have one of my delicious smoothies” he gestured towards one. Pinkie only sighed completely ignoring Spike’s attempt to cheer her up.
Pinkie smiled at her scaly friend and took the smoothie he had offered her taking a sip she let out a sound of satisfaction as the sweet vanilla taste filled her with some relief.
“This is really good Spike” she complimented downing everything in one giant gulp. Licking her light pink lip, she smacked them together with satisfaction.
“Feeling better now” Spike said wily with a grin.
Pinkie nodded, “Much thanks Spike I really needed-” she froze, her left ear twitching.
Spike glanced over at his pony friend to see just what had caused her to cut off in mid sentence. Her expression had grown suddenly serious and her cheerful attitude was gone.
“Um are you alright Pinkie?” he asked nervously.
“Twitchy ear...itchy nose...shaky hoof” she stated absentmindedly.
“Twitchy what?” Spike asked grabbing his tail and looking around the castle frantically. He hadn’t forgotten the last time Pinkie started twitching. “What’s going on Pinkie?” he said running up to her.
Pinkie didn’t respond she simply remained seated as she glanced around the castle for a few seconds, like she was trying to find something. This only made Spike more nervous.
“Pinkie! What’s happening?” he asked tapping her arm. “What does this combo mean Pinkie?”
Her lips were moving but Spike could barely hear the words. “--hiding-- thing” her heard from the whisper.
“What? Speak up I can’t hear you” he stated gripping her foreleg now looking around the castle with the same curiosity but more induced fear than the two of them in the room.
“Twitchy ear...itchy nose...shaky hoof...that means somepony’s hiding something important” getting up the mare began to pace the room. “But who? Who would hide something from me?” she asked herself.
Spike just watched his friend relaxing a bit that it wasn’t anything that serious as something falling from the sky. “I’m sure it’s not a big deal” he said walking over to his seat so he could get his smoothie.
Pinkie cut him off though.
“Not a big deal?!” she yelled at him causing the baby dragon to stumble and fall on to his butt from surprise.
“This is huge! What if it’s something really really really important! What if-” she stopped her ears drooping as realization and shock spread over her face. “Hailstorm” she whispered.
“Huh?” Spike asked rubbing his butt. “What about him?”
“He’s hiding something from me after I told him to spill the beans!” she stomped a hoof angrily. “I knew I should’ve made him Pinkie promise.”
“He always hides things from us, it’s nothing knew you’re over thinking this” he said getting up and dusting himself off.
“Maybe...” she said biting her lip. “My Pinkie senses will tell me where to go though” and with that the mare zoomed off, Spike grabbing her tail in the process so just in case nothing would end up slamming into him. The two now heading down a high speed route following Pinkie’s senses.
My ears twitched, every now and then, seeing the gator try to go for the whistle that his owner had left for him, which I would immediately move away from his reach. What on earth could this gator be thinking?
“You poor poor fool” the gator thought glancing up at me as I moved his whistle away.“You know not the forces you trifle with boy.”
“What’s with that look?” I asked finally noticing the guilt stare I was receiving from the gator. “What you want to lecture me about not saying anything to anypony about what went on here?” I asked leaning towards him.
“If only I could” Gummy blinked. “Sadly the world seems to have given me a twisted fate of not being able to speak, so for now I shall settle with guilting you into submission.”
The gator continued to give me the look, something I only saw him use that one time when Spike was taking care of all the pets and Angel did something that annoyed them all. And now it was my turn.
“...I’m going out for some fresh air” feeling strangely less of a man or rather stallion than I was having been defeated by a baby gator I opened the door to Sugarcube Corner and let it shut behind me. Walking away from the bakery home and down the streets of Ponyville I took note of all the carefree and casual attitudes of everypony that passed by me. Unlike back home where you’d just pass by a complete stranger without even a bat of an eye all of them smiled at me and even waved. I waved back of course so as not to be rude.
It was awkward,in my world you would pass a stranger without even muttering a hello let alone even smiling at one. This world still felt so different but hey I guess that’s normal when you’re in a parallel universe. That’s when something caught my attention. There was a cloud of dust that was heading down this exact street.
I heard someone shout “Is that Pinkie Pie? Hey Pinkie and Spike!” the pony waved as she zoomed by her. Just where was she headed in such a hurry? “Oh she’s coming...this...way” then it dawned on me. Pinkie’s gaze was directed on me.
“Oh shi-!” I turned still staring at the mare who seemed fixated on catching her target. She was about eight blocks away and at the speed she was coming in she’d catch me in no time if I hadn’t turned a corner nearby.
Running straight through the alley between two buildings I shot down another street that would take me to Sweet Apple Acres. “No way she’ll find me there” I stated, as I began my gallop down the street. Boy was I wrong.
“HAILSTORM!!!” I heard her yell. “YOU LIED TO ME!” and I swear for a second I thought for sure I saw fire surround her very being. Spike was still holding on to the pink mare for dear life, but just barely.
“What? What are you- When did I-?” then it hit me again, Pinkie Sense?! There’s no way it could be that strong! I didn’t have time to think though because apparently Ponyville had been hosting some kind of parade as a entourage of band players made their way down a street that blocked my path to Sweet Apple Acres road. Almost ruining the entire parade and further screwing up my chances of escape, I had to skid to a stop.
I nickered “Damn!” Looking around there were a bunch of people around me. I can use this. Diving right into the crowd I calmly and slowly tried to make my way along side the crowd in the opposite direction the band was going through.
To my right about eight feet away I heard Spike shout “Pinkie stop!” followed by the sound of someone saying “Hey watch it!”
I gulped. If Pinkie was on the chase then I knew as well as any bo-pony, I corrected, that she would catch her target no matter what. “There’s got to be a way I can distract her! Cmon Think!” I tapped a hoof on my forehead frustrated.
What do I know about Pinkie? Aside from the fact that she’s exuberant, loves throwing parties, insecure, smart, and “! That’s it!” I smiled. “Her attention span is awful, if I can get something to temporarily draw her attention away I could make a quick escape!” I reasoned.
However throughout my reasoning I had been thinking outloud so a few ponies were giving me strange looks like I was insane. Ignoring them and looking around I tried to find something, anything that would get me to distract the pink pony long enough for me to escape.
“Twitchy twitch” Pinkie’s left ear continued to twitch. “Right...forward...straight ahead...9 ft away” she muttered under her breath in all concentration, taking a quick glance at her shaky hoof that tilted to the left, she turned in that direction. “Changing your path huh?” she grinned.
Spike was beyond confused. Everyone knew that when Pinkie was a twitching you better listen, but why they were following Hailstorm like this was just beyond his reasoning. What did he have to hid from them? Weren’t they his friends?Didn’t he trust them to help? The dragon was brought out of his contemplation as Pinkie suddenly jerked her body in the direction opposite the parade.
“Ow! Hey!” he yelled, but Pinkie didn’t pay much attention, wrapping her tail around the dragon she lifted him up onto her back, her full attention on her target at hand.
“Pinkie hold on a second!” Spike stated jumping down and doing his best to hold back his friend from going any further. “Don’t you think you’re going a little overboard?” he huffed once the pony had finally stopped.
Pinkie’s eyes didn’t leave the direction her senses were leading her towards slowly she spoke, “What do you mean?”
Spike sighed rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Well when you chase somepony down the street with such animosity I’m not surprised anypony would run off. I know I would.” he said casually. “Don’t you think it’s a little insensitive of you to chase him down the street like that all angry?” he advised looking up at her.
Pinkie’s hardened expression faltered for a second, but just as soon as a look of regret passed over her she quickly shoved it down. “No” she firmly stopped a hoof. “Hailly is hiding something and I intend to figure out what!” she trotted off down the crowd, with Spike following in tow.
A few seconds had passed and all I’ve managed to do was wriggle through the crowd like a snake trying to avoid my pink friend get even a glance from behind.
What the heck is going on?! I questioned. The very fact that I hadn’t seen a single balloon around the parade this entire time was more of an oddity than anything else since I got here.
“What kind of parade doesn’t have balloons?!” I groaned in frustration. A few people cast me looks like I should grow up but I only ignored it.
Scanning the area I saw just what I wanted. A foal holding a red balloon. This is perfect! I thought, but the awful thing was that the colt was on the other side of the parade. If I tried to cross now Pinkie would see me for sure and be on me within a matter of seconds.
I tried to think of a way to get through the massive parade without drawing any attention to myself. Looking around I couldn’t find anything, there were no conveniently placed instruments anywhere in sight.
“Why do you hate me so?” I asked looking at the sky, wondering if the universe could even understand me.
Turns out it did.
Peering over the crowd for a split second I saw an opening where the band had made a deliberate space (Lord knows why?) that I could easily squeeze through if I was quick enough. At the same time I saw a familiar pink mane coming in my direction.
The hunt was on.
Ducking down as quickly as I could I immediately tip hoofed my way in a crouching position to the space that was imminently coming my way. Just as I was about to make the quick dash through I heard Pinkie’s voice.
“AHA!” she yelled “He’s right here!” right between Pinkie and I were three ponies that blocked her view of me, but I knew she knew I was there. And I wasn’t about to get caught now. My small hope of crossing to the other side was fading as the parade was about to make their way past me.
Quickly lunging forward I jumped right into the space, although I wasn’t able to make it out. The band had begun to push me along with it, so I had to march along side till I was able to slip out. Once free I saw the young colt with the red balloon making his way towards me. For a second I thought he was going to offer me his balloon since he thought I was in the parade, but instead he passed by to grab a cup full of lemonade. As he did so he smiled at me before trotting back to his father on the other side.
I didn’t even try to grab the balloon after that. I don’t know why but when that kid smiled at me I just couldn’t do it.
“What’s wrong with me?”
The parade was finally coming to an end. All the music and marching that had been going on was coming to a close and everypony was now taking their own individual routes either home or to work; it was still only the afternoon.
I watched as the colt I had tried to so shamefully steal from and his father trotted off together wards. I felt an enormous wave of guilt creep over me.
What was it? What was it about stealing a petty balloon to earn a distraction that makes someone feel so...so unbelievably pathetic?
Was it because they were afraid to admit the truth? Have you ever been afraid to admit the truth? I know I was. It was because I was scared, a coward that I had stooped to stealing a balloon from a child who just wanted to have fun. I could only imagine how bad it would’ve been had I not stopped myself.
Just what on earth is happening to me?[/ i] I used to have much more integrity than this. The very thought that I would steal from a child just to save my own skin was something that I would’ve kicked myself for ever even thinking of, let alone acting on.
Was this because of what Zecora said about the curse? Did my paranoia kick in without me even realizing it?
Pinkie Pie zipped over with Spike running after her, clearly out of breath. “I finally found you!” she shouted giving me a cold look. “What are you-” she cut herself off upon realizing my saddened state.
“What’s wrong?” her glare softening.
I didn’t respond. All I wanted to do was to go back to Sugarcube Corner and forget about this. Getting up I trotted past the two and slowly made my way back to the bakery. Pinkie and Spike looked at each other with worried looks before trudging after me.
Back at Sugarcube Corner Pinkie and I were behind the counter, where the cupcake sales were made. It’s about time I stopped acting like a kid and told her the truth.
“Zecora says I’m cursed...although we don’t know what kind of curse it could be. She came to the conclusion of it being a curse when she looked into the detail of my symptoms. There are no spells or cases that suggest anything like this before so her solution is a curse” I finished keeping my tone low so Spike wouldn’t here in the other room.
“That’s awful!” she exclaimed. “We have to tell the others about this if we do then we can think of some sort of solution together. The princesses might even be able to help with-” I cut her off.
“No!” I stomped a hoof, Pinkie winced at the sound, taking a defensive step back. “Why?” she asked confused. “Why won’t you accept our help?” she asked. “All we want to do is help you. Is that so wrong? You make it sound like you’ve never received help in your entire life” her voice had started to raise.
I remained silent.
“I don’t get it Hailly, why won’t you let me help? I just want my friends to smile and not be sad is that so wrong?! Why did you run away when you saw me?” her voice broke at the last question, the tears starting to form in her eyes. “Aren’t we friends? Spike doesn’t even get why you’re acting like this. No one does!” it was my turn to wince at the sound of her hoof hitting the floor boards.
“Well answer me!”
I didn’t say anything. I just kept my eyes to the ground, searching for the right thing to say.
“It’s not that I don’t want your help or I’m scared of friendship. I just don’t want people getting involved in my own problems, especially friends from an alternate world” I said dourly.
“But that’s silly. If you don’t want people getting involved how do you expect your problem to go away?” she asked making her way over to me. Once she was by my side Pinkie Pie sat down and gingerly put a hoof on my shoulder. Complying I sat beside her.
“Look you silly colt” she said patting my mane. “Don’t be so quick to push people away when they’re trying to help you okay?” she smiled.
I nodded, not really feeling it but agreeing nonetheless. She was right. This wasn’t something I could do by myself, I needed help but what I really wanted was to understand my problem before I got anyone involved, so I told Pinkie just that.
“No” she said. “The sooner we tell Twilight and the others the sooner we can help you with your problem” she pleaded.
I could see this was going nowhere, so I did the one thing I thought would be best to settle this problem. “Pinkie Promise.”
“What?” she said bewildered.
“Pinkie promise me you won’t tell anyone about this curse till I have more information on it” I told her, “you’re the only one here that I can trust to keep your own promise to me better than anypony aside from the others...please Pinkie just give me some time I’m sure I can figure something out please” I begged.
Pinkie was silent for awhile as she contemplated the issue, glancing around the room and then finally back to me a faint smile appeared across her light pink lips.
“Alright...I’ll give you some time. But how do you plan to figure this out when Zecora couldn’t even tell you how you got this curse in the first place?” she questioned.
“Good question...I’ll ask around see if I can find anything, in the meantime Pinkie just trust me alright?”
“Alright alright fine” she patted my shoulder playfully. “I’ll trust you.”
While all this was going on unknown to the two of us Spike had been listening this entire time, and he’d only registered two things throughout the conversation.
“Hailstorm is cursed” and “Don’t tell the others.” Turning back around to hide behind the cashier counter Spike walked back to the room looking dazed.
“Hailstorm’s cursed?” he repeated to himself like it was impossible to believe. Although he knew that I wouldn’t want him to say anything to the others Spike clenched his claws together tightly, with new determination.
“I’ve got to tell Twilight.”