//------------------------------// // Anything For a Friend // Story: Even Rainbows Fade // by Pracca //------------------------------// The crickets chirped in Luna's pale moonlight, roused from their slumber as a single mare slowly walked down the path. Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure what time it was, but she guessed that midnight had passed some time ago. The chorus of nighttime was slowly growing around her, as it became used to her presence. She turned, and moved down a smaller path through Ponyville proper. Only she knew her destination now. As the old mare trotted down the road, buildings began to pass by. She looked up at them in wistful remembrance; for all the decades she’d been there, not much had changed in the old town. The same old buildings, maybe missing a few shingles. The same old pathways. The same old— A shadow leaped across the rooftops, from one side of the street to another. Reflected against the moon, Rainbow Dash made out a familiar silhouette of a mare in hat and cloak. In that brief instant, a slip of paper descended from above, landing on the ground in front of the old pegasus. She glanced down, and by the time she had looked back up any sign of the mysterious figure was gone. A prickling in the back of Rainbow’s mind irritated her; she’d been through enough. Why couldn’t they leave her alone? She sighed, staring at the folded slip of paper. She knew she had to look. Dash picked it up and examined it closely, struggling to understand the barely-legible flurry of letters in the dim moonlight. It was an address. One she recognized very well. “Sugarcube Corner.” Dash growled and stomped the note into the dirt. She wasn’t about to let Pinkie’s antics get in her way. Not this time. Couldn’t that old psycho-pony leave a grieving mare alone? Just for one night? She set off walking towards her destination once more, and as she went passed by Lyra and Bon-Bon’s home. In a corner window, a light was still on, and the chatter of half a dozen ponies could be heard coming from inside. The pegasus’ brow furrowed as she tried to shut out the noise walking past. Stupid family, keeping the neighbors awake every night. When did they even sleep? It didn’t make any sense. Any of it. That thought stuck with Rainbow as she kept walking, further into the middle of Ponyville. Over the rooftops, the top branches of the library could be made out; she made care to avoid looking at them. How did it make any sense that those two could be so… happy together? They’d fought and bickered for years, and here they were with a family so darned happy they couldn’t bother sleeping; and on the other hand, Rainbow Dash, who’d fought so hard for the family she loved, and the career she’d idolized… like this. Old, retired, and forgotten. Her only daughter estranged from her life. Her wife… dead. It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t right. As she thought more and more, her thoughts turned to her friends. They’d all earned THEIR happily-ever-afters. What did she do wrong? They were all living out their dreams, with the ponies they loved, right? Applejack and Whooves, Fluttershy and Caramel, Pinkie and So— A cold sting in Rainbow’s brain jolted her out of her slumber. “Oh, Celestia. Pinkie Pie… horseapples, I know I’m gonna buck myself for this tomorrow.” The mare turned around and began trotting back to the old confections shop. Even as she approached it from down the street, it was easy to tell just about everypony was home that night. When the Cake family moved out of town way back when, it had fallen upon Pinkie Pie to pick up the slack. Of course, with her gaggle of some twenty grand and great-grandfoals, that was no issue. Sure enough, Rainbow Dash peeked in through the window as she approached, and the whole lot of them were gathered inside the kitchen. She approached the front door, carefully opening it and slipping inside before anypony noticed she’d arrived. The old mare skulked behind a couch, trying to listen in on what they were doing. Apparently, it was a baking lesson. “Okay, everypony! Quiz time lightning round!” came the shout of the old, lively baker. Then, she began shouting even louder; she got so excited doing these things. “TWINREED! If we put the cupcakes in twenty minutes ago, that means they need to be taken out…?” “Uh… five minutes ago?” a timid voice asked. “RIGHT!” Pinkie Pie gleefully agreed. On perfect cue, the smoke alarm began to blare, and smoke poured out from the kitchen. A score of coughing, gagging foals rushed out into the main room, and Rainbow Dash had to carefully position herself so as not to be spotted. Sounds of a fire extinguisher could be heard from the other room, and as the alarm finally died down the collection of foals was joined by a sprightly pink pony, covered in extinguisher foam from snout to hoof. Pinkie let a bubbly smile shine as all her grandfoals laughed at how ridiculous she looked, and with a shake to clean herself the foam went in every direction. The little fillies and coats groaned in shock and repressed amusement as they found themselves covered in the foam this time. Pinkie giggled at her family’s expense, and scratched a weirdly knotted ear as she walked over to the staircase. With a grandiose gesture, she ushered the little ponies up to bed. “Okey dokey lokey, everypony! Lots of fun fun fun tonight, but we’d prooobably better get you to bed before the neighbors call the fire department! Again. Goodnight, Starshine!” she said, kissing the forehead of the first little filly that passed her up the stairs. “Goodnight, Twinreed!” Another kiss followed, as expected. This pattern continued until all of her little foals had been corralled upstairs. From her corner, Rainbow watched this in curiosity. It was hard to believe that just that afternoon, Pinkie Pie had been a wreck with everypony else at the funeral. There were a lot of things Dash admired about that earth pony, but she figured that first on the list was how she was able to put her own feelings aside to cheer up the ponies around her. “Soooo, whatcha doin’?” “WHAAAA—“ Rainbow screeched, catapulting from her hiding spot, up over the couch and onto the floor. The ceiling spun above her, and the blurry form of Pinkie Pie’s head loomed over her, staring worriedly. “Oh, jeez, I’m sorry Rainbow! I thought we were playing hide-and-go seek! I didn’t know you were actually hiding!” “Urgh… it’s—it’s fine, Pinkie.” Rainbow told her, rubbing her sore head. She slowly shifted back up onto her hooves, and stared down the earth pony that was currently preoccupied with staring at her with an idiotic grin. “Uh…” “Uh…what?” Pinkie asked, oblivious as usual. “Any particular reason you brought me down here, Pinkie? I was… I was kinda in the middle of something.” “Oh, no reason!” Pinkie replied in a singsong manner. She turned around and trotted to the corner, where a curtain still hung open for the night. She tugged on it, but the curtain did not move. She tried again, and again, but the thing wouldn’t budge. “Hey, Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie asked. “Think you could be a super-awesome pal and close this curtain for me?” Rainbow sighed. “Yeah, sure. Fine.” She trotted over and clamped the rod tight in her teeth, and with a downward motion pulled as hard as she could. Her eyes were closed, and left her completely unprepared for the cacophony of sounds that followed. She was forced to wrench her own eyes open and scream in surprise as dozens of horns, kazoos, and other party instruments went off all on cue around her, and streamers and confetti fell by the bucket-load all around her. Rainbow’s eyes went wide as she took in the scene, horror and confusion sinking in. All the while, Pinkie Pie only smiled. The pegasus felt her eyes drawn to something in the center of the room. A large banner hung from the ceiling. One that Rainbow recognized all too well. “Oh, no…” Dash approached it, and looked at it closely. Inside a heart, was her name alongside Twilight’s. She looked back at the earth pony, whose glee looked a bit more forced now. The old pink mare was riding on this… whatever it was, working. “Pinkie, is this..?” “It is!” Pinkie said excitedly, hopping next to her to examine the banner alongside her old friend. “It’s the exact same banner we used on your wedding day! It took me a REALLY long time to find all the pieces, but I stitched it all together this afternoon!” Dash’s mouth hung open in absolute shock. What had possessed her friend to do this. Doubling her horror, she felt tears welling in the corners of her eyes. “W-why? Why would you do something like this?..” “For you, Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie was more than happy to say, drawing the pegasus into a tight hug. “Anything for a friend!” “I… w-what?!” Rainbow Dash pushed the other mare away with as much force as she could muster; not much. But the message conveyed was enough, and Pinkie backed away with an increasingly distraught look. “Why would you EVER think I would want something like this?!” Dash felt another pang in her chest. Now Pinkie was about to cry. “You, you don’t like it?” “Of course I don’t!” the old pegasus shouted back, voice cracking. “I’ve spent all day and night trying to FORGET about this! This has been the worst day of my entire life, and you think I want you to just bring it crashing down on my head again?! Why would I EVER, EVER want that?!” “I—I…” A few glistening streaks ran down the pink pony’s face. She bowed her head and looked away. For a brief moment, Rainbow thought she saw the old mare’s mane deflate a bit. With a loud snort, Pinkie Pie blew into a tissue she’d acquired. “I’m super sorry, Rainbow! I just thought… since it worked for me, it might work for you, seeing how sad you were…” “Wait.” Rainbow walked up to Pinkie’s side and tried to look her in the eye. “What do you mean?” Then it hit her. She looked around the room; there were more decorations than she’d thought. All around were pictures of her and Twilight, at various points of their life. She followed them chronologically. The wedding day. Their fifth anniversary. Opal’s 10th birthday. On down the line she went, feeling a new memory and a new heartbreak cracking open. Finally, she came past the kitchen door, and peeked inside. Resting on the table was a freshly-baked cake, with icing applied no more than ten minutes ago by her guess. She stepped through the door to get a closer look, leaving Pinkie in the other room. Sitting below her was a carefully-crafted recreation of the picture they’d all taken together at Pinkie’s Milleni-Party-Palooza. Rarity, AJ, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie all gathered together, laughing and smiling. And in the center of it all, was her and Twilight. Not a line on their faces, those ponies in the past were so young. So happy. Rainbow sniffed, and a tear splashed on the little icing image of the purple mare. She couldn’t see Twilight anymore. She couldn’t see herself either. The unicorn in that picture was Pinkie Pie, as bright and bubbly as she’d always been. And that wasn’t Rainbow Dash pecking her with a little kiss, frozen in time. It was Soarin. Dash remembered it all so clearly, right then. Twenty years ago, it had been. A chilly winter day in Ponyville, all the girls had gathered for a day of ice-skating, when Ditzy Doo had swooped in from above with an urgent message for Pinkie Pie. She’d looked so ecstatic when she saw that it was a letter from the Wonderbolts; she hadn’t heard from her husband, the goofball Soarin, for more than a month. Maybe his tour was finally over. Rainbow remembered what she read on that letter, when she’d picked it up, moments after Pinkie had dropped it and ran away sobbing. Mrs. Pinkemena Pie, It is with great regret and sadness, that I have to write you this letter. Yesterday, at 12:57 PM, Soarin suffered severe injuries during routine training exercises with his teammates. Doctors worked around the clock, but at 2:07 AM that following night, the doctors at Fillydelphia General Hospital declared him deceased. We are sorry for your loss, Captain Spitfire. PS: I’m so sorry, Pinkie. Protocol demands formality, but I just want to let you know that I’m going to be bringing him back for the funeral personally. It’s no consolation, but Soarin was one of my closest friends. If you need to talk to anyone, I’ll be there for you, okay? Rainbow Dash and the other mares had searched for her all the rest of that day, but she was nowhere to be found. It was three days, in fact, before anyone had discovered her. Applejack was the one to make the discovery, in a gray, barren patch at the back of Sweet Apple Acres. A dull-pink, straight-maned pony wordlessly shoving rocks back and forth across a freshly-tilled field. They’d all tried whatever they could think of. But nothing they said could convinced Pinkie to come to her senses. As it happened, it was Twilight who had come up with their silver bullet: a party. Rainbow Dash remembered Pinkie’s face as they’d dragged her into Sugarcube Corner to find a party decorated in the theme of herself and Soarin. Absolute, distraught horror; come to think of it, it was a lot like Rainbow herself looked only moments to go out there. But they stopped her from leaving in shock, and Twilight explained it all. “Pinkie, you miss Soarin. We all do, too, and we’re not asking you to stop. But you’re only hurting yourself by doing this; if he were here he’d want you to be happy. And for a long time, you WERE happy. When someone you love passes, you can’t get caught up on their absence. You have to remember all the wonderful moments you shared with them, and be thankful for what you shared. Don’t mourn his loss, celebrate when he was here!” It didn’t work. At first. But it was a step in the right direction. That night was a long one, of speeches, and hugs, and eating treats when no one could stomach them. But when the sun rose that morning, it had worked; that poofy pink mane was back, along with their friend. She didn’t feel any better. Dash understood what Pinkie Pie was doing now; but it didn’t bring any peace to her. If anything, she felt worse, at how guilty she felt now for snapping at her. She couldn’t bear that much pain, the least she could do is apologize before she left. With heavy steps she exited the kitchen to find Pinkie waiting close at hoof. The old earth pony watched quizzically with her puffy, red eyes as Rainbow tried to find something to say. “I… I think I get it, Pinkie. I shouldn’t have freaked out like this; you were just trying to help me, and be a good friend.” Rainbow reached a hoof out and brought Pinkie in for a hug. “You’re a good friend. Really. Thank you.” “Does that mean it worked?” Pinkie asked. Dash cursed to herself; that moment didn’t last long. She released her friend from the hug and silently shook her head. “W-why not?” “I’m not you, Pinkie. You lost your husband, but you still had your whole family around you, and your bakery. You were still you, y’know? I don’t… I don’t have that. Twilight was the last thing I had left that really made me… ‘me’.” “What do you mean?” Pinkie asked, confused. “You’ve always been Rainbow Dash! You’re not NOT Rainbow Dash just because Twilight isn’t here!” “Pinkie, you don’t get it.” Rainbow told her. She felt a bit of irritation creeping in. “My only daughter’s gone off somewhere I don’t know about, and my wife is…” she bowed her head. “Over the years I lost everything that defined me; all that was left was her, okay? And now she’s gone.” Pinkie didn’t look convinced. “That’s crazy talk, silly filly! You were Rainbow Dash before you married Twilight, so you’re still Rainbow Dash when you’re not! You’re still the crazy, high-flying daredevil!” Rainbow shook her head, furrowing her brow. “No, I’m not.” “Yes, you are!” Pinkie retorted. Now she sounded exasperated. As Rainbow walked away, Pinkie hopped after her. “Come on, all you need is a good old-fashioned flight in the night sky! Let’s go, I’ll cheer you on!” “Pinkie, no.” Rainbow told her. “Come onnnnn!” “I don’t want to!” The door slammed as Rainbow walked out of Sugarcube Corner; but it was no use, she already knew the earth pony was inexplicably still by her side. “You ALWAYS want to! Pleeeease, just do it!” “No! Darn it Pinkie, I’m not going to fly, so just DROP IT!” “Why not!?” “BECAUSE I CAN’T!” Pinkie’s hop stopped mid-air, her grin wrenched upside down into a horrified grimace. The earth pony fell to the ground and quickly scrambled back to her feet, stammering. “W-w-what?! Of course you can, you’re Rainbo—“ “PINKIE!” Rainbow pleaded, looking her in the eye. Pinkie stared back and saw the tears rolling down the ex-Wonderbolt’s face. “My wings… my wings stopped working years ago. I can’t fly anymore, okay? Everything that made me ME before I met Twilight’s been gone for a really, really long time. She was all. I. Had. Left.” Pinkie didn’t respond verbally. Her whole body shook in odd and inexplicable patterns as she tried to find something, anything to say. But her words failed her. Rainbow kept crying in silence, watching to see if her friend would come up with anything; but as the minutes rolled past, nothing came. The silence was palpable in the abandoned night streets of Ponyville. Rainbow finally turned her head away and started to walk back in the direction she’d come from. “Goodnight, Pinkie Pie. I have somewhere I need to be.” As the pegasus walked off into the beckoning darkness, Pinkie Pie was frozen in her own world. Try as she might, she couldn’t say a single world. Her Pinkie Sense was going haywire, stronger sensations than she’d ever felt. She couldn’t figure out what a single one meant, but the sensation told her something was coming. Something absolutely, positively awful.