Pinkie stared at the door in front of her, slightly shaking as the name of the friend she had failed stared back at her. I mean, isn’t it obvious? I hadn’t gone to check on her, and what sort of friend does that? Even if I knew where she was, and knew she wasn’t alone, I… I shouldn’t have, I could have, if I had- Pinkie shut her eyes, and a single tear ran down her face.
Celestia place a hand onto Pinkie’s shoulder and gave the younger woman a soft smile. She had seen that look on Pinkie’s face before. Over time, it had become more constant, came faster, and while the nurse had hoped that enough time had passed, it was obvious this wasn’t the case. Celestia could still remember the image of Pinkie over Twilight, threatening to give the poor woman whiplash as she tried to shake her awake. Neither of them wanted that to happen again, not when it had sent Twilight’s vitals spiraling. “Do you think you’re ready?”
Pinkie glanced up, before crossing her fingers with each other. She shouldn’t be here, but Celestia’s email had said that she might be able to help. Could she really help though? Pinkie doubted it, and even thought that she should just have kept to her agreement with the hospital to come back. She couldn’t mess anything up then. Twilight could actually get some help then. “I… I don’t know.”
“We could have you record a message, if you think that would help. Just a message to encourage her forwards.”
And then I would drift farther away from her than the others, like that was something she wanted. Pinkie sighed, knowing that the thought spoke the truth. Fear hurt, but losing a friend hurt more. “No, no, I can manage, I promise. I’ll just make sure it’s brief, so I don’t get too… excited. Is that okay?”
Celestia nodded, before slowly undoing the lock to the room. Opening it brought only silence to the hallway, and Pinkie let out a sigh of relief. She had liked playing with the words before, making it a game to be herself, but as she heard more and more of Twilight’s tales, they had just started to hurt, as it felt more and more like her friend was forgetting her. That she was nothing but a ghost now.
She walked in slowly, her body shaking as she got closer. Pinkie than put a hand on the side of Twilight’s face, and bit into her cheek. She looked so peaceful, so… happy. Her world made her that way. Not her, or any of the others.
Just the spirits.
She shut her eyes, her body quivering, wanting so much to act. To lash out, to make a fool of herself, to plead with her to remember her. But instead, she resisted, and let a single tear fall as she gripped Twilight’s shoulder. “T-Twilight, I… I just want you to know that… that whatever you choose, don’t…”
She was silent for a moment. Twilight was supposedly relapsing again, between reality and the dream, and there was no way to know what would happen with her words. Or if they would even matter. Then again, if she said nothing, simply because she was afraid of them mattering, or sending her deeper into the place she enjoyed, what sort of friend would she be?
Pinkie took in a deep breath. “Twilight, I cross my heart, and hope to die, stick a needle in my eye, that… that whatever you choose, so long as you’re happy, I… I will be happy for you, because that’s all that matters. For my friends to be…”
Celestia stepped forward, wrapping her arms around the shaking girl and squeezing her tight. “You don’t need to finish it. Twilight will understand how hard this must be for you.”
“But I want to help her.”
“Do you really think she would want you simply to hurt yourself for her happiness?”
Pinkie became silent at that. Twilight may have been a bookworm, but calling her selfish felt wrong. No, she cared too much about the rest of them to do that. She even included them in her little safeplace, even her. Despite the insanity, the frustration, and even pain Pinkie had brought her, she still was there.
She smiled, and let Celestia turn her away from the sleeping girl. “S-Sleep well, Twilight, and I hope you have sweet dreams until we see each other again.”
Just as the door closed, the words, “Thank you Pinkie,” came through to the pink girl, and Celestia knelt with her as she began to sob, simply massaging her back as she tried to deal with what that might mean.