As My World Burns

by StapleCactus

And Iron to Rust

But why do I have to decide? Who is Pinkie to bring me an ultimatum like that?! I’ve had my home burned, the place I built my life around with my wife, and I’d sooner fall to Tartarus if I let her tell me what to do!

I threw myself onto my hooves and banished my headache. Looking out the window, I felt determined more than I had ever felt before as the sun shone down on Ponyville. The nice day was about to turn dark.

Turning away, I snatched my pills from the nightstand and took two. As I waited for the medicine to take effect, I threw on my coat and stuffed the letter inside the inner pocket. It was given to me by one of the residents who visited me in the hospital, since you must know. The door slammed open at my touch and closed with as much force when I walked by.

The trip was a blur, but I set upon Sugarcube Corner without incident. I’m sure I confused the ponies I had walked by. They weren’t important. This was between Pinkamena and me.

“Pinkamena!” I shouted as I slammed through the building’s dual-hinged doors. The place was decorated in streamers and balloons, and that pink mare was there, attempting to hang a banner over the counter. At my shout, her head whipped in my direction and a big smile grew across her features.

“Davenport! Oh, you’re way too early!” She hopped off the ladder and teleported into my view. Like, she literally warped time and space to appear so close to me she took up every inch of my vision. “Shoo, shoo. The party can’t start now; I’m not ready,” she said as she started shoving me back out the way I came.

Or that’s what I expected her to do when I came barreling in!

The party was already in full swing by the time I had arrived. So, with my shout, I found myself looking back at nearly the whole town staring back at me. I’ll never understand how so many ponies could fit in one area, and I should have known what Pinkamena would do.

“Davvy, you made it!” came the sweet voice of Pinkie as she sashayed her way through the crowd, a cheery smile plastered on her face. Once she was past the other ponies and only I could see, that grin fell into a sneer, but only for a second before she turned back to them. “Everypony, the guest of honor has arrived!”

Cheers erupted throughout the building. She gave me one last look over her shoulder, then disappeared as ponies rushed forward. I was surrounded by a million words ranging from happiness at my recovery to hopeful platitudes about my home. They quickly mixed inside my head as I tossed fake gratitude left and right and pushed my way through.

“Pinkamena!” I called again, and the crowd quieted and parted for me. Before me stood the Elements of Harmony, or the bearers at least. Just as those incompetent foals had a group name, so did these six mares. They all bore smiles, as if they weren’t in on it.

“Pinkamena, you dare tell me what to do?!” I started, then spun on the rest of them. “And what of you five? What is this about kicking me out of town and bringing the rest of you down? Do you honestly expect me not to think you all had a hand in this?”

The mares faces all turned down, either confusion or indignance on their faces. Except Pinkamena. She still had that grin on her face, and it took me till now to understand it was one of victory.

I knew what she was doing, now.

“Davenport, wha—”

With a raised hoof, I cut Twilight off. Then, without a word, I turned and walked away. Away from the ponies, away from Pinkamena, and away from everything I once knew.

---

Her plan was perfect: get me to lose my calm by which the town knew me. A shopkeep is only as good as the reputation he holds, and no matter how I worked it, there was no way whispers wouldn’t travel if I stuck around and explained myself.

Why? Because she is Pinkie Pie, Element of Laughter. If I showed the letter, she would have denied it, and her friends would believe her over a broken stallion who had lost everything. If I somehow managed to get them to listen to me after that, I would dig myself in a deeper hole by insisting it was her. They’d think me insane, and who wouldn’t? I lost my home, my business, and have injured myself on multiple occasions through means I could have easily avoided.

So, if you don’t mind, I think I’m going to lie here and stew in my misery.

…

...

…

Zzzzzz.

Comments

[Pyro The Reader]

Woah, wut.

[Seether00]

What.....

Get up! You're going to let her win and just leave town? See that may be the best thing for your life, but now it's about the principle of the thing!