Previous Chapters
Close
Lost Laughs1,676 words
When Six Becomes Five1,977 words

When Six Becomes Five

Author's Note:

Ten bits to anypony who can tell me what the chapter title is referencing.

TWILIGHT SPARKLE

I look out nervously at the crowd. I've never been much for speaking to large groups of ponies, but I need to do this. "Hello, everypony. My name is Twilight Sparkle. Thank you all for coming out. I only wish it were under better circumstances." I take a deep breath. Celestia, this is harder than I expected....

"Pinkie Pie was, without a doubt, the most cheerful, happy-go-lucky pony that I ever had the honor to know. I don't think I would be too presumptuous to say that she was also the most cheerful, happy-go-lucky pony that any of you ever had the honor to know. I won't bore you with a plethora of anecdotes about my experiences with Pinkie Pie - knowing Pinkie Pie, just one pony's stories about her could take the whole day - but I do want to say a few things about her as a pony and how she enriched my life.

"More than any other pony in Equestrian history, Pinkie Pie deserved to bear the Element of Laughter. Her ability to laugh in the face of danger, including the return of both Nightmare Moon and Discord, bordered on - and even leapt past - the line between optimism and absurdity, but it was often exactly what was needed. She kept us going when the task at hoof was too terrifying to face, and she kept us grounded when despair threatened to cripple us emotionally. The truly remarkable thing about Pinkie Pie, though, was that her optimism wasn't limited to when it was strictly needed; every day, Pinkie Pie made it her job, her quest, to make as many ponies smile as possible.

"Everypony says that they want to die doing what they love. I think there's a lot of truth in that, so that's how I choose to remember Pinkie Pie's death - not how she died but rather what she was doing when she died. Pinkie Pie's last moments were getting supplies for a party." I stop to chuckle, thinking that there were probably more moments when Pinkie Pie wasn't preparing for one party or another than moments when she was. "Then again, when wasn't that pony preparing for some kind of a party? In typical Pinkie Pie fashion, she wanted to make this party special for the pony it was honoring, so she was in the Everfree Forest looking for a very specific root to flavor the party food. Don't get me wrong - I'd give my horn to have kept Pinkie Pie out of the forest that day and not lose her, but if a pony has to die, the only better way I can think of for Pinkie Pie is to go with the tail in her mouth playing Pin the Tail on the Pony.

"I won't take up anymore of everypony's time because I'm not the only one who wants to say something in Pinkie's memory." I step down from the podium. I think I've done a decent enough job honoring Pinkie Pie. She would certainly agree that there were few more perfect ways for her to go. I'll miss you, Pinkie Pie. We all will. We love you so much. Rest in peace, Pinkie.

RAINBOW DASH

Be awesome. Be awesome. Gotta be awesome. For Pinkie Pie, you've got to be awesome, and crying is not awesome. Man, why is it so hard not to cry? Crying is so lame. "Like Twilight said, Pinkie Pie was almost always smiling and laughing, and that's what made her so awesome. Whenever somepony was sad, she'd always be there to cheer them up, you know? Oh, and she was the BEST pranking buddy. She was the only one who could match me for pranking awesomeness, but she made sure I didn't go too far or anything. She was...."

Oh Celestia, not now. I am NOT going to cry while I'm trying to talk. Deep breaths, Dash. I only barely manage to keep myself from crying. Stupid tears. "She was the best friend a mare could ask for. It's...gonna be quiet without Pinkie Pie. So...So everypony better get ready, cause I'm gonna have to prank you guys TWICE as hard for Pinkie!" I can't do this anymore. I'm about to lose it. I have to get away from this stupid stand before anypony sees how close I am to crying.

FLUTTERSHY

Phew, phew, phew. I need to calm down. Breathe, Fluttershy. No need to be nervous. Everypony is here to remember and honor Pinkie Pie, just like me. All I need to do is trot up there, say a few words about Pinkie and what she meant to me and to Ponyville, and then let somepony else speak. I can handle this.

I reach the podium. I want to look out at the crowd as I address it, but I...I just can't. It's hard enough not to cry without seeing how sad everypony else is. I take a deep breath and look down at the podium. "Um, hello, everypony. I know everypony is very sad about what happened to Pinkie Pie, and I am, too, but she...she wouldn't want us to be sad. I know Pinkie Pie would want us to smile and remember her life and who she was instead of just thinking about what happened to her and who we lost.

"For a pony as shy and timid as I am, Pinkie Pie's constant happiness and encouragement to laugh away my fears had a big impact on me. I'm still shy, but Pinkie Pie did a lot to help me laugh instead of being scared of everything....although there are still a lot of really scary things...." I make the mistake of looking up at the ponies attending the funeral. Oh dear...that's a lot of ponies.

"So, um...I guess my point is that Pinkie Pie helped a lot of ponies in her life, so we should be celebrating her accomplishments here, not just focusing on her passing. Thank you."

APPLEJACK

Ah look out at all the ponies here to remember Pinkie Pie and can't help but think "Ah sure hope I've done enough good to deserve this many ponies comin' out to remember me." Ah know it's probably a selfish thing to think when we're all here to remember Pinkie, but death gets ya to thinkin', ya know? Life's fragile. Any minute, some horrible accident could cart us away from this life. Who'd have thought Pinkie'd be the one who got me thinkin' too much to sleep?

"Yall, Ah don't think Ah have to tell ya that Pinkie was one heck of a mare. Ya might not have thought it with all the partyin' she did, but that pink filly was the hardest workin' little mare Ah think Ah ever did meet. The thing 'bout Pinkie's work is that everything she did was for one goal - make ponies smile. That girl worked herself to the bone on every single party she threw just to make sure her friends were smilin'. If that ain't being a true friend, then Ah don't know what is."

Keep it together, AJ. Gotta stay strong. There's a time and a place for cryin', but this is ain't it; this is for rememberin' and honorin' Pinkie. "Ya know, Ah think Twilight was right; if Pinkie had to go, Ah think she'd be pretty content with the way it happened. Fixin' to throw a party? Ain't nothing more 'Pinkie Pie' than that. Now Ah ain't the best pony for public speakin', so Ah'll get on off of here and let Rarity say her bit, but y'all keep in mind, Pinkie wouldn't wanting us goin' and moping around during her funeral. For Pete's sake, she was the Element of Laughter. Ain't no better way to honor her than finding a way to laugh."

RARITY

I look out at the throng of ponies assembled before me. "Good morning, everypony, though it would be better were we gathered under happier circumstances. There are reasons to smile, however, are there not? As I look at all of you, I can't help but think that it's truly wonderful that Pinkie Pie had so many ponies who care about her enough to postpone their busy schedules and close down their shops for the day to honor her memory and celebrate her life. She truly did touch so many lives through her unwaveringly cheerful demeanor - many more than she even realized, I'd wager. Everypony says that we Elements of Harmony are remarkable ponies, but Pinkie Pie was different. Pinkie was...."

I hesitate. How to word this? "In many ways, Pinkie Pie was the best of us. Everypony has her faults, and Pinkie Pie was no exception, but she was probably the best pony I ever had the honor to know. Although laughter was definitely her element, she was a marvelous reflection of all of the Elements of Harmony. Her dedication to making every party her best party yet just to see her friends and loved ones smile showed her great generosity. Her almost terrifying insistence that a Pinkie Promise never be broken for any reason showed her zealous adherence to honesty. Her refusal to give up on befriending Gilda because she knew that she was important to Rainbow Dash showed unwaivering loyalty. Her adamant desire to see the best in Cranky Doodle Donkey, even when he was at his grumpiest demonstrated a rare caliber of kindness. As I am confident that everypony in Ponyville can attest, her ability to inspire an entire town of ponies to burst out into a song that she made up on the spot at a moment's notice was certainly nothing short of magic.

"My point with all of this is that Pinkie Pie was - and I doubt anypony would offer disagreement with this - an undeniably unique pony, unlike anypony else I've met. Pinkie alone had the ability to turn nearly any situation, no matter how dire, into a reason to laugh. It is for that trait that she will be forever remembered, and it is for that reason that it would be an affront to her memory to allow this funeral to be a morose affair. We are all saddened by the loss of Pinkie Pie, but she would be the first pony to point out that you cannot spell 'funeral' without 'fun.' Pinkie Pie was our town's party pony; her funeral should reflect that, being nothing less than a boisterous celebration of her life and all of the joy she was able to bring to others."

I look out at the crowd. To suggest that a funeral should be a happy occasion is, to put it lightly, an unorthodox proposal, especially when the pony for whom the funeral service is being held was so near and dear to everypony's heart. To my extreme relief, however, I see smiles beginning to appear where moments ago were frowns, weak at first, but quickly strengthening to all-out grins as the ponies in the congregation being to see the truth in my statement and remember the joy that Pinkie Pie had brought them.

Maybe, just maybe, Ponyville will be able to hold onto the happy memories and cope with this loss. Maybe, just maybe, we'll be okay.

490 views

Previous Chapters