Fall of A Rainbow

by ShadowSprint

Chapter 2

Twilight sat in her Friendship Castle, books scattered around the floor. Her body still as she searched the contents of the most recent book Spike had grabbed for her.She’d glance at a page, turn it with her hoof and read on.The lack of magic had greatly slowed her ability to skim, something that ate away at her.There has to be something! There just has to be something I can do. Twilight thought to herself. That image of Rainbow Dash still buried itself in her head from the day before.After Princess Luna had returned with the news, Celestia and Luna were going to take care of the body. But Twilight had insisted on going with, despite her weakened state.Rainbow Dash’s crumpled body had been a shock to her. And Fluttershy, well Fluttershy was beside herself in agony. Twilight had wanted so desperately to go over and embrace her, tell her friend it was okay, that she was there for her. But on the way down, Luna had instructed her to leave Fluttershy alone. “It’d be best if when we got down there, that you just leave Fluttershy to herself. There’ll be plenty of chances for you to be with her later.” Twilight had agreed, and just seeing Flutterhy like this broke her even more. How can I be so useless?

“Nothing,” Twilight whispered, grabbing the book in her mouth and throwing it across the room. “Nothing! Not a single spell in there!” Twilight screamed, panting as she collapsed onto the floor, tears running down her face, staring absently at the books around her.

Spike clutched the book, Equestria’s Most Powerful Spells Ever Recorded, the last book he could think to grab that might have something to help Rainbow Dash. But even then, he had helped Twilight organize and reorganize their library so many times that he had memorized the contents of many of the books here. And this book in his small claws, would not help her.

Spike carefully approached his friend, setting the book down at her side. Twilight sniffled and lifted herself enough to flip open the cover. “Thank you Spike” she breathed, her voice hoarse as her eyes sat glued to the pages. “Please find me another.”

Spike stood in front of her helplessly. “Twilight,” he asked.

“Hmm?”

“I think you should stop. You’re not going to find a way to bring her back.” His voice quivered as he stood, waiting for a response. But he received none. She wasn’t even paying attention.“Twilight,” Spike said a little louder and when he received the same response, he just couldn’t take it anymore. Spike leaned in and snapped the book shut on her, almost crushing her nose between the pages.

“Spike!” Twilight angrily barked, “Just what on Equestia are you doing?!”

“Listen to me!” Spike shot back, glaring as he set the book aside out of her reach. “You have to stop this. We’ve spent all morning going through books! Not to mention whatever you did downstairs last night! Did you even sleep?!”

“I . . . I don’t want to lose her Spike.” Twilight said, her voice faltered as tears streamed down her face. Laying her head down on the floor, Twilight’s chest heaved with pain. She could feel her heart tightening in her chest.

Spike walked over to her, hugging his friend tightly. He tried to blink away the tears as he cuddled up with his friend. “I don’t either. But, if there was truly a way to save her, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would have figured something out by now . . . she’s gone Twilight.”

Twilight just cried. She just couldn’t contain herself as tears dripped down her face. Feeling Spike’s body cling to hers, she wrapped herself around him, holding the little dragon and sobbing, the pain in her chest far too much to bear.

Spike held onto his friend, attempting to stay strong for her.He figured he could just cry later, and yet, he could not stop the tears falling down his own face.

Spike and Twilight laid together on the floor for some time. Even after her crying had stopped, they laid there.Neither had the inclination to move. That is, until Spike could feel a message from Celestia working its way up from his fiery belly. He stepped back from Twilight who laid there, watching him. She didn’t really want to move unless she had to. So when Spike had the message in his hand, she watched Spike read it over and then calmly asked, “What does it say?”

“It’s from Celestia. They’ve figure out how to return your magic from the Ember Emerald. Celestia wants you to come down as soon as you can.”

Twilight nodded, “I suppose so. The sooner it’s done the better.” And she slowly lifted herself up off the floor, her legs still a bit shaken as she glanced around the room. “I’ll help you clean up here and . . .”

But Spike interrupted her, “No Twilight, leave that to me. You just head on out.” She began to protest, but Spike again cut her off, “Really, it’s okay. You should probably get some time out of this place anyways.If you really wanted, you could ask some of the others if they want to tag along.”

Twilight smiled back at Spike. For such a small dragon, he had such a big heart. Walking over to him, Twilight grabbed him and hugged him again. “Thank you Spike,” she said lovingly, “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Spike blushed as he returned the hug, feeling the warmth of her body against his. “What are friends for,” he simply said with a soft chuckle.

Twilight nodded and rubbed his head, “For times just like these I think” and saying goodbye to her dragon, Twilight stepped outside into the midday sunlight.The sudden burst of light burned her eyes and it took a moment for her to adjust.

Walking through Ponyville, Twilight knew just where to begin. She started her way up the path towards Fluttershy’s cottage.She hadn’t seen Fluttershy since, well since yesterday.Twilight didn’t know how her shy friend would be taking things, how upset she might be.From what Twilight had gathered from Princess Luna, Fluttershy had tried to save Rainbow Dash. I can’t possibly imagine how she must feel right now.

Arriving at the cottage, Twilight stepped up to the door and knocked. She waited nervously for the door to open. What would she say to Fluttershy? How would she comfort her? She felt completely unprepared for what was about to transpire.But, the door did not open. Twilight knocked again. “Fluttershy,” she carefully called out, “are you here? It’s me Twilight Sparkle.” But no answer.

Hovering around the windows, Twilight peered into the house. It was empty, and dark. She couldn’t even see any of the critters inside.Twilight flew around the house, stopping at each window and knocking on it, hoping she’d locate her friend, but nothing.Fluttershy was not home.

Retreating back to the path on which she arrived, Twilight slowly walked back into town. It’d been disheartening not being able to see FLuttershy. But she had to press on. And maybe, just maybe, she’d run into Fluttershy along the way.

Never really paying attention to where her hooves were leading her, Twilight soon found herself standing at the front doors of SugarCube Corner.Even today, the beautifully decorated shop glowed in cheery splendor. Taking a deep breath, Twilight stepped into the shop.

Mr. and Mrs. Cake worked behind the counter and didn’t immediately see her come in. That was fine though. Twilight took her few seconds of silence to window shop over the variety of cakes, candies, and sweets they had on display.As usual, everything looked delicious. The smell of sugar and chocolate permeated through the store, filling Twilight’s nostrils.

“Twilight Sparkle,” came a sudden voice from behind the counter. It was that of Mrs. Cake. The sweet pony who helped operate the store with her husband. She kindly smiled at Twilight, her eyes softened at the sight of Twilight. Abandoning the counter, she walked around and over to Twilight, taking the girl under her hoof and hugging her. “I’m so very sorry for your loss Twilight. Things must be so difficult for you.” And pulling away, she stared down into Twilight’s thankful eyes, “How are you holding up dear?”

Twilight smiled, “Thank you so much for your sympathy Mrs. Cake.” And swallowing though her mouth was completely dry, Twilight said, “I’m doing okay . . . but, it’s very hard.” She admitted as she crossed her front left hoof with her right.

Mrs. Cake stepped over to the counter and asked her husband for a triple cherry hot fudge cupcake, the special for the day. Mr. Cake, who’d been busy attending to another customer nodded and pulled one out from the display, and handed it to his wife.Returning to Twilight, Mrs. Cake offered the treat and said, “Here, have this on the house.I know it’s not much, but . . .”

Twilight shook her head, happily accepting the cupcake. “Thank you so very much, Mrs. Cake.” She wetted her lips as she took a bite out the cupcake, the overwhelming taste of cherries, fudge, and sweet sugary goodness warming her mouth.Twilight finished her cupcake, licking her lips to get all of the frosting off and couldn’t help but be in better spirits after the snack. “Mrs. Cake, Pinkie Pie wouldn’t happen to be around would she?”

Mrs. Cake glanced to her husband, who had overheard Twilight, glanced over at her and said, “Pinkie Pie is upstairs. But, we’d prefer it if she had some time alone.”

“Is she alright?”

Mrs. Cake looked up into the ceiling, knowing Pinkie Pie would be directly above them. “She’s taking it really hard. That and . . . I think something happened today that upset her even more.”

“What?”

Mrs. Cake hesitated and then placing a hoof around Twilight, she said, “Here, let me bring you to the back. I’d rather not discuss this out with the customers.” And Twilight nodded, following Mrs. Cake around the counter and into the back.

Twilight had seen the back of SugarCube Corner a couple of times. The ovens, the mixers, and all the ingredients that they always kept on hand, everything was always filed away in just the right spot. It was always organized to perfection. But not today. Today, a bag of sugar lay spilled out over the floor. Several broken dishes along with some batter were swept to a corner to prevent any-pony from hurting themselves. And a batch of burnt-black, disfigured cupcakes rested on the cooling shelf next to the oven. Mrs. Cake motioned Twilight to take a seat at a nearby table.

“We wanted Pinkie Pie to have the day off, but she refused. She wanted to help run the shop, like she always does. Such a good girl.” Mrs. Cake said reminiscently. “Always a helpful hoof and a smile from ear to ear.And for part of the morning, she was just fine . . . to the point of it being uncomfortable. She managed to smile and joke with the customers as if nothing was wrong, as if it was any other day.”

Then Mrs. Cake looked off at the mess.She blinked away some tears as she continued, a slight quiver to her voice. “Then, on her break, she wanted to go and see Rarity. Which by the way Twilight, you’ll need to make sure you stop too. Rarity has something for you.” Twilight nodded, but didn’t say a word. In honest, she didn’t know what to say at all. Everything she was hearing contradicted everything she knew about Pinkie Pie. “Anyway, Pinkie Pie went off to Rarity’s place. But when she returned, I just knew. Something had happened.”

“What?” Twilight asked.

“I don’t know. She wouldn’t say, but when she went back to work, she started making mistakes . . .”

---

Mrs. Cake worked the counter with her husband as ponies came and went. It’d been a fairly busy day for both of them. But then, their special item was a popular one with the town.“Don’t let me forget I’ve got another batch of cupcakes in the oven.” And Mrs. Cake nodded her head as a customer came in and proceeded to make an order for 30 birthday cupcakes due next week.As Mrs. Cake took the order, the door opened and in walked Pinkie Pie.

“Pinkie Pie, welcome back.” Mrs. Cake greeted, “How was Rarity’s . . .?” But she stopped. Pinkie Pie had ignored the question and trotted straight up to her room.Mrs. Cake unfortunately had to resume taking the order and filing it away. When the customer had left, Mrs. Cake turned to her husband and said, “I’m just going to go check on her.” He nodded in agreement and she turned towards the stairs.

Before Mrs. Cake could start her climb, Pinkie Pie returned from her room. “Sorry about that Mrs. Cake. I’m ready for work now!” and Pinkie Pie hurried behind the counter, eagerly reading the upcoming orders, the checklist of tasks for the day, the schedule, seemingly anything to take her focus away from everyone else.

But Mrs. Cake couldn’t let this go. She could see Pinkie Pie was upset.Even with Pinkie’s happy demeanor, she could see it. Pinkie’s always poofy, and vibrant mane lay completely deflated against her back. Both her mane and tail combed straight, the mane partially covered one of Pinkie’s eyes. Her body slinked along when she walked, the playful bounce that usually accompanied her every step was gone. It pained Mrs. Cake to see Pinkie forcing herself like this. “Please Pinkie Pie, why don’t you take it easy. Carrot and I can handle things for today.”

“I couldn’t do that Mrs. Cake. Why with everything you’ve done for me, it wouldn’t be right for me to slack off like this.” Pinkie said, trying to smile, though Mrs. Cake could see the wetness on her cheeks, the tears in her eyes. And glancing at the display, Pinkie quickly changed the subject, “It looks like we’ll need more of our super special cupcakes!”

“I’ve already got a batch in the oven!” Mr. Cake announced, “They should get us through the afternoon.”

“But . . . but” Pinkie was at a loss for words. She needed work, needed something to push everything out of her head. She stared at the cupcakes, and could feel the tears returning. The crushing pain in her chest returning and she just could not bear it. Pinkie Pie knew she would suffocate if she did not push this feeling as far away from her as possible. “Our triple cherry hot fudge cupcakes are a best seller!” Pinkie finally exclaimed, a little panicked at the thought of just sitting behind the counter all day. “And we certainly can’t be caught without them.”

Pinkie turned and hurried into the back of the store to start up a fresh batch of cupcakes. Mrs. Cake turned to her husband worriedly and he just shook his head. “Let her be. If it’ll calm her down, then what’s a few extra cupcakes?” Mrs. Cake nodded her head reluctantly and returned to focusing on her work.

Customers continued to flood in throughout the day and as the numbers of cupcakes in the display dwindled, Mr. Cake worked with a customer while he hollered to his wife over the bustling crowd, “Cup, could you refill the display with more of today’s special? The batch I had stuck in should be done by now.”

Mrs. Cake nodded and hurried back to grab the cupcakes. When she entered the backroom, she found Pinkie Pie busily stirring up more ingredients for another batch. But something was wrong. Pinkie Pie looked to be on the verge of tears. Glancing around, Mrs. Cake found several mixing bowls of cake batter strewn about the room. “Come on,” she heard Pinkie Pie whisper, “come on, it’s gotta work this time!” Pinkie Pie muttered to herself and when she dipped her hoof into the batter she currently worked on, Pinkie tasted the dough and unable to take it anymore she started sobbing. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she whipped her hoof around, trying to get the batter off of her. “Why?” she cried, having yet to notice Mrs. Cake, “Why does it taste so awful? Ponies won’t want this” and in a fit of anger, she threw the bowl across the room and it shattered against the side of a counter, throwing dough and bowl shards over the floor.

“Pinkamena Diane Pie! Just what is going on in here?” Mrs. Cake couldn’t help but shout at her. Pinkie whirled around to face her, and Mrs. Cake saw the pain in the pony’s face. Taken aback, Mrs. Cake cleared her throat and approached Pinkie. “What are you doing? Why are there so many bowls of cupcake batter in here?”

Giving up, Pinkie threw her hooves out in exasperation, sniffling as she said, “I’ve been trying to make cupcakes but they keep going bad. Every time I taste the batter, it doesn’t taste right. It tastes so bitter. What am I doing wrong? I just don’t get it!”

Mrs. Cake grabbed a nearby bowl and dipped her hoof in it. She gave it a taste and found Pinkie Pie to be exactly right. No pony would ever want a cupcake that tasted like this. “Pinkie Pie, where are your ingredients?” Pinkie pointed to them and Mrs. Cake, stepping over to the counter, looked them over.It took mere seconds for her to spot the error. “Pinkie Pie. Why are you using salt in place of sugar?”

Pinkie Pie sat dumbfounded when she stared at the bag of salt she’d been using in her batters. How could she make such a stupid mistake? Pinkie had done this a thousand times, plus ten!How could she grab the bag of salt over the bag of sugar? Pinkie Pie’s eyes fell to the floor. She just wanted to crawl into a hole and cry. “I’m so sorry Mrs. Cake. I-I don’t know how I . . .”

“Don’t worry about it Pinkie.” Mrs. Cake cooed. “It’s alright. Everyone makes mistakes. But right now, I need the batch of cupcakes that Carrot had in the oven. What did you do with those?”

Pinkie Pie’s attention perked up. “Cupcakes? What cupcakes?”

No, she didn’t. She’d never . . . Mrs. Cake pressed, a bit more concerned, “The cupcakes Mr. Cake told you to take out of the oven when you got back from Rarity’s? What did you do with them? We need them. We’re almost out up-front.”

Pinkie Pie felt her body go numb. She became paralyzed in fear as she realized she had completely forgotten the cupcakes in the oven. Her trembling lips refused to work as she stumbled over herself, “I-I’m . . . so-sorry Mrs. Cake . . . I . . .”

Mrs. Cake’s heart sunk as she whispered, “oh Pinkie Pie” and she hurried to the oven, thrusting the door open, and with a pair of oven mitts, pulled out a tray of charcoal black cupcakes. Ashes from the batch sprinkled over the tray as the burnt odor filled the room. How she had not noticed it before, she couldn’t say. But now that the cupcakes were out, the smell was everywhere. “Oh no, what are we going to do?”

Pinkie Pie, in an effort to keep herself from completely losing control, offered, “I’ll make another batch.” And Pinkie Pie, though her legs had turned to jello, she stepped over to the counter and this time grabbing a bag of sugar, she attempted to open it, but the bag wouldn’t open.

“Pinkie Pie, please, let me . . .”

“It’s okay. I have to do something for the mess I’ve made” Pinkie Pie pleaded and she lean in, growling at the bag of sugar, wishing it to open. “What is wrong with this bag?” She asked, and suddenly biting the top of the bag, she ripped it open, the force of her pulling tossed the bag out of her hooves and onto the floor, spilling roughly half of its contents over the floor.

Pinkie Pie broke down right there in front of Mrs. Cake.She couldn’t hold it in any longer and all the emotions inside her suddenly erupted at once.Mrs. Cake stood there in front of the pony, not knowing what to do. She turned around and found her husband staring into the back. Turning around and shaking his head, he went back to his work.Mrs. Cake sighed and stepped over to Pinkie Pie. “Come on,” she whispered. “Let’s get you upstairs into your room.” Pinkie Pie, through her sobs, nodded her head and weakly stood up, following Mrs. Cake upstairs.

---

“I cleaned her up, laid her down, and that was that.” Mrs. Cake said. “We haven’t seen or heard from her since. With any luck, she’s sound asleep.” Letting out a deep sigh, Mrs. Cake looked over the mess. “We did manage to make a small batch of the cupcakes, but I think we’re just going to close for the day. Give everyone some time off.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.” Twilight said and staring at the mess, she asked, “Did you want some help cleaning up? This is a lot to take care of by yourself.”

“Oh don’t worry about us. I think it’ll give both Carrot and I some time to clear our heads. Then we can head out and let Pinkie have some peace.”

“Well, thank you for taking care of her. I don’t know what she would’ve done without you.” Twilight finally said to Mrs. Cake.And when Twilight stood to leave, Mrs. Cake offered her another cupcake, but Twilight politely refused. “Save it for Pinkie Pie. I think she’ll need it more than me.”

Mrs. Cake smiled sweetly at Twilight, wiping away a tear as she placed a hoof on the pony. “You’re such a good girl Twilight. Take care of yourself now.”

Twilight smiled. “I will Mrs. Cake,” and with that, she left SugarCube Corner.