The Best Medicine

by zaptiftun

Chapter 1

The Best Medicine

Rainbow Dash flitted over Ponyville one Friday morning, snickering to herself as she headed for Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie was always up for a good prank, and the one Dash had in mind would be right up her alley; not to mention she needed Pinkie’s help in acquiring the flour and food coloring that would be needed. She landed in front of the confectionary shop’s front door, still snickering as she trotted inside. The bell above the door chimed daintily and a familiar blue mare appeared from the kitchen.

“Oh, good morning, Rainbow Dash,” Mrs. Cake greeted pleasantly.

“Hiya, Mrs. Cake! Hey, is Pinkie Pie around? I need her help with something.”

“Sorry, dear, but she’s not here.”

“Oh, she’s making a delivery somewhere?”

Mrs. Cake shook her head, “No, she’s gone out of town to her other job for the day and then she’s going to visit her family for the next week. I don’t expect her to be back until Thursday night.”

Dash tilted her head, very much puzzled, “She has a second job? Since when?”

“Oh, she didn’t tell you about that?” Mrs. Cake asked, her turn to be puzzled, “Yes, every Friday now she goes up to Canterlot for the day, I’m afraid that’s all I know about it.”

“No, she didn’t tell me,” Dash’s face scrunched in annoyance as she tried to understand what she was being told, “When did this start?”

“Two weeks ago. She left only an hour ago; you might still be able to catch up to her if you really need to talk to her.”

Dash nodded slowly while absently turning towards the door, “Yeah…yeah, thanks, Mrs. Cake.”

“You’re welcome, dear,” she called as Dash left the shop.

The pegasus took to the air in a lazy climb, her mind churning over the information she had just received. She was miffed at Pinkie for not telling her – or any of their friends that she knew of – that she would be gone for the weekend, or that she even had another job for that matter. Normally the pink mare would proudly share what she’d had for breakfast that morning, much less new employment. She was also confused: what sort of job would Canterlot have that Ponyville wouldn’t, and why would she go all the way there for it? Why did she get another job? Was she short on money and needed another source of income?

Her mind discarded the last idea. She, or any of their friends, would be more than willing to help Pinkie out if she was having financial difficulties. Besides, the only things Pinkie really bought were party supplies and prank props and, since they were purchased in great bulk, they were not particularly expensive, at least not as far as Dash was aware. She frowned and shook her head; this morning had become rather confusing.

Lost in her thoughts Dash looked around and realized that she had subconsciously flown in the general direction of Canterlot. She could see the palace jutting out from the mountain ahead and just to her left. She banked slowly to the left to align herself with the main road between Ponyville and Canterlot. It was a fairly long trot to Equestria’s capital city from Ponyville, which was why the train was a far more popular mode of transit, and it was even shorter by air. As it was, she was already about a quarter of the way to the city, meaning that she should have caught up to Pinkie by now. The main road appeared amid the trees below her and she began scanning for her friend.

It occurred to her that she really didn’t know why she was looking for Pinkie, at least not consciously anyway. She shrugged it off as simple curiosity. It wasn’t like she had anything planned for the day anyway. She had the day off from Weather Patrol, her first Friday off in a month, in fact. That was probably why she hadn’t previously noticed Pinkie’s absence in the last two weeks so. If nothing else, she at least welcomed the opportunity to stretch her wings in a non-work way.

A distinctive splotch of pink below caught her eye. She grinned, knowing that she had found her quarry. Pinkie had just trotted by the Southeast Road that led to Trottingham and was now approaching the East Road which marked the halfway point between Ponyville and Canterlot. She bounced along happily, seemingly unaware of the Technicolor pegasus slowly flying towards her. Dash snickered, her mischievous side showing through. Her plan was to glide quickly but silently right up behind the pink earth pony and yell “boo!” right in her ear; a simple prank, but still an effective one. She may have been confused by what brought Pinkie out this way, but she sure wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity when it presented itself. She twisted her wings slightly to alter her descent angle as the distance between her and Pinkie steadily dropped. Dash’s grin grew wider. Closer…closer…right turn –

Wait, what?

So lost was she in anticipation that it took Dash a second to realize that Pinkie was no longer in front of her, and another second to realize that the tree in front of her wasn’t going to move out of the way. She flared her wings in a desperate attempt to arrest her speed and twisted her body to shift her flight path enough to avoid the tree. The majestic oak passed to her right, scant millimeters from her wingtip and she heaved a sigh of relief. At that instant, as she later claimed, a bush jumped out and tackled her. After a minute of struggling through the foliage and coughing up a very confused butterfly, Dash extricated herself from the bush, being slightly worse for wear. She shook some twigs and leaves out of her wings before casting a confused glance back toward the West Road where Pinkie had gone.

It didn’t make sense. Mrs. Cake told her that Pinkie was working in Canterlot, but the East Road led to Manehatten, nearly a full day’s trot. Something just didn’t add up. What had started out as a venture to satiate curiosity had now become a true mystery: one that, for reasons not quite clear to her, Rainbow Dash felt driven to solve. She took to the air once again to track down her friend.

Amazingly, Dash’s rough landing hadn’t caught Pinkie’s attention. The pink pony continued hopping along and humming happily to herself, pausing every now and again to say hi to a fellow traveler passing by. Dash, meanwhile, kept watch high above from a cloud she had whipped up. Having her head buried, ostrich-like, in the cloud to see out the bottom awarded her with a number of odd looks from passing pegasi, none of which she paid heed to or even noticed. She followed Pinkie like this for half an hour before the earth pony turned left onto a secondary road, back toward the general direction of Canterlot. Dash wasn’t familiar with this route, and she didn’t know of any other ways to the city from this direction. A few minutes of pursuit later revealed that the road didn’t lead to Canterlot, but to a complex of modern buildings nestled among the foothills. The road ended in a paved lot in the center of the complex where chariots and carriages were parked. From there, several paved walkways led to most of the surrounding buildings.

Dash landed behind a carriage and peeked around it in time to see Pinkie enter what she assumed to be the main building. Her curiosity was further piqued when she read the sign out front.

“‘Greater Equestria Medical Clinic and Research Center’?” she said to herself. “Pinkie Pie, what the hay are you doing here?”

She trotted up to the main doors and entered just as Pinkie finished talking to a receptionist at the service desk and bounced down the hall to the right. Dash followed at a discreet distance, being careful not to lose sight of her among the patients, nurses, and orderlies milling about. Few, if any, of those in the hallways seemed to take notice of the bouncing bubble gum-pink earth pony or the colorful pegasus as they passed by.

Dash tailed Pinkie through the maze of hallways for several minutes, all the while wondering what her friend was doing here. Ok, she thought, Reasons for being in a hospital: 1) she works there, 2) she’s sick, or 3) she’s visiting somepony who’s sick. The first reason she ruled out almost immediately, Pinkie was a baker/party-maker not a doctor. The thought of her trying her hoof at something medical made Dash shudder. As for the other two reasons, she wasn’t aware of Pinkie being sick but neither had Pinkie mentioned a friend or family member being here. Her thought process was interrupted as Pinkie made an abrupt left turn and disappeared from sight, causing the pegasus to quicken her pace. She rounded the corner and quickly came to a stop, a frown creasing her face. She had lost her quarry.

It appeared that she had followed Pinkie into another reception area, this one slightly smaller and less busy than the one where she had entered the building. It featured a pair of glass doors leading to the outside. She craned her neck to try to catch a glimpse of Pinkie but to no avail. It was time for a new approach.

“Excuse me,” she said as she advanced to the service desk.

The receptionist, an older bespectacled green mare, looked over her narrow glasses at her, “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, see, I was trying to, uh,” She paused, searching for the right word. Follow? Yeah, that wouldn’t sound suspicious at all. “…find a friend of mine and I’m pretty sure she came through here. Pink earth pony. Mane and tail look like cotton candy. Bounces along like her legs are made of springs. Seen her?”

“Oh, you mean Miss Pinkie Pie?” asked a voice behind her.

Dash jumped and turned to see a dark brown unicorn wearing a white lab coat and a pair of thick-framed glasses. The stethoscope hanging around his neck denoted him as a doctor.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to startle you,” he said with an apologetic smile, “I just overheard what you were saying and your description sounded like Miss Pie.”

Dash regarded the doctor suspiciously, “Yeah, that’s her. How do you know her?”

“I met her several years ago when I was working in the Advanced Medical Treatment wing. She-”

“Doctor Patches?” a nurse carrying a clipboard interrupted, “Here are the medical records you asked for.”

“Oh, thank you, Isabelle,” he said, his horn shimmering as the clipboard levitated before him.

Dash wasn’t sure which shocked her more, the fact that Pinkie had been in that wing or that the doctor just practically forgot about her as he studied the records intensely. She rolled her eyes. Wonderful bedside manner, she thought. An awkward period of silence followed as she waited for Dr. Patches to continue; however, after he flipped through several pages on the clip board, it became apparent that he wasn’t going to.

“So…advanced medical treatment?” Dash finally prodded.

“Hm? Oh! Yes, that’s where I met her, sad time that was.” He paused and flipped a page back and forth a couple of times to check some details. “She came a few weeks ago when she heard I was heading up the new research program and volunteered for it.”

“Research program?” she asked hesitantly.

The doctor levitated a pen out of his pocket and made a notation before answering. “Yes, it’s for patients with severe and terminal illnesses, like cancer.”

Dash felt her blood freeze.

“She’s a very brave young mare,” he continued, talking as he wrote. “Remarkable that she would come back for something like this, given all the hardship she’s been through. Tell me, has she always…” He looked up to find Rainbow Dash nowhere to be found. A confused frown crossed his face. “Huh, how very odd.”

She didn’t feel the wind on her face or the sun shining on her back and her hooves didn’t recognize the grass beneath her. She had bolted out of the building and ran into the courtyard; she didn’t care if anypony saw her, she needed to get away from that building. She finally stopped next to a tree, her breath coming in ragged huffs.

How could this be? It was impossible. She was always so full of life, always spreading smiles and cheer, always making sure everypony was happy. It just wasn’t fair.

“Severe? Terminal?” Dash felt as though she had been punched in the gut. “No…please, Celestia, no…”

She leaned against the tree for support, but she quickly collapsed to the ground as her legs gave out. Curling up in a shuddering ball and pressing her back as far into the trunk of the tree as she could, she let the searing tears come.

*******************

“I just simply cannot believe it, dear.”

“Yeah, ya sure you didn’t inhale somethin’ when you were up there and kinda imagined all this?”

Rainbow Dash had flown back to Ponyville as soon as she had calmed herself enough and gathered the others together at the library. Understandably, they were not very receptive of her news, Rarity and Applejack being the first to speak after she related her story.

“It doesn’t make sense, Rainbow,” Twilight added. “Why wouldn’t Pinkie tell us if she was having medical treatment?”

“I don’t know!” she huffed, irritated that her friends didn’t believe her. “All I know is that is that she went into a hospital for some sort of terminal disease research program that she volunteered for and she was in the ‘advanced medical treatment’ wing a few years ago!” She used her wing tips to accentuate her implied quotation.

“That’s the other thing,” Applejack interjected, “Yer tellin’ us that she went in for treatment but I don’t remember any time ever where I didn’t see her around town or at the farm darn near every day. And that sorta thing takes a lot out of you, don’t it? I’ve never seen her short of energy ‘cept at seven in the mornin’ after an all-night party.”

“Well, that’s not entirely true,” Rarity thought aloud, “I do seem to recall her going to bed unusually early a few times, now that I think about it – well, early for her, I suppose – but I didn’t know her too well at the time and never thought much of it.”

“And besides,” Dash added, “this is Pinkie Pie we’re talking about, AJ, she’s the living embodiment of a sugar rush. I think she’s got plenty to spare.”

“Alright, I’ll give ya that,” the farm pony allowed, “But treatments usually take up a lot of time and yet she was always hangin’ around town. If she did go up for them things, when did she do it?”

“She went up in the evening and spent the night in Canterlot before coming back in the morning,” a quiet voice intoned.

Silence filled the library following the quiet revelation. All eyes turned to Fluttershy, who had remained silent up to that point. The shy pegasus, eyes wide from realization as pieces clicked together in her mind, barely noticed the new attention.

Twilight tilted her slightly in questioning curiosity, “Fluttershy, do you know something about this?”

Startled by the question, she stammered, “N-no, I mean, well, not exactly, it’s just, um…there was a time a few years back where Pinkie would stop by my cottage in the evening and ask if I could watch Gummi for her because she was going to be gone for the night. When I asked her about it, she said she had business in Canterlot. She was always smiling when she came back in the morning to pick up Gummi, but it was that sad, tired sort of smile.” Noting that her four friends were staring at her with wide eyes, she ducked her head with a squeak, “T-that’s all I know. I’m sorry.”

It took a minute for the ponies gathered to digest the new information, a sense of dread filling each of them. At last, Twilight spoke.

“So…this means that she did go to Canterlot several times around the time the doctor said he met her in the treatment wing and that she was unusually exhausted on a few occasions during that time. So, it is possible that she was going for some sort of treatment then…” She swallowed hard, feeling bile well up in her throat at the thought.

Rarity sat heavily on the floor and ran a hoof through her mane. “This simply can’t be. Why her of all ponies?”

“Rares, ya know illnesses are like that,” Applejack said sadly as she laid a hoof on her friend’s shoulder, her own expression being of loss and confusion. “It don’t care who you are.”

Dash threw her hooves in the air, “This is ridiculous! She’s going through all this stuff but she hasn’t told us anything about it, and we’re her closest friends! I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to get to the bottom of this!” Dash turned to leave, pausing only at the next question.

“And how d’ya reckon on doin’ that?” Applejack asked.

“How else?” Dash narrowed her eyes and lowered her head. “Pin her down and make her tell us.”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight scolded, “I know you’re upset but that’s no way to handle this and certainly no way to act towards her in her condition – if she has one – which we still don’t know.”

Exasperated, Dash whirled about to face the unicorn. “Aw come on, Twilight, what more do you need?! She’s been to the hospital in Canterlot a bunch of times years ago where she met some advanced treatment doctor and now she’s gone back as a volunteer for some sort of terminal disease research!” As she railed she advanced on Twilight, forcing her to take a step back. “Heck, the doctor even said that she was brave for coming back given all she’s been through! What do you make of that, huh?!” She poked Twilight forcefully in the chest with her hoof to drive the point home.

Applejack quickly grabbed the pegasus’ withers and pulled her back, turning her away from Twilight and staring down the raging bull of a pegasus with understanding. “Cool it, Rainbow,” she said calmly, “We’re all jus’ as worried about Pinkie as you are, Twilight included. She jus’ handles it differently bein’ all practical-like.”

Applejack’s words were muffled thanks to the pressure Rainbow Dash felt building in her ears. She could feel her heart stabbing at her chest as its pulse echoed in her mind.

“Indeed,” Rarity added as she approached Rainbow Dash, speaking in a very metered tone and locking eyes with Dash to ensure her point was made clear, “and I must say that I’m inclined to agree with Applejack in this case.” Dash blinked and passed her gaze from Rarity to the rest of her friends. She became less wild-eyed with each face she met, and each word started to become clearer again. Rarity continued, “We don’t have any solid proof that our dear Pinkie is ill or has had any sort treatment, only assumptions based on bits of information that seem to correspond with each other; which, I must admit, makes for a rather strong case in favor of your assumptions, Rainbow.”

Applejack nodded, drawing Dash’s attention back to her. “Ain’t often this happens, but I agree with Rarity: I believe your story an’ all, but we need some proper proof that Pinkie’s sick before we go off half-cocked.”

“I vote for the calm and reasonable approach,” Fluttershy said quietly.

Dash glanced about the room again, meeting the eyes of each of her friends. Taking a few calming breaths, she sighed and hung her head.

“I’m sorry, girls, I didn’t mean to go off like that. It’s just…this whole thing’s really thrown me for a loop, ya know?” She lifted her eyes to Twilight. “I’m really sorry for snapping at you, Twi. You’re right; I don’t have any proof that anything’s wrong with her but everything that I’ve found out seems to fit.”

Twilight rested a hoof on her friend’s withers with an understanding smile.

“It’s okay Rainbow,” the unicorn spoke, “I think most of us would react like that if we were in your hooves. I believe everything you’ve said and I agree that there’s something going on here, but just what I don’t know. Maybe Pinkie would hide something like this from us just so we wouldn’t worry, but I’d rather talk to her first before jumping to that conclusion.”

Dash nodded. “Yeah, I guess that’d be the best thing to do.”

“That settles it, then,” Applejack said as she started for the door, “We’ll head on over to Sugarcube Corner an’ have ourselves a nice, calm conversation with her about what’s goin’ on.”

“Uh, Mrs. Cake said Pinkie was also going to visit her family and wouldn’t get back until next Thursday,” Dash interjected. Applejack froze in front of the door, her hoof halfway to the door handle; Dash rubbed the back of her neck self-consciously. “Heh, I uh, guess I forgot to mention that, didn’t I?”

The farm pony pursed her lips at the new information. “…Like I said, we’ll have ourselves a nice, calm conversation with her about what’s goin’ on when she gets back.”

***************

Little mention was made among the five ponies of Pinkie’s supposed situation over the next week, though it was at the forefront of the thoughts of each of them. What if Dash was right and Pinkie really did have a terminal illness? How would that change their friendship knowing that time for the pink party pony was slowly ticking away? Even with unicorn magic, illness was still a very real thing, and still not fully understood by Equestrian physicians. Would they be able to handle watching her become increasingly less energetic until she could no longer even leave her bed? How would Pinkie herself handle it when she’d be unable to throw the parties she loved so dear? The questions and uncertainty tore at each of them as the week progressed, but they could know nothing for certain until Pinkie returned and they were able to get the full story from her.

At last, Thursday came. They had all agreed to be at Sugarcube Corner that night so they could talk to Pinkie as soon as she returned. The Cakes did not object to the group staying in the shop after closing time. After all, it was common for Pinkie to invite them over for parties; the couple only asked that they keep the noise to a minimum to avoid waking the twins.

“How do ya think we oughta go about this, Twi?” Applejack asked after the Cakes had gone upstairs.

“I’m really not sure,” she answered with a frown. “I’ve been trying to figure that out all week and I haven’t been able to come up with anything that would allow us to segue into asking her about what’s going on.”

Dash groaned. “Seriously? We can’t just ask her straight up if she’s sick? What’s the point in beating around the bush about it?”

“Something of this nature requires a certain amount of delicacy and finesse, dear,” Rarity replied as she sipped from a cup of tea, eager for its calming effects. “If we’re too forceful about it, it may cause her to withdraw from us and hide her problem more deeply. I personally can’t imagine our dear Pinkie doing such a thing, but I would rather approach her in a calm, easy manner, a way in which she knows we care about her and lets her know that she can trust us.”

The prismatic pegasus sat down at the table with a sigh. “Yeah, I get that and all, it’s just,” she paused, collecting her thoughts. “Ever since Gilda visited, we’ve gotten to be really close, you know? Like, closer than any other friend I’ve had. You didn’t see what I saw when we threw her that surprise birthday party and I had to go get her; I won’t lie, it scared me. I mean, she was talking to rocks and a bag of flour. But I got her to the barn and we brought her out of it. Then she had that nightmare not too long ago and I ended up staying up with her until she went to sleep.”

Fluttershy nodded. “I remember; you asked us the next morning to come and help her so the shop didn’t fall behind on sales while she slept.”

“Right, but my point is that, during those times, I was there for her…I could help her.” Her eyes drifted to the table top, her next words weighing heavily on her. “But I can’t do that now. This is something else entirely. I can do a sonic rainboom, I can dodge quarry eels, I can whip up a thunderstorm in ten seconds flat!” Tears pooled at the corners of her eyes as she laid her head on the table. “But this…I can’t do anything to help her. I can’t make it go away. I’d trade places with her in a second if I could.”

Applejack leaned over and nuzzled her friend. “We know ya would, sugarcube. They don’t call ya Loyalty for nothin’.”

Twilight laid her hoof on the pegasus’ withers and hugged her. “I know it’s difficult, Rainbow,” she said, “And we all care for Pinkie very much, too. But like I said before, we still don’t have the full picture of what’s going on. We need to get her side of the story.”

“A story? Ooh! Is it a mystery? Or an adventure? Or is it an adventure mystery like Daring Do?”

Everypony’s head whipped around to see Pinkie Pie standing in the doorway. Her head tilted to one side when she saw Dash.

“Was it a sad Daring Do story? Is that why Dashie’s crying?”

“Pinkie!” cried a yellow blur as it tackled the pink party pony. Fluttershy’s uncharacteristic behavior had become a sort of running gag between her and Pinkie after their first trip to Appleloosa and was now their traditional greeting if they hadn’t seen each other for a while.

Dash used the distraction to quickly dry her eyes and join the others in welcoming back their friend. Hugs were exchanged all around before Rarity spoke up.

“How was your trip, darling?”

Pinkie beamed as she happily hopped to the table where they had been sitting. “Fabulously fantastic fun!” she chirped as she snarfed down a cupcake that had been left sitting out. “The family reunion was a blast! Everypony was there: Mom, Dad, Inkie and Blinkie, Grampy Pie, Aunt Rhubarb, Cousin It – no, wait, wrong family – Aunt Merengue, Second-cousin-twice-removed Kiwi, and even Uncle Alfalfa but most ponies call him ‘Weird Alfalfa’. I don’t know why though. Did you know he’s the one who taught me how to come up with all my songs? He’s super awesome! And then we had cake and pie and games and I got to decorate the barn just like I did for my very first party ever when I got my cutie mark!” Her narrative was interrupted by a huge yawn.

“Are you feeling tired, Pinkie?” Twilight asked, her brow creased with concern.

“Yuppers,” she replied cheerfully, “But it’s a good kind of tired, ya know? Like when you spend a whole week having fun and catching up with family and forgetting to get some sleep…which is exactly what happened!” She giggled and grabbed another cupcake as she sat at the table. “What about you guys? Did you do anything fun while I was gone?”

There was a round of half-mumbled replies as each of her friends spoke before realizing they had nothing to report. In the awkward silence, Pinkie glanced at each of them with an expectant smile on her face that never seemed to fade. She just sat there, innocent, oblivious. Doesn't she realize what we've been going through? Dash thought. Why was it so hard to form the words they were all thinking? ‘Are you sick?’ Three little words. Pinkie was still sitting there, gaze slowly passing from one friend to the next, unerring, unyielding. Eventually, the gaze returned to Dash.

“Gah, enough of this!” Dash shouted. “Listen, Pinkie Pie-”

“Yes?”

Pinkie’s cheerful smile and sunny disposition sucked the wind out of Dash’s sail as she turned her attention to the pegasus. How could she dredge up a topic that could bring pain to her friend? Her original motivation lost, Dash glanced to the others for help, their own eyes filled with concern and worry. She decided that perhaps the delicate approach really was the best way to get to the bottom of things.

“Look,” she said at last, “Um, last week I swung by here to talk to you but you weren’t here. Mrs. Cake said that you had just left to go to your second job in Canterlot, but I’d never heard of you having a second job, so-”

She was cut off by Pinkie jumping into the air with an enormous gasp.

“I never told you girls about my other job! Omigosh, I can’t believe I forgot!” She gasped again. “You should totally come with me tomorrow!”

“Go…go with you?” Fluttershy stuttered.

Pinkie nodded excitedly. “Uh huh! Trust me, it’ll be so much fun!”

Fun? Applejack mouthed her confusion to Twilight who could only shrug in response.

“Well of course we’ll come with you, darling,” Rarity said soothingly, “That is, if you’re certain you want us to.”

“Of course I want you to,” Pinkie giggled, “I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t want you to come with me; that just would’ve been silly!” Her giggle was interrupted by another huge yawn. “Wowie, I guess I’m a lot more tired than I thought.” Bags that hadn’t been there moments before rapidly developed under Pinkie’s eyes. She sat there, uncharacteristically quiet for a moment, staring at nothing in particular.

With a thump, the party pony’s face hit the table top and a soft snore followed. Her friends gathered around, each with perplexed but unsurprised expressions at Pinkie’s behavior. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” she grumbled, “We’ve waited a whole week to get an answer from her and she falls asleep before we get it!”

“I know you’re frustrated, Rainbow,” Twilight said. “But she did invite us to go with her so we’ll find out tomorrow what exactly is going on.”

Dash sighed in discouragement, “I know, I know. All this waiting is just,” she paused before grunting out an irritated moan. She stared at Pinkie’s snoozing form and sighed again. “Guess I’ll take her up to bed,” she said as she walked over to the pink pony.

“Would you like some help?” Fluttershy offered.

Dash nodded. “Sure.”

As the two carried the unconscious, snoring lump that was Pinkie up the stairs, Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack quietly started clearing off the table.

“So what do you think?” Twilight asked at length as Rarity carried the dirty dishes into the kitchen.

“Rainbow’s jus’ frustrated is all,” Applejack answered, “This whole thing’s gotten her wound up pretty tight.”

The unicorn nodded. “I figured that much, but I was referring to Pinkie Pie.”

“Oh. Right, sorry,” she chuckled sheepishly. “I honestly can’t say, Twi. Any other time I’d say she was jus’ bein’ herself, but with everything that RD told us? Either Pinkie’s not tellin’ us ‘cause she don’t want us to worry…”

“…Or you think it’s possible there might not be anything wrong with her at all?” Twilight asked, a tinge of hope in her voice. Applejack simply shrugged, drawing a sigh from the scholar, “I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”

“Reckon we will.”

Comments

[Regidar]

I felt a feel.

[epicdonus1123 BOT]

177080424.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m92kzfKbwl1rctd46o1_400.gif

[Regidar]

1770834

[Portmeirion]

Ah, at last! This is quite excellent. I think the beginning was a tad weak - could've used a bit more build-up before you dropped us into the story - but after that it was wonderfully smooth sailing. Your Mane Six characterization is great, especially Rainbow Dash; I loved that bit where she lamented being unable to help Pinkie in a situation like this. Loyalty indeed. I also loved that you sneaked in a reference to "The Light in the Darkness." Nice continuity!

Anywayz, please do continue this. I'm intrigued now.

[UseFistNotMouth]

That description but slice of life? You mean a fic dealing with heavy issues witthout resulting to emotional puppetry exists? Wow.

[The Descendant]

Your characterization remains strong, Zap, especially that of Dash. Maybe just a touch too quick at the very beginning, but in all you continue to maintain the ability to present heavy topics without it devolving into a mess. Good on ya', bud!

[zaptiftun]

1771025
Yeah, I wasn't too sure how to fix the beginning, that seems to be my weak point. Glad you're enjoying it thus far!

1771229
Thanks!

1771292
Isn't that how you're supposed to write?

1771686
Thank you, good sir!

[Psykosis]

That was actually more amusing than I thought it would be... I think I'll stick around to see how the rest of the story goes.

[zaptiftun]

1792626
Heh, thanks.

[Karkadinn]

Needs more thumbs.

Also needs more updates.

Like for realz, yo.

By way of actual commentary I will say that this story has a rather trite premise that I would have ignored if I didn't already like the author... but I'm glad I didn't ignore it, because the presentation is done professionally enough to make it enjoyable despite its predictability. Taking your time on the build up and framing instead of jumping right to the sobbing and funerals really helps to make the (what I assume will be nigh-inevitable) melodrama of the plot device so much more bearable.