Looking Forward
When Pinkie Pie woke up, Gummy was gone.
Mrs. Cake winced at the panicked mutterings that she could hear rising from her niece’s room. She had been expecting this for a while now, and as much as she hated hearing a loved one on the verge of a total breakdown, she couldn’t help but hope that it signified Pinkie’s denial finally receding.
“Pinkie Pie?” Cup Cake called up the stairs, “Are you alright?”
The thundering of hoof steps echoing down the stairs was the only warning Mrs. Cake had to get out of the way. She jumped back just in time for a very freaked out Pinkie to skid onto the bottom floor, the two only just barely avoiding a collision. Mrs. Cake’s hope faded to confusion as she watched Pinkie dart around the bakery as if she was searching desperately for something.
“Pinkie Pie? What are you looking for?” She asked, her confusion evident in her voice.
“Gummy!”
“What-?”
“Gummy! My alligator?! I can’t find him anywhere! At first I was really happy because I thought that maybe he was feeling better and went to get something to munch on because you know how he hasn’t been eating at all lately so he must be really really hungry but I can’t find him anywhere!” Pinkie stopped to gasp briefly for air, and to brush tears, both old and new off her cheeks, “I’ve looked all over my room and the bathroom, and my little kitchen upstairs but he’s not there anywhere so now I’m scared that maybe I scared him and he’s hiding from me and I don’t want one of my bestest best friends to be scared of me but I can’t make it right because I can’t find hi-i-i-m!” The last word was drawn out into a sob as the little bit of composure Pinkie Pie had, began to break.
It was all Mrs. Cake could do to hide the relief on her face. “Oh, my goodness I’m so sorry to hear that Pinkie-“
“No you’re not!”
Mrs. Cake was taken back. Pinkie, PINKIE, of all ponies, had just snapped at her.
“You’re not sorry at all, are you?” Pinkie continued, as tears continued to fall, “You’ve been absolutely horrible to him this past weeks! I bet you’re glad he’s gone!”
Cup Cake knew better than to reply, and instead closed her eyes in a sigh. Pinkie was right, of course, but not for the reasons she thought.
“Perhaps one of your friends knows where is?” She offered, and Pinkie seemed to calm down a bit as she thought about it.
Now, it probably wasn’t the nicest thing to pass the buck onto the girls, but as it was most likely one of them that had found the solution, they were also the most likely to have a proper answer for the young mare. In fact, for all she knew, trying to make Pinkie face the truth again might only ruin what they were trying to accomplish.
“Y-yeah, maybe Fluttershy knows where Gummy is, she’s kinda like a vet too r-right? Or maybe Dashie’s seen him, since she flies around s-so much. I’ll go ask th-them,” Pinkie hiccupped quietly as the struggled to calm herself down.
As she stepped through the door, Pinkie paused for a second to look back at her Aunt. “I’m sorry I yelled at you.”
“It’s alright Pinkie, I understand.”
The two exchanged a small, fragile smile, before she disappeared through the door, leaving Mrs. Cake to her bakery, and with the knowledge that today Pinkie might finally be able to move on.
“GIRRRLS!”
Twilight looked up from her book to see a familiar pink figure running towards the spot where the three of them were lounging. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Twilight had set up a small book club of sorts, and the three would meet under the Golden Oak’s Library tree whenever another Daring Do book came out. As one had just been released the night before, it was only common sense that the three would be enjoying the tales of Silk Quill together today.
“…Pinkie…”
Rainbow Dash looked up from her book as well to see Pinkie come stumbling to a stop in front of them, and also to catch the guilty look of anxiety on Twilight’s face. Her eyes darted back up to Pinkie, who had clearly been crying this morning as well. With a surprisingly gentle motion, Rainbow closed her book and set it down, before getting to her hooves and walking over to her friend’s side.
“Woah, Pinkie, what happened?”
“Oh Dashie, I can’t find Gummy! Not anywhere!” Pinkie gulped out, grateful to have her friend’s arm around her shoulders.
“You can’t find him?” Twilight repeated, her disbelief obvious.
The unicorn winced slightly as Pinkie glared at her for a second, before dropping her eyes back to the ground with a nod. “I’ve looked everywhere, too. All his favourite spots, all the good gator-hiding-places, I even checked the lake in case he was feeling really super better and went swimming!”
“Well, that explains why you’re soaked…” Rainbow muttered, wrapping a wing around her Pinkie in an attempt to warm the shivering pony up.
“Pinkie, how could Gummy go anywhe-“ Twilight snapped her mouth shut at the look that Rainbow was shooting her over Pinkie’s head. There was one word evident in that glare; “Don’t.”
“Anywhere without me, right?” Pinkie asked, in an attempt to finish Twilight’s question. Without moving her gaze from Rainbow Dash, the unicorn gave her an awkward smile and a small nod in response.
“I know, it’s not like him… He’d never leave me. Never… I don’t know where he would have gone without me…”
Pinkie looked up in confusion as Dash pulled her gently aside, walking her out of the shade and into the warm sun.
“I know where he went.”
Pinkie’s eyes lit up with hope as what Rainbow Dash said sunk in.
“You do?! Really?!”
“Yep! I seen him going on his way last night. Know exactly where he’s headed too, that’s why you came looking for me right? Eyes in the sky and all that?”
“Exactly why! Omigosh Dashie, if you know where he went, I can go find him again!” Pinkie squealed, pulling the pegasus into a hug.
“Actually, I don’t think you should go find him, Pinkie…” Dash said softly, as she ran a hoof through her friend’s curly mane.
Pinkie’s head snapped up to look at Rainbow Dash with a look of betrayed confusion. “W-why not? Where did he go?”
“Well, he went on an adventure. A really super special adventure to a place where he wouldn’t feel sick anymore…”
Pinkie’s brow furrowed as she thought about what was being said.
“So w-why can’t I go with him?” She asked carefully, feeling the lump in her throat return as she swallowed.
“We will all go with him eventually, Pinks, but… Now isn’t the time. For now, he has to go on his own. You may have gotten Gummy when he was just a little baby, but that was a really long time ago. He’s a big gator now, right?”
“I guess we all have adventures we have to face on our own, huh?” Pinkie asked softly, “D-do you think he’ll come back?”
Tears threatened to come to Rainbow’s eyes as well as her voice cracked slightly, “I don’t think so, Pinks.”
Relief flooded Dash’s face as Pinkie nodded, a small smile finding its way through the tears. “I understand… I just… I just wished he’d told me or something. Then I could have thrown him a goodbye party.”
“We could still do that, you know.”
“Huh?” Pinkie’s eyes snapped up to meet Rainbow Dash’s smiling eyes.
“What you just said, throw him a goodbye party! Just because he’s already left doesn’t mean we can’t send him off with good wishes now. Ponies do that all the time.”
“Do you think they’d still reach him?” Pinkie asked, as Twilight walked up to stand beside her as well.
“If it’s one of your parties, Pinkie,” Twilight said, as she placed a hoof on her shoulder, “I know they will.”