It was a strangely quiet day in Ponyville, but Pinkie Pie barely noticed as she hopped down the road, full of endless, but steadily growing nervous, energy. Now where did those silly fillies go off to? Did they forget we had a party today? She had waited so long already; her mind racing with the possible reasons nopony had shown up, wondering if she had forgotten to send invitations. She couldn’t remember if she did, so she went looking for them, looking under baskets and mailboxes for her missing friends. They didn’t seem to be anywhere. She secretly hoped she had forgotten to send invitations, and that they would all laugh at how silly she was and then go to the party together.
She was starting to lose hope. She had scoured every inch of Ponyville, but her friends didn’t seem to be anywhere. Growing steadily more frustrated, she continued to run circles around Ponyville, eyes twitching back and forth to try to catch them in her sight if they were hiding, smacking right into another pony. She hit the ground hard, and dazed, looked right up at Twilight’s hindquarters. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and all the others were there with her. Pinkie swore she had just looked there a hundred times, but thought nothing of it as she released a humongous sigh of relief and jumped in front of them.
“Hey guys, where’ve you been? I’ve been looking all over for you! When no one showed up, I thought no one wanted to go, but that’s just crazy! We’re best friends right? You always want to go to my parties, right? Of course you do, everypony likes parties, you’d have to be crazy not to!” She jabbered on and on, while her friends stayed still. Pinkie suddenly realized that nopony had responded to her. They hadn’t even LOOKED at her yet.
“He-LLLOOO! Can’t you hear me? I’m right here! ANYPONY HOME?!” She waved a hoof in front of Twilight’s face, but she didn’t even blink, and her mouth continued moving. Pinkie screamed in frustration. They were IGNORING her! How could they? She jumped up and down in front of them, grabbing their faces and staring right in their eyes, but they looked right through her, as if she didn’t exist.
Something sparkled out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head, Pinkie saw a gigantic mirror, with a crack perfectly dividing the mirror in two, right down the middle. Curious, she crept towards it, and took a long look at her reflection.
It wasn’t there. No reflection, no Pinkie Pie. Just emptiness.
Pinkie stared, incredulous. It didn’t make sense, even for her. She slowly lifted a hoof, and placed it against the mirror. No hoof moved in the mirror, but the mirror was shifting, a swirl of jumbled color slowly gaining cohesion, until something was looking back at her, something that was definitely not her. And it was moving closer and closer and…
Pinkie Pie jolted awake, her chest heaving with every breath. Calming down, she took a look at the clock. It was past three. She groaned and pressed her face into the pillow. “Not again.” She mumbled. Would she ever get any sleep?
Sighing, she got out of bed and stared out the window. She had had the same dream three nights in a row, but she still had no idea what they meant. She remembered someone telling her a long time ago that if you have the same dream more than once, that meant it was sure to come true. But that would mean her friends didn’t like her anymore…
“Of course they like me silly!” she said out loud to no one in particular. “I thought I talked about this, I have to believe in my friends. If I don’t, I’ll lose them. And I’ll be all alone…forever…” This was the worst part of being awake in the middle of the night with no one to talk to but her own bad thoughts that kept popping up without her permission, little ghosties giggling maliciously at her inability to keep any friends. She giggled right back at them, trying to show them how ridiculous they were and hoping they’d go away. It didn’t work.
Suddenly, a happy thought peeked in her head, lighting up her entire face and sweeping away the bad ones. She jumped out of bed, a plan formulating in her head, growing bigger the more she thought about it. I’ve gotta get started, she thought, biting down on a pencil, a surprise this big is going to need a lot of preparation.
Mr. and Mrs. Cake woke up at the crack of dawn every morning to get Sugarcube Corner ready for the day. There were lots of delicious treats to bake before the rest of Ponyville woke up. They needed to be ready for their customers with the best they could offer, and nothing old or stale would do. Everything had to be fresh from the oven. However, they usually started by themselves. Pinkie Pie was not much of a morning pony. They joked that she needed extra-charging to be the Pinkie that everypony knew and loved, and let her sleep in. So they were shocked when they woke up to the smell of baked goods and found Pinkie in the kitchen, working on her fourth dozen set of muffins.
She positively beamed when they walked in, and jumped at them. “Good morning Mr. and Mrs. Cake! You want some muffins? I made a whole bunch of them! Enough for everypony in Ponyville to have one!” She gasped suddenly. “I SHOULD! I’ll give every single pony a free muffin! It’ll make everypony so happy! What a great way to start a day! Don’t you think so, huh? Huh?” Mr. and Mrs. Cake silently gulped. Pinkie wasn’t exactly known to have the greatest sense of flavor. Giving every pony a muffin made by Pinkie Pie might shut down all of Ponyville for the rest of the day.
Pinkie’s gigantic smile drooped just the teeniest bit. “Please have one, Mrs. Cake. I followed the recipe as closely as I could, and I didn’t put anything extra in them. I just know you’ll love it!”
Mrs. Cake smiled back and took a muffin. “Oh, of course I’ll have one dearie. It’s so sweet of you to get up so early to make us these for us. It makes our morning go much faster” She took a bite, a bubble of warm blueberry flavor popped in her mouth, burning her tongue ever so slightly. “Oh my, Pinkie! These are simply wonderful!”
Pinkie squealed, wrapping her hoofs tightly around her. “Oh thank you SO much! I worked so hard to make them, and I made so many mistakes, but I wanted to make the bestest muffins in the whole world for my most favoritest ponies in the whole world! You see, I was thinking about how there’s always such yummy treats made when I woke up, and that no one ever does that for you, and that made me so sad, so I got up and made lots and lots of treats! And yay, you liked them!”
Mr. Cake glanced around the room, a trash can already overflowing with burnt goods, and the rows of cupcakes, carefully and delicately frosted and decorated with smiley faces, balloons and flowers. She had obviously been baking for hours. “Sweetie, how long have you been awake?”
“Oh, how could I possibly sleep? I was just so unbelievably extremely excited about today; I couldn’t just sleep all morning and waste it! Today is gonna be the best day ever!” She bounced around the room, singing. Mr. and Mrs. Cake smiled. You could always expect a surprise from Pinkie Pie, that’s for sure. She must be planning something special for today. “Dearie, why don’t you take a break and eat some breakfast with us?” Mrs. Cake offered her a muffin. “You’ve worked so hard today, you deserve it.”
Pinkie looked away for a split second, then grinned. “I’m not really hungry; I ate a whole bunch earlier. And I gotta deliver these muffins to my friends! See ya later, gotta go!” She shouted, racing out of the bakery in the blink of an eye. The Cakes chuckled over their silly young friend, and took another bite of muffin.
Outside the bakery, Pinkie Pie was gagging in the bushes. The overly sweet smell in the kitchen burned her nostrils and made her stomach all twisted up like a swirly straw, even though she hadn’t eaten a thing all day. And it was way too sunny outside, which made her head hurt really bad. Pull yourself together, Pinkie Pie! You don’t get sick, that wouldn’t be fun at all! And a Pinkie who’s not fun isn’t a Pinkie at all! She pulled a notepad out of her bag, and turned to a page titled “BEST DAY EVER!” in giant multicolored letters on top. Pinkie made a few changes to the list, and now number one read “Bake muffins for ALL OF PONYVILLE!” Satisfied, she stood up shakily and put away the notebook. Today was going to be great, no matter what.
Pinkie shivered as she trotted up to her first house. Pinkie had not expected it to be so cold today and cursed how quickly she raced out of the bakery without checking the weather. Still, she was determined to make it work. She pasted a huge grin on her face, cleared her throat, and rapidly knocked on the door. A lavender unicorn filly with blonde hair opened the door. “Oh, hi Miss Pinkie. Mommy just left for work. Whatcha want?”
“Guess what day today is?”
The little filly could not think of anything that would make today special. Pinkie giggled at her confusion. “Well of course you don’t know! It’s a surprise! But believe me, it’s gonna be a real doozy! Maybe even,” she paused for emphasis, “THE BEST DAY EVER!” She pulled out two muffins from her pack. “Here’s free fresh muffins from Sugarcube Corner for you and your mom!”
The filly’s eyes lit up. “Thank you! They look so good, Mommy’s gonna love them! You’re the best neighbor ever Pinkie Pie!”
Pinkie Pie felt familiar warmth inside, in spite of the cold weather. This made everything worth it, running around in the biting cold, the headaches, the nausea, it was all worth it, to see somepony else so happy about something she had made. “I gotta go sweetie! Still have lots of muffins to deliver before they all get cold.” She hopped to her next stop, rosy-cheeked and cheerful, the beginning of a happy song writing itself in her head. This was exactly what she needed to feel better.
She had been going at it for several hours now, and was starting to get pretty tired. For some reason, maintaining her normal volume was becoming a huge chore, and her throat was getting all scratchy and weird sounding. But everypony was enjoying the muffins so much, and she was determined to deliver a muffin to every single citizen of Ponyville. She needed to hurry with the delivery though, there was still so much more to do to make today an extra-special day!
“Next stop, Carousel Boutique!” Pinkie announced as she bounced inside the boutique.
“Hello, and welcome to Carousel Boutique!” Rarity put on her customer service smile and voice, dropping it as soon as she saw Pinkie. “Oh dear! Pinkie, what have you been doing all day? You look absolutely chilled to the bone! Have you been running around in this weather with nothing on? You simply must come in and have some hot chocolate!”
“No thanks Rarity!” Pinkie’s voice wheezed out awkwardly, “I’m just here to deliver some free muffins, and then I’ll be on my way! I’ve got too much to do today, and I’m already running behind.”
“Pish posh! You’ll catch your death! I insist that you warm up and stay a while.”
“Oh Rarity! You can’t catch death silly!” Rarity rolled her eyes, knowing perfectly well Pinkie knew what she meant. Pinkie smiled reassuringly. “I’ll be fine! Besides, have you ever seen me sick? Pinkie and sick doesn’t go together! You’ll get lots and lots of wrinkles if you keep worrying about silly things like that!”
Rarity sighed, knowing full well that she couldn’t change Pinkie’s mind. “Promise me you will go home and rest once you’re done with all you need to do. I would hate so for you to get sick while you’re so busy."
“I will Rarity. I’ll see ya later!”
“Before you leave, take this.” Rarity wrapped a light blue scarf around Pinkie’s neck. “Oh my, that color is simply ravishing on you! But most importantly, it will keep you warm. Now hurry up, and get finished!” Pinkie pulled her into a hug. “Thanks a bundle!” she whispered hoarsely. Rarity patted her on the back, and sent her on her way.
Maybe Rarity’s right, Pinkie thought, maybe I do need to take a break. Everypony’s been enjoying the muffins so much, maybe I can leave the rest for tomorrow. She shook her head vigorously. No, there’s still ponies that hadn’t gotten a muffin yet! If they don’t get one too, they’ll think I don’t like them anymore! Pinkie felt a sinking feeling in her stomach at the thought. She knew that leaving somepony out would completely ruin their friendship, forever. That was the last thing she wanted to happen. No, today is going to be everypony’s bestest day ever, and they’ll always be friends, and nopony was going to be left behind.
She arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, hoping Applejack wasn’t already out apple bucking. As she knocked at the door, she noticed it was strangely loud inside. She could hear tons of little ponies inside, screaming and shouting, and the sound of something crashing. What’s going on in there? Pinkie wondered, as a very frazzled Applejack opened the door.
“Howdy partner. Them muffins done already?”
Pinkie gasped. “How did you know that I was bringing muffins? Did you use…” she lowered her voice to a whisper, “MAGIC?”
Applejack gave her a very confused look. “Y’all see a horn on this here pony? I ordered breakfast from Sugarcube Corner an hour ago. Our oven broke, and it’s the Apple family reunion, so now we got all these hungry ponies, stuck inside because it’s so dang-nabbing COLD outside, and,” Something else crashed inside, and Applejack turned around suddenly, screaming “Y’ALL DON’T QUIT THAT NOW, AND YOU’LL BE SPENDIN’ THE NIGHT IN THE BARN!”, the volume of her voice making Pinkie jump nearly five feet in the air. Applejack turned back to her pink-maned friend, groaning. “I’ve got half-a-mind to tan Rainbow’s hide for not warning us about this weather! This reunion is a complete disaster! I don’t know how much more I can take!”
“So, you’re going to be busy all day, huh?” Pinkie Pie was irritated with herself. How could she have forgotten that today was the Apple reunion? How was today going to be the best day ever if one of her friends was busy?
“Darn-right. Sorry sugarcube, but we’re gonna need a lot more food than that. Three muffins ain’t gonna feed everypony here.”
“Okay, I’ll head back to Sugarcube Corner and get the rest of your muffins!” Pinkie pulled out a grin so huge it hurt her face. “You’ll be swimming in muffins when I get back! Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake-“
“Great! I’ll see you then Pinkie!” Applejack replied, distracted, slamming the door before Pinkie could finish the oath.
Pinkie Pie raced back to Sugarcube Corner, the wind seeming to carrying her along as it picked up, growing more bitingly cold with each instance. Pinkie chose to ignore this as she raced along determinedly. What are you getting all mopey about? Applejack’s party is about to be ruined, and as the master of parties, I can’t let a single party get ruined! A party that’s not fun isn’t a party at all! The cogs in her head were turning quickly, ideas about how to make the Apple reunion the most spectacular reunion they’d ever see. Fireworks! The hugest bonfire ever! A dance party, ON THE MOON! It was going to be-
WHACK!
Pinkie crashed right into a tree. Pulling away, she shook her head quickly, trying to clear her swirly and blurry vision. Where was the path? She stumbled around; trying to find it, but everything looked the same. The wind had started to blow furiously, carrying with it little blades of ice, stinging her face and eyes and covering the ground with white, making finding the path now impossible.
But Pinkie Pie was set on finding her way back to Sugarcube Corner, a combination of blind panic and single-minded determinism. She wasn’t going to let this party get ruined, not if she could help it, and she continued walking, the wind whipping her hair around and smacking her in the face over and over, praying she was walking in the right direction.
She stumbled over her hooves, and tumbled down a hill, getting battered and bruised in the process, and coming to a rest at the end. She was at her end; chilled all the way through, exhausted, her body a throbbing mass of pain, she allowed her grateful eyelids to shut, despite the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that sleeping was the worst thing she could do right now.
And everything went black.
… They were IGNORING her! How could they? She jumped up and down in front of them, grabbing their faces and staring right in their eyes, but they looked right through her, as if she didn’t exist.
Something sparkled out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head, Pinkie saw a gigantic ornate mirror that seemed to completely divide Ponyville in half, so tall that she couldn’t see the rest of Ponyville on the other side. Despite the fact that it was so enormous, its dusty and milky surface and the rusty grooves of the metalwork around the edges gave it an abandoned air, as if it had been left in a cellar for years and completely forgotten about. Mesmerized, she crept towards it, and took a long look at her reflection.
It wasn’t there. No reflection, no Pinkie Pie. Just emptiness.
Pinkie stared, incredulous. It didn’t make sense, even for her. She slowly lifted a hoof, and placed it against the mirror. The surface of the mirror gave slightly against her hoof, feeling more like rubber than glass. No hoof moved in the mirror, but the mirror was shifting, a swirl of jumbled color slowly gaining cohesion, until something was looking back at her, and something brushed against the hoof pressed against the surface, but that something that was definitely not her. And it was moving closer and closer and…
Pinkie shut her eyes tightly, waiting to wake up, but she didn’t. Her dream always ended right here. Her dream…
“This is just a dream! None of this is real!” Pinkie shouted triumphantly.
A breathy whisper filled the air, haunting and wispy. “A dream this may be, but that doesn’t make it any less real.” The voice was eerily familiar, but Pinkie Pie just couldn’t place the voice.
“Okie-dokie Spooky Voicy. So why won’t you let me wake up? Are you trying to trap me inside my dreams forever?” She laughed shrilly at the voice, trying to look brave, but it just made her sound hysterical. The voice laughed hollowly at her.
“Oh, I’m no ghostie Pinkie. I’m not even real, remember?” The voice sneered at her. “It’s time we stopped this game Pinkie Pie. Time to stop running away and finally face me.”
“How am I going to face you if I can’t even see you?”
“Oh foolish filly.” The voice had a sorrowful, even heart-broken, edge to it. “I’ve been right in front of you this entire time, and you won’t even look at me.”
Pinkie opened her eyes, the mirror right in front of her, taking a good look for the first time at the thing that towered over her in the mirror. It may have been a pony before, but now it was bloated beyond recognition of any imaginable species. Its coat, a dull and murky shade of pink, was beginning to rot, revealing its skeleton in places, and its mane hung limb and leaden, dripping water running down its body.
Pinkie squeaked, and backed away. “Why are you my reflection?” she whispered. “You’re not me.”
“Please, don’t look away. Look harder and you’ll understand.”
Pinkie moved a little closer to the mirror, and stared into the reflection’s face, its cheek streaked with tears, bright blue eyes fearful and pleading. Just like her own.
_________________________________________________________________
Applejack took a deep breath as she stepped out into the snow. She was immediately pelted by the snow, which was coming down so hard that Applejack could barely see her own hooves.
“Hey A.J.!” a familiar voice shouted, as Rainbow Dash landed near her. “What are you doing out here? Are you crazy? We’re in the middle of the worst snowstorm to hit Ponyville, and you’re outside??” Rainbow Dash had to scream to be heard over the rampaging wind.
“Have you seen Pinkie Pie?” Applejack shouted back. “She came over not long before it started snowing, and I’m worried she got stuck in the storm!”
Rainbow’s face twisted in worry. “Sorry, but the weather team’s been in the air all morning, trying to get control of the snow storm. It blew in from the Everfree forest, and it's way too strong for us to handle. This is the first time I’ve landed all day!”
“Dang nabbit, I was afraid you’d say that! Can ya fly me into town? We just gotta make sure she made it home okay!”
“No problem!” she shouted back, wrapping her hooves around Applejack and lifting her off the ground. “Next stop, Ponyville!” she shouted, adjusting her goggles and taking off at lightning speed.
_________________________________________________________________________
“I know who you are.” Pinkie whispered. “You’re the part of me I don't want. But how can you be here? I got rid of you a long time ago. You aren’t supposed to exist.”
The reflection shot her an amused glance. “You cannot destroy a part of yourself, Pinkie Pie. You can bury me, drown me, lock me away, but I will always be there, hiding in the corners of your mind. I cannot be destroyed.”
“Stop saying that! You’re NOT me! I’m me! Just me!” Tears welled up in Pinkie’s eyes. “You’re a just a gross, scary old monster, and nopony wants you!”
The reflection winced at the harsh words. “You’re the one who did this to me, you know.” It hissed. "You're the one who threw me away, like I was nothing. But you need me; you need me to truly exist, to reach your full potential. You cannot truly be yourself if you are hiding away a part of yourself."
"Shut up! Just shut up! I don’t need you!” Pinkie screamed. “Your tricks aren’t going to work on me! None of this is real!” She smacked her face against the mirror, over and over. “Wake up, wake up, wake up!” She begged, but she stayed inside the dream. She glared at the reflection her face streaked with tears. “Stop doing this to me!” She screamed, as she collapsed on the ground and sobbed.
_____________________________________________________________
Applejack and Rainbow Dash landed in front of Sugarcube Corner and ran inside. The door made a light tinkling sound as they walked in, alerting Mr. and Mrs Cake to their presence.
“Coming!” Mrs. Cake replied eagerly, as she entered the room. When she saw who it was, her grin dropped into a worried frown. “Oh hello girls,” she said, nervously eyeing the clock. “I’m afraid we’re closed right now.”
“We’re looking for Pinkie. You know where she is?” Applejack asked.
“Oh dear. I’ve been worried sick about her! I haven’t seen or heard from her since she left this morning to deliver all those muffins!” Mrs. Cake burst into tears, and Mr. Cake walked into the room, wrapping a hoof around his upset wife.
“If you have any idea where Pinkie could possibly be, please let us know.” He asked. “Pinkie is like family to us, and we’d be devastated if anything happened to her.”
“Maybe Twilight can help us!” Rainbow Dash said. “She knows a lot of magic, maybe she has a spell that can find Pinkie!”
Applejack nodded. “Sounds good to me.” She said. She turned to the Cake couple. “Do you wanna go too?” She asked. They nodded.
Soon they found themselves in front of Twilight’s house. Applejack knocked on the door rapidly. No response.
“Oh no, maybe Twilight is missing too!” Mrs. Cake exclaimed.
“I’m sure she’s fine,” Applejack replied, her heart starting to race. She pounded on the door, at a much faster pace than before.
“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Twilight voice hollered from inside, irritated. She opened the door, wrapped in a blanket, and Rainbow Dash nearly bowled her over as she ran inside.
Applejack turned to Twilight. “Please tell me you’ve seen Pinkie!” She begged.
Twilight yawned and scratched her head. “I haven’t seen her since this morning. Why?”
Applejack started pacing the room nervously. “Nopony knows where she is! She’s not at Sugarcube Corner, and nopony knows where she went!”
“All we know,” Mrs. Cake added, “is that she was planning something special for today. Do you know what it could be?”
“We thought maybe you could use your magic and teleport her in the room or something.” Rainbow Dash added
Twilight started levitating books on the shelf, skimming through the table of contents. “Sorry girls, but my teleporting spell doesn’t work that way. But maybe I can find a find-it spell in one of these books.”
Rainbow Dash groaned. “That’ll take too long! Pinkie’ll frozen stiff by the time we find the right spell in all these books!” Mrs. Cake burst into tears.
“Now don’t worry honey-bunch!” Mr. Cake wrapped a reassuring hoof around her, as she sobbed into his shoulder. “We’ll find her! I'm sure she’ll be holed up somewhere nice and warm, waiting out the storm!”
“She was so excited about today!” She wailed. “She g-g-got up so early, and made muffins for everypony, and now she’s…she’s…”
Applejack glared at Rainbow Dash, before gently placing a hoof on Mrs. Cake’s shoulder. Rainbow Dash was right of course, but she didn’t need to say that in front of Mrs. Cake. “I’m sure she’s just peachy ma’am.” She sighed. “We do need to find her as fast as possible Twi. I doubt she went very far, and I’m sure we’ll be able to find her if we jus’ look in the right places.”
Twilight nodded. “Okay, plan B. We split up and form a search party. Half of us will go from door-to-door; to see if she’s waiting out the storm at somepony’s house, and the rest will check to see if she’s still out in the storm. But first, we’re going to need some more help.”
“Roger!” Applejack saluted Twilight, as she and Rainbow Dash raced ahead of the others.
___________________________________________________________________
“Please, let me wake up.” Pinkie Pie trembled. “I don’t want to be here, I want to wake up.”
The reflection’s voice was becoming exasperated. “I grow tired of your whining, Pinkie. Why do you hate me so?”
Pinkie glared at the reflection. All of this was ITS fault, for existing, for trapping her in a dream, keeping her away from her best day ever that she had planned.
“Because I have to be happy! The day I got my cutie mark, I decided I would always make everypony happy! Making ponies smile is my purpose in life. But you! You make me feel bad, hurt me, make me unhappy! I can’t make ponies happy if I’m unhappy, because then I wouldn’t be fun! And a Pinkie who’s no fun is not a Pinkie at all!” The words had shot out of her mouth, oozing bitterness with every syllable. Pinkie couldn't remember the last time she felt so much emotion all at the same time. She tried to finish, but her voice kept breaking into sobs, her vision swimming.
“S-s-so I’m always smiling, even when I don’t feel good, even when the last thing I want is to get out of bed, or if I’m being made fun of, I’ll still force a laugh, because I have to be happy!”
“That’s not true, is it Pinkie? The truth is, you’re not happy at all. Hiding your feelings, locking away a part of yourself, it just makes you more miserable in the end. It’s normal to feel unhappy, even healthy to cry sometimes.”
“You just don’t get it! It’s not who I am! I am the only me, and nopony else! This is all of me!”
“Let me show you just how many different yous there are.” the reflection whispered, as a crack spider-webbed across the surface of the mirror.
_________________________________________________________________________
Nearly all of Ponyville was out in the blizzard now, searching for Pinkie. Applejack had recruited most of her relatives, which increased their numbers significantly.
“I wanna go find Pinkie too!” Apple Bloom whined.
“Sorry squirt,” Braeburn rubbed a hoof on Apple Bloom head, much to her annoyance. “But this weather ain’t fer little fillies to be runnin’ around in.”
“But Applejack-“
“Braeburn’s right sugarcube.” Applejack interrupted. “Besides, Granny Smith needs someone to stay with her. Can ya do that for me?”
Apple Bloom nodded, without much enthusiasm. “Sorry this had’ta happen while the kin’s all here.” Applejack apologized.
Braeburn chuckled. “Well, we won’t ferget this reunion anytime soon, that’s fer sure. But it ain’t the Apple family way to sit around while somepony’s in danger! Ya ready cuz?”
“You bet I am! Let’s go rustle up a missing pony!” Applejack reared back and whinnied, as they ran out the door, Braeburn whooping and hollering along the way.
Fluttershy wiped the snow off her goggles for what seemed like the thousandth time. She couldn’t actually remember the last time she had used her flight goggles, but with the snow flying so fast that it could blind you; it seemed to be a necessity.
Smack! She flew into another pony. Again.
“Oh! I’m so sorry!” she mumbled to the blue backside in front of her.
“Aw, that’s alright,” Rainbow Dash grinned. She took a good look at Fluttershy’s face, and cracked up. “Fluttershy, I hate to tell you this, but I think your goggles are trying to suck your face off!”
Fluttershy blushed. “Yes, um, they’re a little…small…” She changed the subject quickly. “I didn’t expect you to be back here Rainbow Dash. I thought you were at the front of the group.”
“Yeah, well, I saw that you were falling behind, and I didn’t want you to get separated, so I came back here to help.”
Fluttershy smiled. “Oh, that’s nice of you to do. Thank you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Now pick up the speed. We don’t want to lose anymore ponies!”
Fluttershy flapped harder, leaving Rainbow behind. “Um…are you coming Rainbow Dash?” She asked.
“I’m fine!” Rainbow Dash answered crossly. “I’m just making sure nopony else got left behind!”
“Oh. Okay.” Fluttershy glided slowly, letting Rainbow Dash catch up, wheezing and panting.
Twilight sat, along with Rarity and the rest of the unicorn team at the designated meeting place. Still no sign of Pinkie. Hopefully the other teams had better success than they had.
“Do you think maybe she’s buried under the snow?” Twilight asked suddenly, lifting up a snow bank with her magic. Not seeing Pinkie, she dropped the snow with a sigh, causing Rarity to shriek.
“Rarity! Where did you go?” Twilight’s eyes darted back and forth against the white landscape. A waving hoof stuck out of the snow, and Twilight dug her out of the snow. Rarity gasped for air.
“Do watch where you’re dropping that snow!” Rarity demanded, shaking the caked snow off her coat. “Oh dear, where’s my hat? My earmuffs? My scarf?” She lifted up the snow Twilight had just dropped, shaking out her missing clothes.
“Twilight!” Applejack hollered, trotting up to them, the rest of Apple family following close behind. “Any luck?” She asked hopefully.
Twilight shook her head. “Same here.” Applejack said glumly. “We ain’t seen hide or hair of her.”
The pegasus team flew in and landed. “No luck. “ Cloudkicker sighed. “You’d think it’d be easy to find a bright pink pony!”
“Where’s Rainbow Dash?” Applejack asked, “Ain’t she with y’all?”
Cloudkicker groaned. “Oh, she’s in the back somewhere. She was falling behind, and I asked her if she needed a breather. Then she gets all huffy and says that she’s just making sure nopony’s getting left behind.” She turned around to the group of pegasi behind her, and shouted, “Yo Rainbow! Where ya at? Your friends are looking for you!” There was no response.
“Has anypony seen Rainbow Dash?” She asked the group.
A yellow pegasus spoke up. “I saw her with Fluttershy in the back.”
“Good! So, where’s Fluttershy?” Cloudkicker asked. Nopony responded. “Oh horse apples.”
Fluttershy was starting to get really scared. The group had disappeared out of sight ages ago, and Rainbow Dash was continually flying lower and slower.
“Um, Rainbow, I’m getting tired. Can we stop for a break?” Fluttershy asked hopefully.
“No can do.” Rainbow panted. “We have to catch up with the others. We’re going to get left behind at this rate!”
I think we already have, Fluttershy silently retorted. Her heart thumped loudly, as she tried to think of a way she could get Rainbow Dash to land without offending her. Her own wings were starting to feel very heavy, but she could only imagine how miserable Rainbow Dash, who had literally been flying all day, was feeling. Lost in thought, she realized that she had left Rainbow Dash far behind her. She slowed to snail’s pace, allowing Rainbow Dash to pass her.
“Let’s pick up the pace Fluttershy!” Rainbow panted. “We’re almost there, I can feel it!” She beat her wings faster, then yelped in pain, and began to fall rapidly towards the ground.
“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!” Fluttershy sailed towards the ground, catching Rainbow Dash in mid-air, then crashing on the ground.
“Are you okay?” She asked Rainbow Dash, who spit a mouthful of snow on the ground as she shakily stood up.
“I’m fine, just lost my balance.” Rainbow Dash attempted to flap her wings, but when her right wing moved, a shot of pain spread from it through her entire body. It was pure agony to even twitch, let alone lift herself off the ground. Holding back tears, she tried again. And again. And again. Soon the pain overwhelmed her, and she let loose a little tear as she collapsed on the ground. She smacked the ground weakly with a hoof in frustration. “I can’t get up…” she whispered.
Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around Rainbow Dash, and flapped her wings furiously, trying to lift her off the ground. She couldn’t. Fluttershy sniffled. What was she going to do? She had no idea where she was, and she was stuck in a storm while one of her friends was nowhere to be found, and another one was badly injured.
“Go find the others.” Rainbow Dash whispered. “I’ll be fine.”
Fluttershy nuzzled up to her, using her wings to keep the snow off her dear friend. “I can’t just leave you out here in the snow.” She snuggled up closer. “I’m sure they’ll find us if we stay in one place. Right now, we need to focus on staying as warm as we can.” She took Rainbow’s tail in her mouth, and pulled her underneath a nearby tree, then wrapped her wings around her as she lay next to her, and waited.
The longer they were looking, the worse the situation appeared to get, Twilight felt, and the others agreed. They decided that the best decision would be to stick together so that no one else got lost. It was bad enough that three were missing.
Everypony was exhausted. Rarity’s hair stuck to her face, as perspiration dripped off her face. All the shouting induced an outbreak of coughing fits among the group, and some of the ponies were shivering uncontrollably. At this rate, they might have to stop their search to keep the rescue party from freezing to death as well.
“Pinkie! Fluttershy! Rainbow Dash!” Applejack shouted, pausing between each shout to listen for a response. She was met with a discouraging silence each time. The party was starting to lose hope.
“Did you hear that?” Rarity said suddenly. They strained their ears and hear a faint cry for help in the distance. The group ran towards it, and found Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash.
“Oh thank goodness!” Fluttershy burst into tears. “I was getting so scared! Rainbow Dash hurt her wing! And I tried to move her but she was too heavy, and I didn’t know what to do!” She buried her face in Rarity’s coat, who patted her back gently. “It’s alright darling.”
Twilight pulled a first aid kit out of her bag and started to put Rainbow’s wing into a splint.
“Have you guys found her yet?” Rainbow asked faintly. Twilight shook her head. While Twilight was setting the wing, the rest of the team started searching the area, burying their faces in the snowdrifts and pushing them aside to find her.
A ways off, somepony shouted excitedly, “I found something! I found something!” The others ran back to see, as she brushed the snow off a pink cold little pony, deep in sleep.
Twilight pressed an ear against Pinkie’s chest, searching for a pulse. She found it, faint and slow, but it was still there. “Pinkie, can you hear me? You have to wake up! If you sleep out here, you’ll freeze faster! Pinkie!” She screamed desperately, joined in by Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and a very faint Rainbow Dash.
_________________________________________________________________________
The cracks divided the mirror into thousands of jagged pieces. Inside each piece was a different Pinkie, some that looked like her, some that looked like they could belong to a completely different species. Some were happy, others sad and lonely. There were cruel Pinkie’s, kind Pinkies, and brave ones too. Some were everything she dreamed to be one day, others she feared she would one day become. Some of the shards were darkened, concealing parts of her she was not yet ready to face. Shards fell off the mirror, only to be replaced by completely different ones. They were all her, and yet so different, and constantly shifting.
“How can there be so many?” Pinkie asked in awe.
“That’s what it’s like for everypony,” Twilight’s voice was suddenly behind her. Pinkie turned around and saw all her friends were there, right behind her. “Everypony is different and always changing. The mind is a wondrously complex thing that nopony really understands.” Twilight stood in front of the mirror right beside Pinkie, staring at her own reflection that Pinkie couldn’t see, as did the others.
“Think of it like a precious gemstone.” Rarity chimed in. “Gemstones have so many different facets and cuts inside them, reflecting light in such a way to make them even more beautiful. Without them, they’d just be a rock with a pretty colour.”
“I think what Twilight and Rarity are trying to say,” added Applejack, “under all that mumbo-jumbo is that yer changing and it’s just a part of life yer gonna hafta accept.”
“But what if I become somepony completely different? What if when I let myself cry, I can’t make it stop? What if... my friends don’t like the new me and won’t be my friends anymore?”
Rainbow Dash grinned, rubbing Pinkie’s head with my hoof affectionately. “Aw don’t worry about it! If they don’t want you anymore, then who needs them? Besides, don’t you think it’s exciting? There’s no telling what you’ll become!”
Fluttershy spoke up softly. “If they don’t like you anymore, we still will.” She got slightly red. “Um...we aren’t actually real though, so you might not want us...”
Pinkie smiled at her, a warmth starting to glow inside her. Maybe it would be okay after all. “Thanks girls. I feel a lot better now.” She paused. “Wait, so you’re not my real friends using magic to talk to me while I’m asleep?”
Twilight laughed. “Of course not. We’re simply caricatures based on your perceptions of the real us, originally created by your subconscious to represent your abandonment complex. Now, your subconscious is using us to help guide you through this bizarre existential nightmare of a fever dream and make a decision. No big deal.”
While Pinkie was trying to make sense of what Twilight had just said, the booming voices of her friends echoed inside the dream. “Pinkie, wake up please!” They begged.
Applejack smiled. “Looks like it’s time ya woke up sugarcube. Your friends are waiting for you out there.”
It hit Pinkie suddenly. “Oh Celestia, I fell asleep in the snow! I must be worrying everypony so much! I have to go!”
Fluttershy wrapped her hooves around Pinkie in a tight embrace. “It’ll be okay, I promise. We’ll be waiting right here the next time you dream, supporting you every step of the way.”
“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash joined in the hug. “Next dream, you and me are going to go flying with the Wonderbolts! It’s going to be so awesome!”
The others joined in the hug, and Pinkie laughed. “That does sound awesome Dashie! I can’t wait!” She couldn’t feel them anymore, and they started to fade away into the black. “See you next time!” They all shouted, as the darkness overtook them, and everything faded away.
Pinkie’s eyes slowly opened, her entire vision filled with a blinding white that made seeing anything else impossible. “Oh my,” She heard Fluttershy’s voice nearby, full of relief, “Pinkie’s awake, girls!”
“Pinkie dear, can you hear me?” Rarity asked. Pinkie tried to nod, but she couldn’t tell if she did or not. Her entire body was numb.
“She looks really bad,” Twilight said, “If I teleport her now, she’ll go into shock from the extreme change in temperature. Applejack, can you carry her to Fluttershy’s house? I’ll take Rainbow Dash over to Nurse Redheart. You guys do everything you can to warm her up, but do it slowly. Fluttershy will know what to do.”
Rainbow Dash? What happened to her?
“Yes ma’am!” Applejack lifted Pinkie up on her back. “Jus’ wait a while longer. Everything’s gonna be just fine.” Her voice shook slightly. “I’m so sorry, Pinkie.”
Why is she apologizing? I’m the one who got stuck in the snow.
Just staying awake was becoming tremendously exhausting, and Pinkie’s eyes closed graciously.
“Oh no! She fell asleep again!” Rarity shouted. She and Fluttershy stood on either side of Applejack, rubbing down Pinkie with a blanket. Applejack gritted her teeth. She was recognizing her surroundings now. “Hold on y’all, we’re almost there! Jus’ keep warming her up!” She could feel tears swelling up in her eyes, but she shook them away. Right now wasn’t the time to be getting upset. She needed to be strong, for Pinkie, and for the others, who were relying on her to guide them. Crying now would help nopony.
Pinkie’s going to be jus’ fine, she told herself. She turned around the bend and saw Fluttershy’s house up ahead. Fluttershy and Rarity released a heavy sigh at the sight. They were so close now. It was going to be alright.
They walked inside, and set Pinkie gently on the bed. While Rarity warmed up some water and Fluttershy searched through her bookshelf for a medical book, Applejack collapsed next to the bed. She hadn’t realized how tired she was. She stared at her unusually still friend, lying on the bed, and this time could not stop the tears, as she released a muffled sob. Maybe if she had realized sooner it had started snowing, Pinkie wouldn’t be in such a bad shape.
Pinkie gave a little smile, as she forced an eye open. “It’s okay girls,” she wheezed out. The little phrase preceded a gigantic coughing fit.
“Shhh,” Fluttershy nuzzled Pinkie gently. “We’re going to take good care of you Pinkie, don’t worry. Everything’s going to be just fine.” Rarity re-entered the room, bringing along with her a steaming bucket on water.
“Oh my...um Rarity, that water’s much too hot. Can you, um, cool it off just a teensy bit? Or, um, a LOT bit?”
Surprised, Rarity stuck her horn in the water once again. “Oh, if you say so.” The water cooled, and Fluttershy smiled. “There we go.” She put a rag into the water, and pressed it gently against Pinkie’s side, who twitched. “Ouch...” She moaned weakly.
Fluttershy smiled. “Oh, that’s a good sign. You’re starting to regain feeling.”
Pinkie was now in complete agony. Her skin crawled with an unpleasant sensation, like a thousand white hot needles were poking and prodding her entire body. She tossed back and forth, pushing away from Fluttershy and her hot cloth.
“Pinkie, I know it hurts, but...” Fluttershy was interrupted by Pinkie’s flailing, which caused a hoof to smack Fluttershy in the face.
“Whoa nelly! She’s freaking out! Should I hold her down?” Applejack asked, getting into position.
“Pinkie!” Fluttershy’s voice became stern, as she stared intensely into Pinkie’s eyes, calming her. Fluttershy lightly rubbed her head. “There, there.” She cooed. Soothed, Pinkie sank into a deep sleep.
_________________________________________________________________________
Pinkie opened her eyes, finding herself in an unfamiliar yet cheery room. Her friends were next to the bed. “Look guys, she’s awake!” Rainbow Dash nearly flew up to the ceiling in excitement, but winced as she made the attempt.
Twilight shushed her. “This is a hospital! We have to be quiet.”
“How are you doing Pinkie?” Rarity asked, arranging some flowers in a vase near the bed. Pinkie coughed in reply. “I see...”
“We were really worried about you sugarcube!” Applejack added.
Pinkie looked at Rainbow Dash. “You okay?” She whispered.
Dash rolled her eyes. “Oh come on! Not you too! I just sprained a wing; it’s not a big deal! I’ll be fine in a couple of weeks! It’s like you ponies think my wings are made out of paper or something! Besides,” she added, “you’re the one who almost froze to death!”
“With the hypothermia, slight concussion and pneumonia,” Twilight added, “you’re lucky you’re not in worse shape. It’s a good thing we found you!”
“By the way, Pinkie Pie,” Rarity was now examining a somewhat soggy notebook, “Are these 'Best Day Ever' plans the reason you were delivering muffins?”
Pinkie’s face grew hot. “My party planner! You can’t look at that, it’ll ruin the surprise!”
“All right dear. But I had no idea how you intended to get the Wonderbolts to perform for Ponyville. Or get all of Ponyville on the moon.”
Pinkie hadn’t realized before how over the top the plans were, and started giggling. “Kinda silly huh?”
“It really does sound nice though...” Fluttershy mumbled.
“Nice? It sounds AMAZING!” Rainbow Dash butted in.
“Why were you planning something like that?” Twilight asked.
Pinkie smiled. “Oh, no reason.” She felt better than she had in a long time, content and peaceful.
A tear slid down her cheek, followed by another, and another. Pinkie tried to wipe them away, but they kept falling. Her friends surrounded her in a giant group hug, awkwardly lying in the bed with her.
“A slumber party! We should totally have the bestest slumber party ever!” Pinkie shouted suddenly, grabbing the notebook. “Get me a pencil; I need to plan our most wonderful sleepover ever!” A thousand ideas swirled around in her head all at once, each one bigger than the next. Pinkie was back in business, and the party wasn’t ending anytime soon.
The snow piled up outside the window, as the friends giggled and chatted, discussing ideas for a slumber party, and maybe another party for when Pinkie and Rainbow Dash felt better. The snow that pelted against the window melted immediately, and Ponyville was completely covered in a blanket of snow, looking like an entirely different world altogether, pure and fresh and utterly new.
