Dear Pinkie Pie

The wind was minimal, and even the animals were silent, as if in respect to the pony who lay in wooden box surrounded by friends and family members. Limestone Pie was at the front of the group, as the current leader of the clan, flanked on either side by her parents. Pinkie Pie was standing on the right side of the box with one hoof draped comfortingly over her twin sibling, Marble Pie. At the foot of the casket were all of Nana's surviving friends from back in the day and some close friends of the Pie family, including Pinkie Pie's closest Ponyville friends. It was a small funeral, befitting a humble pony.

Maud Pie stood alone on the left side of the casket. She was only somewhat listening to Limestone's speech about how Nana's life had affected them all. She just couldn't take her eyes away from the wooden box. Nana's achievements in life had been many, she had touched every pony in the Pie family in one way or another... but Maud had always had a special place in her heart for the old mare. Only Maud knew of the greatest gift she had given them.

Limestone's voice was uncharacteristically gentle as she finished her speech. "Goodbye, Nana Pie. We'll see you again when we're reunited in the Earth." The two helper ponies on either side of the grave slowly lowered the casket into the hole. Marble broke down in sobs, while Pinkie whispered lightly into her ear. Maud stared across the hole in the ground at Pinkie for a few moments, then turned her gaze to the grave itself, which was now being filled with dirt.

Once the crowd had begun to disperse, Maud turned to leave the group, but she stopped when she heard the unmistakably light hoofsteps approaching her from behind. Her suspicion was confirmed when the pink hooves wrapped around her neck from her left shoulder.

"It's okay, Maud," Pinkie assured her in a light voice. "You don't have to look so sad."

Maud turned her head slowly to look at her baby sister, speaking in a voice as neutral as ever. "I'm glad you're taking this well, Pinkie. I know how much Nana always meant to you."

"Of course I love her, but this isn't goodbye. There is no goodbye, there's only see you later." Pinkie smiled as only she could on a day like this.

"That's a lovely sentiment." Maud looked back toward the farmhouse at the bottom of the hill. They always buried Pie family members on this land, but they wouldn't do it in the rocks. It simply wouldn't suit an Earth Pony to not return to the earth.

"You don't believe that?"

Maud fell silent for several moments before resuming her trek towards the farmhouse again. "Of course I do."

"Good." Pinkie sighed in relief. "You go rest, I'll see you inside after everypony goes home."

Maud made her way down to the farmhouse. Soon her hooves were clicking across smooth, comforting stone as she made her way around to the front of the building and inside. Her old bedroom was just the way it had been when she left for her studies. She even found her fillyhood journal nestled safely between her bed cushions. She pulled the old journal from its hiding place, holding it in one hoof as she made her way over to the small writing desk beside the bed.

She flipped it upside down, turning it to the last page. She had never completely filled the journal, so there were plenty of pages left to say what she felt like she had to say. She held the book open with one hoof and took a pen comfortably in her lips. Nopony knew Nana Pie's greatest contribution to the Pie family. Maud was the last one who knew... but she couldn't let the secret fade with her someday. The others deserved to know...

Pinkie Pie deserved to know.

Dear Pinkie Pie. If you're reading this, I've already returned to the earth. I'll see you there someday. But there's one thing you need to know. A secret Nana and myself have kept from you for years. I want to tell you in person, but I don't know if I would like the look in your eyes. Knowing you, you'd smile. But you can't hide what's in your eyes from me. I don't know if you remember when we used to visit Nana Pinkie. It was where we discovered Rock Candy... and the incident happened.

***

It was a warm day on the mountain. Maud Pie had been placed in charge of her baby sister Pinkie while Marble was back at Nana's place, sick with a cold. It was rare for Pinkie to leave her twin's side, but it was even more rare for her to be able to sit in one place for very long. Especially since she got her cutie mark. So it was that Maud found herself marching out over the winding mountain paths just south of Nana Pie's retirement home, where they were visiting while Limestone learned to run the farm with their parents.

"What's this?" Pinkie chimed back at her as she stood by the side of the road.

"It's"—Maud paused as she approached her slightly smaller sibling. Pinkie's wide, slightly unfocused but cute-as-the-blazes gaze was peering up at her—"a rock."

"Oh! How about this one!?" Pinkie Pie rushed to another stone further up the path.

"That's also a rock." Maud paced more slowly behind her energetic baby sister as they made their way up the mountain.

"You sure do know a lot about seeing rocks, Maud!" Pinkie giggled. "You're like the rock master!"

"Maybe someday." Maud's hooves kept moving steadily up the path. "We shouldn't be far from where we can find the rock candy."

"Hehehe!" Pinkie Pie pranced slightly ahead of Maud, her hooves click-clacking against the solid stone pathway. "Let's find some super extra tasty ones this time! I want to make a special necklace for Marble!"

"That sounds like a good idea." Maud followed her hyper sibling off of the flat path across the rockier, but also familiar terrain beyond. Pinkie was already at the base of the vertical cliff face as Maud approached at a slower walk.

"I'll go up and get the candy!" Pinkie crouched in front of the cliff face, wiggling her butt like a cat as she prepared for her first jump.

"Remember what I told you about finding solid purchase, Pinkie. Make sure where you're going won't fall."

"I know! I'll be careful!" Pinkie leapt through the air, landing solidly on one of the lower outcroppings with all four hooves firmly planted. "Hup! Hup! Hup!" Jump after jump, Pinkie made her way up the rocks, just the way Maud had shown her several times before. She felt a swelling of pride in her chest seeing her baby sister glide up the mountain face with such ease. She would be all the way up and back down again quicker than Maud herself would have been.

Maud blinked slowly and glanced at the ground when she felt a strange sensation in her hooves. It wasn't unfamiliar, but it was very unexpected. There was just the slightest trace of a tremor in the rocky ground. It wasn't very deep, and it was several moments before she even saw the tiniest pebble on the surface begin to move.

"Pinkie." Maud looked up after her sister. "You should get down from there."

"What're you saying? I gotta get Marble's candy!" Pinkie bounced ever higher.

"Pinkie, the earth is shifting. You should come down until it settles."

"Aw, I don't feel anything!" Pinkie leapt again, aiming for an outcropping that she had jumped on many times in the past.

Maud couldn't move. Her legs simply froze beneath her as Pinkie came down on the outcropping and didn't stop. The entire section of stone simply rolled out of the mountain, weakened by the subtle tectonic shifting going on beneath the ground. Pinkie's yelp of surprise lasted only a few moments as her small pink body tumbled down the cliff face, colliding with both it and the stone that plummeted alongside her. The eternity it took her to reach the ground lasted mere seconds, ending when the rock she had been attempting to jump on landed on her hind leg with a sickening crash.

"P... Pinkie Pie." At last Maud managed to break her legs from their stiffness, stumbling weakly towards the boulder. "Pinkie Pie, say something." Maud thrust herself to the ground beside her baby sister. The tiny pink pony was unconscious, but she could still see her chest moving, and the strands of messy hair in front of her lips were swaying with every breath. "I'll help you, Pinkie."

Maud lurched to her feet and threw herself at the boulder that was holding her sister down. Her hooves collided with its surface, and she pushed with all her strength, but it didn't even begin to budge. "Get off of my sister..." Maud pushed with all her might, then tried to pull it in every direction, but her tiny filly body simply didn't have the might to move it. Maud could run back to Nana's, she would have the strength to move it, but Pinkie looked seriously hurt, and the round trip would take a long time.

Maud reared back and slammed her right foreleg into the stone now, chipping away at it with the flat of her hoof. She hit the evil boulder harder, and harder, and harder, until she could feel her hoof beginning to crack under the force of her impacts. But she could also see the rock cracking, and she redoubled her efforts. Teeth gritted against the pain, she ignored the flecks of blood that were left in the growing cracks on the boulder's surface with each strike, digging for several minutes until at last—

Success! Her hoof punched clean through to the center of the boulder, which shattered into many easily movable fragments around the Pie sisters. Maud knocked the larger fragments from her sister's body and knelt down beside her. Pinkie was still breathing, there was still time. So Maud carefully pulled the fragile pink form onto her back and began the swift trot down the side of the mountain. She didn't even allow herself to limp on her cracked hoof, she was in too much of a hurry.

Pinkie Pie needed her.

The filly rushed as fast as her legs could carry her down the path towards Nana Pinkie's house without letting her precious pink sister slip off her back. The going was rough, but her determination would not be denied, and soon she slipped into the house and rushed into the kitchen where their nana was sitting at the table sipping a small cup of tea. The adult's eyes flicked towards her, immediately going to her back, where the pink pony lie prone.

"Maud?" The tea cup clattered to the stone table as the older pony rushed towards them. "What happened?"

Maud took a deep breath, for the first time in her life shaking with panic. "Pinkie fell. It was an accident. The ground was shifting and we didn't know it knocked a rock loose."

Nana rushed up to them and leaned down to examine the little filly. Maud kept her knees locked stiff beneath her so that her nana could examine her sister. Several long minutes of tense silence later, Nana spoke again.

"We should get her to a hospital as quickly as we can."

"But what about—" Maud was cut off when she heard a dainty cough from the kitchen doorway. She turned quickly, putting her head between Pinkie and her twin sister, who was coughing into one hoof in the doorway.

"Marble, what are you doing out of bed?" Nana approached the filly with a look of gentle worry.

"I feel sick..." Marble whined and rubbed her belly with one hoof. "Sicker... I feel really bad..."

"Oh, sweetheart, that's no reason to be out of bed." Nana ran a hoof over her head slowly. "You go rest now while we take Pinkie Pie to the doctor."

"The doctor...?" Marble looked up worriedly. "But why?"

"Because she's sick, like you." Nana smiled. "We just need to get her some of her own medicine."

"Oh..." Marble nodded slowly. Her eyes scanned the room as if in search of her ailing twin. "Can't I talk to her before you go?"

Nana glanced back at Maud and gave a subtle nod. "Of course you can. But be quick, we need to leave soon."

"I will." Marble approached Maud, who turned sideways so that Pinkie was facing Marble. Thankfully her busted up leg was dangling against Maud's other flank, and Maud was a bit taller than the twin fillies. Marble coughed lightly into her hoof before speaking. "Hey Pinkie... you awake?" Marble leaned down to look into her closed eyes. "Is she asleep?"

"She needs her rest," Nana chimed in as Maud's words failed her.

"Oh." Marble turned to her sister again. "Well, I'm just glad you're okay. For some reason I got this really sick feeling in my tummy... I thought something might have happened to you. I guess it wasn't a big deal." The filly leaned forward and planted a soft peck on the unconscious pony. Pinkie squirmed slightly, but didn't awaken. "When you get back you can come to my bed with me, okay? We'll be sick-buddies."

"I'll be sure to bring her right back to your room." Nana Pinkie nodded. "Now go off to bed. You don't want to make yourself feel worse."

"Okay, I will." Marble let out one more squeaky cough into her hoof before turning to trot into the back of the house.

"Come, Maud. We need to go." Nana Pinkie turned to rush to the door, but she turned back when Maud didn't follow. "Maud?"

"I..." Maud was shaking, staring after her oblivious baby sister. "I..."

"Maud." Nana approached with a gentle, but stern look in her eye. "I know how you feel, but your sisters need you to be strong." She placed a hoof on Maud's chin, turning her face up to look her in the eye. "Just like you always have been. You need to do what only you can do, even in a crisis."

Maud stared up at her blankly for a moment, then nodded against her hoof. "Yes, Nana."

"Now come. The nearest doctor is some distance from here, we need to hurry."

Maud Pie followed her grandmother away from the cottage, towards the small town of Ponyville. The residents of the town eyed them curiously as they rushed through the town center towards the hospital on the Eastern edge. Pinkie's tiny body flopped against Maud's flanks she was running so fast, but she could almost feel the littler filly's breath becoming more shallow.

It felt like far too long before they entered the hospital, drawing the eyes of the doctor and nurses in the front lobby. Nana's voice was almost pleading as she spoke. "You need to help us."

Maud Pie was almost reluctant to let the nurses lift Pinkie from her back and carry her down the hallway towards the emergency rooms. As they waited, Nurse Redheart came forward to talk with them about what exactly happened. Maud answered her questions to the best of her ability, about the shifting of the ground and the boulder that had come loose from the mountainside. She did her best to keep her voice calm and easy to understand.

"The boulder just... came out of the mountain." Maud lifted her hoof from the ground. "I told her to come down. She just wanted to make Marble happy."

"Oh my goodness..." The nurse gasped when she saw Maud's waggling hoof, still cracked and flecked with blood. "You need treatment!"

Maud looked at her hoof, then up at the nurse. "I'd rather you focus on Pinkie Pie."

"Come with me, I'm not letting you leave this building without getting that hoof treated." Nurse Redheart climbed to her hooves and pulled Maud from her seat. Maud opened her mouth to complain, but Nana put a hoof on her shoulder.

"There's nothing you can do now, Maud. We'll see to Pinkie together when you get back," Nana assured her. Maud stared back at her for a moment, then let the nurse guide her into the back with a slight limp.

The wait was insufferable. Maud's hoof was cleaned up and wrapped in bandages quickly, but she and Nana Pinkie were stuck in the waiting room until she just wanted to explode. Her sister was back there suffering, she wanted to do something, anything. But Nana Pinkie told her, "Sometimes the best thing you can do is just be here."

At last, the doctor called them into his office, where he sat patiently as they entered and took their seats. "I'm sorry... but there's nothing modern medicine can do for her." He plucked his glasses from his nose with a soft sigh. "Her body is in shock, and she's barely hanging in there. The internal damage from the fall is just too extensive." He shook his head. "I can't say how long she has... but she'll likely be gone by the end of the day."

"Oh Goddess..." Nana whispered under her breath. Maud kept her face a calm mask, just the way Nana had told her. She needed to be strong. "Is there no magic...?"

"None that exists outside of stories and fairy tales." The doctor shook his head. "I'm terribly sorry. We've explored every option we have. We could move her to another hospital for a second opinion, but—"

"She might not live that long." Maud kept her voice as neutral as possible.

"That's... probable, yes." The doctor nodded.

"Oh, Pinkie..." Nana took a deep, steadying breath, with her eyes darting back and forth across the room. "Can we take her...?"

"Of course. We would want her to be with her family." The doctor stood from his desk. "We've patched her up as best we can and made her as comfortable as possible."

"Thank you..." Nana and Maud stood from their seats and left the doctor's office. Pinkie was already waiting for them in her hospital room, where one of the nurses was holding her in a small sling with one end resting on her back, and the other held slightly off the ground with a pair of wheels. Pinkie was lying in its center, her body wrapped tightly in a thick white blanket. She did look like she was resting more calmly than before, almost like she was lying on the brink between springing to life and falling asleep.

Maud stepped up to the nurse. "I'll pull that." The nurse looked up nervously, but Nana simply nodded. So Maud had the harness strapped to her midsection so she could pull her slumbering sister from the hospital out into the mostly-empty road beyond. The sun had almost buried itself in the Western horizon while they were inside, and the orange light shone in Nana's eyes as they flicked back and forth across the streets.

"What should we do?" Maud asked.

"What should we do?" Nana Pinkie echoed. Her hind legs slid out from under her, sending her rump down next to Maud. "If what they said is true... what can we do?"

Maud sat down as well, albeit with much more care as to not disturb the little sister hanging from her back. Maud wanted to say something, but nothing came to her mind. All she could say was "I don't know."

Nana sighed, rubbing a hoof over the back of her own neck. She looked toward the trees outside of Ponyville, beyond the river running down from Canterlot Mountain. Her head tilted ever-so-slightly to one side, and she squinted. "What can we do?" She repeated. "And should we do what we can do?"

Maud just blinked. "What?"

"Maud, do you..." Nana stood back up, taking a few quick breaths. "Do you remember that old story I used to tell you girls when you were smaller? The one about the princess and the traveling zebra?"

Maud blinked again, her head moving forward just a little. After a few seconds, she slowly said, "It’s real, isn’t it?"

Nana gave Maud a tiny smile, though her eyes didn't share the same happy look. "You always were the sharpest of the bunch." She nodded once. "Yes, I do believe it is."

"But that doesn't really save ponies."

Nana winced, her face twisting into a grimace for a split second. "Yes, I know what it's said to do, yes," Nana said with another nod, her eyes shifting to the dirt road.

Maud's neck curved, bringing her gaze to the limp form in the sling behind her. She could barely see the filly's chest rising and falling through the blanket. "It can't save her."

"No, it..." Nana Pinkie put a hoof to her chest, pausing to take a deep breath. "It can't save her broken body, no. It seems nopony can." Nana took a few steps along the road. "But it could save Pinkie." Maud just stared at her. Nana continued, "Her body won't last the day, but the little filly we know could live on."

"It wouldn't be the same Pinkie, would it?"

"Wouldn't it, though? I think... Would you treat her any differently? If Pinkie... if she were not your blood sister, would it change the way you feel about her?"

One of Maud's hooves shifted backwards slightly. Would it change anything? She'd still act the same, she'd still have the same smile, she'd still love her family. Would it make Maud love Pinkie any less? Maud's mouth opened slowly to answer, "No, I… I don’t think so. But..."

Nana's eyes were downcast, her rump now planted on the dirt road once more. She sighed, shutting her eyes. "I just don't know what else to do. The closest other doctors are in Canterlot. I don't think she'll make it that far. And even if she did, if what they said is true..."

Both fell silent, lost in their thoughts. Maud's eyes shifted to Pinkie again, watching the blanketed lump beside her rise and fall in time with the faint hiss of Pinkie's breaths. Her mind like clockwork labored, reaching through memory and imaginings both. Thoughts of rock candy necklaces, of shared Hearth's Warming nights, of all the parties Pinkie would tell her she was planning. Through all the images that slid through her mind, one struck her hardest. It was the sight of Marble Pie giving her twin sister what she didn't know would be a kiss goodbye.

Maud finally put an end to the silence. "Do you know where it is?"

Nana just turned back to look toward the trees to the south. From her lips came the words Maud had heard a hoofful of times by firelight.

"White river you'll chase 'til the lake is in sight. At the fork in the banks, you'll chase to the right. Into the forest where ponies dread go, Where an'mals and plants without guidance grow."

"The Everfree Forest," Maud stated.

"It's the only place I know of that fits that description. If it's real, something tells me that's where it'll be." Nana let out a slow breath through her nose, glancing over her shoulder. She opened her mouth again, but Maud was already walking past her.

"Let's go find it, then," Maud said, eyes locked on the woods down the road. Nana got to her hooves without a word and trotted up beside her. As the two stepped through the treeline, Maud thought she felt the temperature drop just a little, though she dismissed it as a trick of the mind.

Their hooves picked their way across the soft leaves and stones, over the thickening tangle of roots. Maud had to take extra care to safely carry Pinkie through it all. Following the sound of water, they slid their path eastward until the riverbank came into sight. The flowing waters seemed a sickly green rather than the clear blue it had been outside the forest's borders. Pinkie Pie twitched, catching Maud's attention. Pinkie's eyes were moving at a snail's pace, seeming to be watching a stick as it floated by. Once the stick was out of her sight, her eyelids slid shut again, and she let out a sigh. Maud tried to focus on the path ahead.

Every once in a while, Nana would pitch her muzzle up toward the canopy. Her eyes would scan the branches, as though looking for something. It didn't take Maud long to realize why, and sure enough, it wasn't too long before Nana spoke the next line of the old poem. "When the sky gives way to naught but green frond, to the east from the river bank you'll abscond."

Shortly after reciting the words, Nana stopped, for neither pony could see the dimming sky anymore. They spun in place, facing to the east, but there was naught but water before them.

"There's a river in the way."

Nana Pinkie let out a sigh. "I see that. I don't think I want to ford it. This place is said to be treacherous enough on solid ground."

Maud was walking along the bank, eyes on the water as she hummed in agreement. Her pace quickened upon sweeping her gaze upstream. "Wait," she said, trotting further along. She stopped next to an overturned tree, one end resting between two small boulders. The long-dead log stretched across the narrowed stream, its other end wedged between a similar stone and tree that still stood. Maud ran a hoof down one end of the log, remarking, "The trunk was cut. Somepony put this here."

"We may be on the right track, then. Let's be quick." Before hopping onto the makeshift bridge, Nana helped Maud secure Pinkie to the older filly’s side, leaving behind the wheeled contraption. Then Nana headed out across the rotted wood, remarking, "The poem didn't say anything about crossing on this thing."

Maud was a bit slower to follow, careful to keep Pinkie from swaying too much against her side. "The poem didn't say much at all."

Onward they trekked through the darkening woods, with Nana leading the way. Maud was sure that barely five minutes passed before the next line of the legend spilled from Nana's lips. As they slid around and under briars and bushes, she whispered, "Where the brambles are thickest, there you will find a pond beyond the most twisted of vines."

Not ten seconds later, the tangle of thorns gave way to a little clearing. The ground opened up just beyond the shrubbery into a hole big enough for maybe two-and-a-half ponies. Maud didn't even break stride, going right up to the pit and reciting, "Down the dim tunnels she made her way through."

"I'll go first." Nana slid past Maud, turning around to lower herself into the hole with but a split-second's hesitation. Maud wasn't far behind.

The tunnel itself was bare, aside from rocks sticking out here and there. Maud found herself absentmindedly trying to identify one of them when her hoof slipped, making the weight of her little sister shift next to her. Pinkie groaned a little, and Maud's mind snapped back from its momentary distraction. "Are you okay?" she asked over one shoulder. She only got a soft whimper in response.

Light struck them as they rounded the second corner. The end of the passage was near, and Maud could see a lit chamber beyond. Within seconds, they passed through the circular entrance. Their destination came into sight at last, and Nana finished the next line of the poem. "'Til the shimmering Mirror Pool came into view."

A tall, sprawling chamber of stone stood before them, the only light coming in through cracks in the ceiling and from the glowing flowers and mushrooms dotting the floor and walls. The cave floor itself was very flat and even. Like the ramp leading from the passage to the floor of the chamber, it looked carved. The walls looked natural, though. Somepony found the cave and modified it. They must have expected to come back. In the center of the chamber, right where the ramp ended, was what must have been the Mirror Pool itself. It was an elliptical pond, its water still. It seemed almost to glow as well.

Maud scratched a hoof at the flat plane carved out beneath her. "Nana Pinkie," she said suddenly, causing Pinkie Pie to stir slightly, "how did you learn about this cave?"

Nana's eyes were scanning the cave as well, her mouth hanging slightly open. She swallowed before replying, "The same way you heard it: my nana told me when I was a little filly."

The air smelled slightly of salt. Dark vines hung from the lumpy cave ceiling. No sound of wind reached the chamber. All Maud could hear was the sound of eight hooves treading down the rocky ramp, Pinkie’s breath behind her, and the echoes they all cast. The two approached the Mirror Pool, and Nana faced Maud.

"Quickly, let's take her to the water," Nana whispered, and even then, the words bounced back to them off the cave walls. It was almost as if the sounds themselves were alive in this place. Maud knelt down, bringing her belly to the ground. With gentle jaws, Nana tugged on Pinkie's sling, sliding her away from Maud's midsection. Together, the two lifted Pinkie up in their hooves, carrying her to the water's edge. Maud couldn't see the bottom of the pool, only the reflection of the cave ceiling.

Nana's eyes closed, and her mouth moved almost silently. Maud could see her lips forming words, but couldn't tell what they were. She could just barely catch her whispering, "'Til the shimmering Mirror Pool came into view." Nana opened her eyes again, and she finally spoke aloud. "And into her own reflection she stared, yearning for one whose reflection she shared..."

Pinkie's eyes fluttered open to look down at her own reflection. She blinked a few times. Her reflection didn't. Nana continued.

"... and solemnly sweared not to be scared..."

Pinkie took in a ragged breath. She let it back out. She took one in. She let it out. She didn't take in another.

"... at the prospect of being"—Maud and Nana both shuffled back with Pinkie dangling between them as a pink muzzle rose up from the pool, its ripples barely going a foot in the opaque water—"doubly mared."

A hoof reached up from the pool, landing on the stone floor and pulling up the pony it was attached to. A second Pinkie Pie stepped up onto ground, no traces of moisture anywhere on her coat or hair. She smiled, her eyes flitting between Nana and Maud, both of whom were watching her with their mouths agape. Then Pinkie's bright eyes landed on the blanketed form held between the two. "What's that?" she asked, pointing a hoof at it.

Maud and Nana's eyes met, and for just a few seconds, they shared a silent stare. Nana turned to Pinkie, replying, "It's... nothing. Don't worry about it."

"Okie-dokie." The new Pinkie gazed around at the inside of the cave, her mouth forming a circle. "Oooooh, this place is really pretty!" She hopped away from the other ponies and stuck her nose into one of the glowing flowers. "Smells like radium!" she chirped.

While the vibrant new Pinkie started jumping up to swing on the vines, Nana crouched down and brought her face nearer to the limp pony hanging between her and Maud. She nudged her granddaughter with her muzzle, whispering, "Pinkie? Can you hear me?" No response came. She leaned over, bringing her head down in front of Pinkie's mouth. She stood still for a few moments, and Pinkie's head dangled unmoving between.

Nana's nose slowly rose until her eyes met Maud's, her tears obvious. The filly sniffled once, mouthing the name of the younger sister hanging from her hooves. Maud gave Pinkie a little shake with her hooves, but still and limp she remained. Her little sister was gone.

Maud knelt down beside her lifeless sister, opening her mouth to whisper. But no words came out, try as she did to say something. So she shut her lips and kissed her sister's still-warm forehead. "Goodbye," was all she could manage. She started to stand, but found herself in Nana's embrace. Her hoof slid up to Nana's withers.

After a long minute of silence shared, they separated. Nana cleared her throat, wiping at her own eyes with a hoof. "Maud, wi—" Nana's voice cracked, and she stopped to take in a breath. More loudly, she said, "Maud, will you show your sister around the cave? There's lots of fun rocks to find, I'm sure. I have to go... and take care of something." Pinkie was swinging on a vine somewhere above, her giggles echoing about the chamber. Maud blinked at Nana, a pair of tears finally spilling over and down her cheeks. Nana lowered her voice. "Will you keep an eye on her for a few minutes? Please?"

A slow nod was all Maud did to reply, and Nana gently scooped up her granddaughter. With no more words, she walked away, stumbling once over her own hooves as she set off toward the ramp. Over her shoulder she looked back, locking eyes with Maud as the filly watched her go. Watched her little sister hang from Nana's neck until they both disappeared into the dark tunnel.

Pinkie Pie swung down from a vine, sliding to a stop on the ground beside her sister. "I found a really cool rock already, Maud! It's big and shiny and shaped like a—" Pinkie stopped suddenly, her hooves halting their wild gesturing as she saw the tears slipping down Maud's face. Her smile faded away in an instant, and she stepped closer to the other filly. "What's wrong, Maud? A-are you okay?" Pinkie glanced down at Maud's bandages. "Did you stub your hoof really hard?"

Maud didn't say anything, merely staring at Pinkie Pie, her eyes shifting to focus on each of the new filly’s ocean eyes. She looked exactly like Pinkie. She sounded exactly like Pinkie. If Maud hadn’t been there when it happened, she’d never know it wasn’t her blood sister. But she did know. But when she looked at this new filly, her pink mane starting to lose its poof as she stared at Maud in ever-increasing worry, she wasn’t sure it mattered that she wasn’t. She was still a little filly who deserved a big sister just as much. Maud sniffled and gently wrapped her forelegs around Pinkie Pie, nuzzling into the side of her neck. Pinkie hugged her back, running a hoof up and down her back.

"Maud, what's wrong? It's okay, you can tell me. I won’t blab. Pinkie promise."

But Maud remained silent, her eyes drifting from the floor to the cave entrance as Nana's hoofsteps grew too quiet to hear.

***

Maud paused her writing, eyes scanning the last few lines she'd written. The pen shifted a little in her teeth, and she brought it back to the page after a second.

I'm sorry to have kept this from you for so many years. It would be a lot to handle for a full-grown mare, and we didn't want to dump all of that on you when you were so young. Nana and I agreed to tell you at some point, but it never seemed like the right time. Now it's just me. Forgive me for not telling you directly, but I don't think I can bear to. I'm writing this because you deserve to know, Pinkie Pie. But it doesn't change what's important. You were and will always be my dear sister.

Maud

The pen dropped from her mouth into its little wooden cup on the desk, and Maud stood from the floor. She flicked the journal shut with one hoof, turned in place, and walked from her bedroom out into the hallway. She could hear murmuring from elsewhere in the house, along with Pinkie's unmistakable voice. She found Pinkie Pie indeed, sitting on a sofa in the living room with Marble at her side.

Pinkie waved at her big sister. "Marble wanted to come inside, too."

"She doesn't like crowds," Maud stated. "May I join?"

"Mmhmm..." Marble nodded slightly.

"Of course." Pinkie patted the cushion next to her. Maud sauntered to the couch and slid in next to Pinkie, putting a hoof around her. She leaned over, resting her face against Pinkie's shoulder. Marble was staring at her hooves, one of which was pawing at few loose threads, and she made no attempt to resist as Pinkie pulled her closer. The three sisters sat together in silence, hooves around one another as the sun dipped below the horizon.