> Laughter > by Di-o-S > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Laugh > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A laugh rang out, clear as a summer's sky, more beautiful than any musical masterpiece; uplifting to those that heard it. Was it a queen or perchance was it a pony with a talent for such things as music? The answer is easier than you might have thought. So, simple that great minds might have overlooked it, it was a mare by the name of Pinkie Pie. But, as such, this is not my story to tell and is better left in the hands of its maker. Laughter, what a beautiful thing, of all the things that excite and fill me with wonder. Laughter remains at the top, so pure, signifying if another pony is happy, yet, it can be tainted by vile things. Vile things, however, are not what brings laughter to my ears, but joy, excitement and a joke or two. Parties, too, bring laughter among fun and a little bit of stress relief: music in the air, ponies having fun with not a care in the world, the silly and crazy things ponies might do just in the name of fun. Ponies danced to the sound of music coming from the two massive amps that stood tall above the crowd. The noise was deafening, the crowd continued in their activities, heedless of it. I stood near the edge of the crowd, my head swinging side to side with the beat. "Fantastic party, as always, Pinkie!" a pony shouted from the crowd at me. "Thanks! It no biggie, though as long as your having fun!" I shout back to him with a smile on my face. Such good-natured ponies. "Hey, look! I made it all the way up here with no magic!" an earthpony mare said, grinning wildly. The crowd below took this as another event of the night and cheered up at her. "And now I will fly without wings!" this was treated with skepticism. That was until she jumped off. The other ponies around me gasped in shock and horror. I sat there with a knowing smile. Before she met the ground two pegasi, from places unseen, flew out and caught her. They flew over the crowd with her in their hoofs. "Safe and sound, let the party continue!" she said smiling at the ponies reactions to her stunt. Some ponies grumbled at the danger of it, but the party's mood swept that away quickly. There's always one pony like that at parties like these. I enjoyed it because it brought a fresh sense of wonder. Even if I knew a pony was going to do something crazy I wouldn't stop them, save if it was too dangerous. As is the thoughts of the past, change in the future. While making a pony laugh is nice to hear, it's a friend's laugh that I feel is missed the most when it is absent. Like the six strings of a guitar a laugh may be, excited and bubbly, have a twang to it, pure and rich, complex and thought-out, long and deep or quiet and soft-spoken. Such a difference to them! So, many difference's that I notice and cherish with all my heart. Memories of things long passed, cross my mind often. "Perfect! Now wait for my signal," I said to Rainbow Dash, who hid in a cloud above. Sneakily, I walked over to the window that looked into the building. Spike was inside carrying a bundle of scrolls while humming a familiar tune. Once he left the building out the front door, I gave Rainbow Dash the signal. Rainbow Dash, in turn, kicked the cloud next to her, which let out a loud boom of thunder. Spike dropped the scrolls in surprise at the sudden noise and started hiccuping a moment later. Me and Rainbow Dash started laughing at the turnout of our prank. Such a, pure, bright, memory that always stuck out. Whenever the fogs of forgetfulness would try to shroud it, I would push the fog away. Push it away from the one thing left from a time where my memory is failing me. I clung on to it, hoping, wishing, that it wouldn't desert me. As I tried yet again to push the fog back, I heard an echoing laugh. It was not a cruel, twisted laugh that stung the heart like barbs, but uplifting, bubbly, and full of happiness. I looked up, out, deep in the fog, was a bright light. It pushed the fog away from it. The laugh sounded familiar, so familiar, almost as if it was my own. An old curiosity was stirred up inside me. I took a hoofstep forward, only to find that I couldn't take another. Looking back I saw that my two front hoofs were still cradling the memory I had protected for so long. The strange light laughed again as if it was beckoning me. Taking a shaky breath, I slowly and painfully, withdrew my hoofs from the orb. I only took a few steps before I couldn't stand it anymore. I turned around just in time to see the memory, I had so carefully defended, be consumed by the fog. Unconsciously I cried out, for I could feel the memory fading until I didn't know what had been there. I knew I loved it, for I could feel the emotion along with sorrow at its loss. I stood there in the vast emptiness of my mind, wondering. A laugh sounded behind me. Turning around, I saw, yet again the light that pierced the darkness. Having nowhere to go, I walked toward it, driven by emotions to complex for words. Once, I reached it the light grew blinding, and I knew no more. Opening my eyes I say my bedroom, everything still as I left it, if a bit more dreary. I was about to think about that laugh when it came to me, a ghost of a smile touched my lips. And I laughed for the laugh I heard was my own, a torch in the dark bringing me back out of a pit I had dug for myself. A tear touched my eye, not of sadness, but of joy. Even if my friends are gone, spread about the world having already found their true calling, I should not have brooded about, but instead begin anew by bringing laughter to the world, even the most remote places. Maybe, this would not only help others but me as well, I still had to dig myself out of the hole, and I would do so with time. -End-