Edge of the Coin

by Roman Empire

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 5516

Pinkie Pie goes crazy, leading Rainbow Dash into a traumatic spiral until Twilight has an idea that could save them both. Dash journeys into Pinkie's mind in order to bring her friend back from the brink.

Pinkie Pie has always been strange, but now her unique behavior has landed her on the psych ward. Her friends are distraught, of course, but none more so than Rainbow Dash. The cyan pegasus is unable to function in daily life without that ever-present party pony by her side. So when Twilight finds a spell that can save their friend, will Rainbow be able to risk the ultimate sacrifice? Will she be prepared to enter the mind... of Pinkie Pie?

Short oneshot I thought up for my creative writing final. It's my first MLP fanfiction (at least, the first that's fictional). Credit for the cover goes to Canor98 of Deviantart.

Published 2013-05-29 19:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-05-29 19:30:01 UTC

Vantage Point

“Hello, sparkly sky! Thanks for making today super-duper EXTRA happy! The flowers will be so happy that they’ll be nice and bright, and then I can pick them and give them to Fluttershy, and SHE’LL be super-duper happy, too!” After conversing with the clouds, the pink mare hopped off into the fields without a worry in the world. That is, to say, her world…

Twilight Sparkle sat by the Plexiglas window and cried softly. Rarity reached out a hoof and patted her back. Rainbow Dash and Applejack both sat in chairs nearby. All three had tears in their eyes, but they contained themselves better than Twilight. Fluttershy could not even bring herself to visit.

Meanwhile, the doctor stood by, a look of what could only be described as guilt on his face. “Ladies,” he said, “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s o-okay. It’s not y-your f-fault, Doctor,” Twilight sniffed. She looked back through the protective glass at her friend and sighed. “…But it’s not hers, either.” This was met with silence. Moments later where Twilight had been sitting, there was now a mass of crying ponies. The doctor continued to stand there, allowing the gals a few minutes to recover. Throughout the whole ordeal, humming could be heard coming from the opposite side of the Plexiglas barrier.

After the girls managed to calm themselves, the doctor walked them out to the main lobby. “Hey, Doc?” Rainbow Dash piped up. “How long are you gonna have to keep her here?” The rest of the group looked at the psychiatrist hopefully.

“I don’t know. We still don’t know how bad her condition is.” He hung his head in shame. “But it’s safe to say that she’ll be here for another six months, at the very least.”

“Six months!?” the cyan pegasus shouted, her mouth agape. “But-! But-”
“I’m sorry, Rainbow Dash!” the doctor yelled over her. “I really am! But for everypony’s safety – especially hers – we need to better understand her case! You can still visit every day, but Pinkamena Diane Pie is just too unpredictable to leave unattended!”

As if to prove his point, Pinkie got up and ran towards the glass, through which she was unable to see. The barrier itself was clear, but her mind was not allowing her to look past it. Instead, she saw an enormous lollipop, which tempted her to make the obvious move: lick it. As she sat in a field tasting the sugary hallucination, her friends watched with teary eyes as she ran her tongue over an invisible plane. She was, without a doubt, beyond understanding in her current state. It shattered her friends’ hearts, but none more so than Rainbow Dash’s. Dash couldn’t explain it, but she felt as if she had been stabbed in the heart with a hot knife. She had always been good friends with Pinkie, but now she felt as if there may have been something… more. Was there?

“We’re doing a basic psychiatric examination soon, and I don’t recommend any of you to stay.” None of the group budged. “…I thought not. If you’re not going to leave, please come with me.” The doctor led the way down a hallway to a door, through which he revealed a few potted plants, several bookcases, and a therapist’s sofa. He directed them to some chairs in the corner, which they sat down in silently.
Nurse Redheart could be heard down the hallway. “Now, now, you just stay right here, Miss Loose. Here’s your squeaky toy. Now Miss Pie, could you please follow me?” After the sound of the toy being squeaked into oblivion was heard, the nurse brought the mentally inflicted mare through. It didn’t look like a difficult task; Pinkie had a look on her face that suggested no one was home.

“Go on dear, sit down. That’s good,” she said kindly before walking off. Pinkie lay on the couch, staring at the ceiling, a thin trail of drool forming at the side of her mouth. Her friends managed to control themselves this time, allowing their eyes to get watery but not allowing the tears to fall. After a few moments, the shrink returned with a clipboard and a stack of papers.

“Now then…” he began. “What we’re going to do is a simple psychoanalysis to see just how… off your friend is. Let me warn you now that some of her answers might seem like they’re out of character for her.” The doctor paused a moment to sigh. “I am well aware of Pinkie’s reputation in Ponyville, but I think she may still surprise you during this test. Let us begin.”

Directing his attention back to Pinkie Pie, who was contenting herself by licking her hooves, the psychiatrist got out a pencil and held it to the clipboard. “Ms. Pie, can you understand me?”

Pinkie responded, turning to face the doctor as she ceased licking. “Huh? Of course I can understand you! Why wouldn’t I?” She didn’t register that her friends were in the room; rather, if she did, it had not shown on her face.

“Well, my name is Doctor Horse, and I would like to ask you a few questions today, Pinkie.”

“Okey dokey lokey!” she said, all too willing to comply with a request that stressed out most anyone else.

“Good. Let’s begin.”

And begin they did. For the next hour and a half, the psychiatrist inquired the innocent mare as she spouted off answers that would have been humorous in a lighter situation. Occasionally one of her friends would start sobbing lightly, only to be comforted by another. The doctor remained neutral, asking one question after another. The only thing that suggested he was listening was the scribbling of pencil on paper following one of Pinkie Pie’s out-of-place responses.

“Well, Miss Pie, I think we’re done here. Nurse Redheart?” The nurse returned as she was summoned to haul the afflicted young pony back to the behavioral health room. Doctor Horse directed his attention to the rest of the Mane Six. “I’m sorry you girls had to go through this.”

“We understand, Doc,” said Applejack, the others nodding in agreement.

“Can you tell us what she has?” was Rainbow’s question. Dash hadn’t shed a single tear during the examination, but her heart was heavy with the knowledge that Pinkie would not be allowed to hang out with her for a very long time.

“I’m sorry to say this, but I’m not sure.” This was met muttered confusion from the girls.

“What do you mean!? You’re a professional!” Twilight shouted, highly frustrated with someone in a knowledgeable position being unable to give her an answer.

“Please, calm down Miss Sparkle! All I can determine is that Pinkamena Diane Pie has a disorder that causes her to lose touch with reality. It’s most likely a form of schizophrenia, but there are certain… ‘qualities’ about her that suggest otherwise. You’ve probably noticed them, as you four spend so much time with her. While her view of reality is dangerously skewed, I have heard that she exhibits unusual characteristics when she gets excited. Perhaps you could explain this better to me?”

The fillies exchanged glances, remembering different occasions where Pinkie seemed to disobey the Laws of Reality themselves. Twilight thought of the time she had to keep Rarity and Fluttershy’s secrets from each other. Pinkie had scolded her from a variety of peculiar places, the most inexplicable of which was the opposite side of a mirror. She merely passed the event off as a guilt-induced hallucination. Applejack remembered the time Pinkie Pie was helping her little sister to find her cutie mark in baking cupcakes. Apple Bloom said that Pinkie was in several places at once. Applejack dismissed it as the filly’s imagination. Rarity was hung up on the day after Twilight’s arrival. As she began to break into a random song, Pinkie looked like she was hanging from the sky itself. Rarity guessed that she was just stressed about the Nightmare Moon situation, not to mention that it was pitch dark at the time. Rainbow Dash could only think of the shenanigans the two of them had gotten up to around the time Gilda had arrived. She didn’t think about any unusual events going on at the time – she just thought of how much fun they had, and how they wouldn’t be able to spend any more time together. Fresh tears had begun to leak from her eyes at these thoughts. Rainbow couldn’t imagine life without Pinkie Pie being in her face all the time. The tears burned in her eyes, and she hung her head to hide them from her friends.

It did not go unnoticed, however. Twilight wrapped a comforting hoof around Rainbow Dash to provide a comforting touch. Rainbow lost it then, bawling like nopony had ever done before. The other girls – despite having no tears left to shed – gathered around her in her moment of need. “It’ll be okay, Rainbow,” Twilight comforted. The cyan pegasus hardly dared to believe her, but she had to cling to the little shimmer of hope provided by her friend.

“Don’t worry girls – we have the some of the best treatment available to ponies from here to Canterlot. We’ll have her fixed right up and out the door sooner than you can say ‘Sonic Rainboom,’” Dr. Horse addressed them, a kind smile on his face. Picking themselves up, the four mares thanked him and headed for the door, one by one. Rainbow Dash was the last one to leave. Eyes cast down, she shuffled out the door. “Sonic Rainboom…,” she whispered, just quiet enough to go unnoticed.

**********

“Come in, Twilight. Please, have a seat. Make yourself comfortable.” Rarity closed the door to Carousel Boutique as the librarian stepped inside. Both unicorns headed for the kitchen, Twilight choosing a cushioned seat near the window. Her host levitated a tray carrying a teapot, two small saucers with teacups atop them, and a plate of tiny, triangular sandwiches. She placed it in the center of the table and took her seat opposite Twilight.

“Thank you for having me over today, Rarity,” the lavender mare said as her white friend carefully poured steaming tea into both of their cups and distributed on of the small triangles to each of them.

“It’s no trouble, dear. Really.” Rarity sipped her tea as she looked out the window at Ponyville. Twilight followed suit, leaving an awkward silence between the two.

After several moments, Twilight spoke. “It just isn’t the same.”

Rarity knew exactly what she was referring to. “I know.” She frowned into her tea, before putting the cup down on its saucer. “Fluttershy’s still being herself, but that doesn’t say much.”

“I’m not especially worried about her, Rarity.”

The fashionista let out a slow sigh and looked back to Twilight. “She’s taking it so hard. I’ve never seen Rainbow Dash in such poor condition. How long has it been?”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought. “Two weeks yesterday, I think.” Her eyes closed as she took a deep breath. “She’s been neglecting her weather duties. I heard Derpy say she hasn’t shown up for work at all. The storm clouds have been building up in the east, and they’re running out of pegasi to stay on top of it.”

“Yes, I’ve noticed,” Rarity added. “She hasn’t stopped by since then, either. Normally, she’ll keep me updated on Wonderbotlts news. I’m not overly fond of it, but I much prefer it to the way she is now. According to Applejack and Fluttershy, she hasn’t visited them, either. Have you seen her around?”

“I’ve seen her around, but she hasn’t come by the library. Her copy of Daring Doo and the Sacred Staff is due tomorrow, but I don’t think she’ll actually bring it back. The only thing I’ve seen her do is meander about town. I don’t think she leaves her house for anything except groceries.” Twilight shook her head slightly. “She’s so heartbroken.”

Another silence filled the air before Rarity stood, collecting up the teacups and plates with uneaten sandwiches using her magic and set them by the sink. Twilight understood her cue to leave, getting up and walking towards the door. “Twilight, dear,” her hostess said, stopping her. The addressed unicorn halted her hoofsteps and looked over her shoulder. The white mare spoke softly. “See if you can’t help her out. You know more about friendship and magic than any of us. Surely you can do something?”

Smiling, the lavender librarian said, “I’ll do what I can.” With that, she left the boutique and headed home.

**********

That evening at the Golden Oaks Library, Twilight rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and let out an ungraceful yawn. She closed the cover of the book she was reading – Magical Maladies and Mystical Remedies – and replaced it on the shelf. She doubted the spell she had read about would actually work, even IF somepony was willing to try it.

A moment later, a knock came at the door, interrupting Twilight from her thoughts. Trotting over to it, she opened the door to reveal an incredibly disheveled, rainbow-maned pegasus. Her jaw dropped as she took in the mare before her. “Rain… Rainbow Dash!? What’s going on? Come inside, warm up!” The unicorn ushered her friend inside and sat her down by the fire. Rainbow, who would have normally rejected such direction and make herself at home on her own, sulkily complied.

After getting settled into the chair, Twilight pulled up another and sat down and inspected Dash closely. Rainbow either didn’t notice or didn’t care. Her mane and tail were even more untidy than usual, sticking up in several places with bits of twig stuck in them. Her wings were in an equally bad state, with feathers sticking out at odd angles. What looked to be patches of dirt stained the blue coat a filthy brown color.

“Rainbow, talk to me! What’s going on? Why do you look so… beaten down?” Twilight Sparkle leaned forward, listening intently for a reply that wasn’t coming. “Rainbow Dash…?”

Rainbow had not spoken a word since entering the library, but she took a deep breath and sighed. She opened her mouth to speak, causing Twilight’s ears to perk up. “I… It’s Pinkie Pie…,” she finally choked out. As if on cue, Rainbow let out a wail – much to Twilight’s surprise – and collapsed on the floor, bawling her eyes out like a little filly. “Oh Celestia, I miss her so much, Twilight! I can’t do anything without her!” She paused for a moment to breathe, only to continue sobbing at her friend’s hooves.

Twilight had not expected this. Sure, she thought that Rainbow’s declined mood was related to Pinkie Pie’s institutionalization, but she had no idea just how badly she had been affected. “It’s okay Rainbow,” she consoled. “Shh, shh, calm down. Relax. Breathe.”

It took several minutes and a large mug of hard cider, but she finally managed to calm down the emotional mare. “Th-thanks, Twilight,” Rainbow said.

“Don’t mention it,” the unicorn said kindly. “But I’m worried about you, Rainbow.”

“Ehehe… Yeah…”

Twilight took Rainbow’s hooves in her own and held them tight. “Tell me what’s going on, Dash. We all miss Pinkie Pie, but why are you reacting so badly to this whole situation? I just need to understand.”

Pulling her hooves back, the cyan mare looked away towards a corner of the room. “I just… I miss her. It’s like…,” she started, rotating her hooves in front of her like she was trying to roll something up. “…like something died inside me.” Dash looked back at Twilight, a look of slight shame on her face intermingled with one of determination. “You have to fix her.”
“Rainbow Dash, what do you want me to do?” Twilight said, relatively disappointed that she couldn’t offer better help. Her friend sighed and put her head in her hooves, apparently ready to start up another bout of crying. At that moment, though, the unicorn recalled what she had been reading not twenty minutes earlier. “Scratch that, Rainbow! I think I know how to help!”

Rainbow watched in confusion as Twilight jumped from her seat and levitated Magical Maladies and Mystical Remedies from its place on the bookshelf. “Twilight…?” Rainbow said, just before being enveloped in a violet hue and carried to the center of the room.

“I might know what to do!” Rainbow’s face went from confusion and unhappiness to one of excitement and hope. Her eyes followed the lavender mare as she slammed the book on the table in the center of the room and began flipping through the pages furiously. She stopped as she found the desired page, motioning for Rainbow Dash to come over.

Looking over Twilight’s shoulder, the pegasus saw a strange diagram. In it, there were two ponies, one on either side of the page. Both were surrounded by a magical aura, with something that looked like a bridge of light connecting their heads. Rainbow had no idea how it was supposed to help. “Umm, Twilight? What’s this supposed to mean?”

“It means we can bring Pinkie Pie back.” Twilight turned her attention towards her friend. “Many years ago, there was a pony that got… sick… The same way Pinkie did. It turned out that she was trapped inside her own mind, unable to get free. Nopony knew what to do, but one of her unicorn friends had an idea.” She pointed at the light bridge on the pages. “She tried to connect their minds so that the pony’s sister could go in and get her out. Apparently, she was able to convince her sick sister that she was needed in the real world more than in her dream world, and both of them ended up living happy, normal lives after that,” Twilight explained.

Despite her slight misunderstanding of what she was told, Rainbow got the gist of it. “You mean… you can bring her back!?” Her face beamed with such intensity that it almost made her look presentable. She swooped into the air, pumping her hooves up and down. “Twilight, this is amazing! Why didn’t you do it before?”

The librarian sighed and dragged Rainbow Dash back to the floor with her magic. “Because I only learned about it tonight, Rainbow, and it’s very risky.” She pointed to the book. “It says that if the two individuals are not close enough, then the connection could break, stranding both minds inside one pony and leaving the other pony with no mind at all!”
Rainbow met this with an audible gulp. That was very risky. She began to pace the room, Twilight reading more of the passage on the mechanics of the spell. The blue mare was locked in a fierce internal debate. On the one hoof, she missed Pinkie Pie very much. On the other, she risked getting stuck inside Pinkie’s mind. On the one, she missed Pinkie Pie very much. On the other, she risked getting stuck inside Pinkie’s mind!

Her own mind made up, she sighed and looked at her friend. Twilight had been watching the tail-end of Rainbow’s struggle. The pegasus refused to make direct eye contact, instead choosing to examine the grain of the wood in the floor. “Let’s do it.” She picked her head up, causing Twilight to take a few steps back in shock.

Replacing Rainbow’s woeful, downcast eyes from the past two weeks were two bold magenta orbs, the fire of determination burning at their centers. Twilight knew full well that talking the mare before her out of her decision would not end well. Instead, she said, “Alright, Rainbow Dash. Just promise me one thing: be careful. This is Pinkie Pie we’re talking about. Anything is possible.”

Rainbow was unfazed. “That doesn’t matter – she needs me!”

“Then here goes nothing.” Twilight Sparkle’s horn lit up, as did Rainbow Dash’s body. “This might tingle.” Rainbow winced in anticipation, but all she felt was a warm wave wash over her, seeping into her bones, filling up every fiber of her being. Her vision became blurry, so she closed her eyes. The last thing she heard was Twilight saying, “Good luck, Rainbow!” After that, Rainbow felt herself collapse on the ground, out cold.

**********

Rainbow Dash stood up, her head feeling as if a piano had been dropped on it. She opened her eyes and looked around. She was no longer in Twilight’s library home. She was standing in the middle of Ponyville, right outside Sugarcube Corner. Scratching her head, she suspected the spell had failed, instead teleporting her into town. The sun beat down on her back as she assessed the situation.

Well, I could ask Twilight to try again, she thought to herself. Her wings ruffled in the wind. Why’s it so hot out? Jeez. Then it hit her. “Sunlight…?” As Rainbow recalled, she had been at Twilight’s Library. At night. Glancing up at the orange celestial orb, the blue mare nearly fainted at what she saw.

Where the sun had once been was now a huge, comical smiley face. “Oh yeah. I’m in Pinkie’s mind,” she muttered. She looked around her, taking in her new surroundings. She was still in the same old Ponyville, it looked like. However, she spotted a few notable differences. First, other than the sun, Rainbow noticed that everything seemed brighter – the trees, the buildings, even the dirt were all more vibrant than they should have naturally been.

Dismissing that peculiarity, Dash moved on to the next strange occurrence: where was everypony? As if to answer her unspoken question, the sound of a dish breaking snapped Dash back into “reality.” She looked up at the bakery in front of her. It sounded like the suspicious noise had come from upstairs. Without wasting another thought, Rainbow Dash flew inside the shop and straight up the stairs before crashing through a locked door, busting it off its hinges.

The sight before her made her heart stop. It was as if the pegasus was having a nightmare of the worst kind. Pinkie sat on a little wooden stool, her mane flowing straight down her back. “Oh Celestia, no.” The pink earth pony turned to face her, a psychotic smile plastered on her face, her eyes twitching occasionally. “Pinkie Pie…?” Rainbow said, withdrawing from the mare, utterly afraid of what her friend might do.

Pinkie cocked her head to the side, worsening the appearance of the state of her sanity. “Rainbow Dash, where were you!?” Her smile widened, her pupils sliding to opposing sides of her face. “The party started two hours ago! Come on!” Before Rainbow could fully comprehend the situation, a party hat had been slapped on her head and she had been dragged out into a cleared out part of the room – a makeshift dance floor. “Now it’s a party!” Pinkie began slapping her flank against Rainbow’s, jamming to a music that had no true source, emanating from the walls.

Trying to get a handle on the situation, Rainbow called out over the music. “Pinkie! PINKIE!” Her friend continued to jerk and twist in her dance. “PIIIIINKIIIIIEEE!” This got her attention well enough. She froze mid-dance, causing the music to abruptly end. “Pinkie, you have to listen to me. We need to get out of here!”

“But Dashie,” she said, turning to her friend and assuming a normal posture, “we can’t leave! The author won’t have a story to write if we do!”
“Pinkie Pie, this isn’t real. We’re in your mind!” Dash swung her forelegs around, trying to get her point across. “You’re in a crazy home right now, and I’m at the library!”

Without missing a beat, the psychotic mare said, “Oh, I know I’m in an institution, silly! It’s the perfect place to party forever!”

Rainbow Dash’s heart stopped for several beats. She was prepared for just about anything, but she was not prepared for her friend to actually realize she was insane. Even worse, she was okay with it. “P-Pinkie Pie? What are you talking about?”

“I figure that as long as I stay here, the party will never have to end!” Her smile looked like it would hurt her face. If it was, she wasn’t showing it. “Ever.”

“Are your parties that important to you, Pinkie?” Dash inquired.

Jumping into the air, Pinkie Pie exclaimed, “Yeeeesss!” She hit the floor and began dancing again, the music restarting to accommodate her.

The pegasus was unable to react for several seconds. She dropped down, her legs no longer willing to support her weight. Her friend wanted nothing – and apparently nothing – more than throwing an eternal fiesta. It took a lot out of her to hear those words. Her face slipped into a frown as she looked at the disturbed pink pony. Eye contact was made for a moment, causing Pinkie to pause in her spastic motions. “We need you, Pinkie. …I-I need you.”

Finally, something seemed to worm its way through the party-filled façade. “…R-Rainbow…?” Pinkie’s smile faltered, a few strands of her hair coiling up. This set off something even bigger. Rainbow’s ears twitched at a low rumbling sound. As if by sheer instinct, the pegasus fluttered over to the window and looked out. She squinted into the distance, not quite processing what she was seeing. It looked as if the land was falling, collapsing into nothingness.

“What the…?” was all she said before the buildings on the edge of town began to slip into the ground. The bright blue sky had faded to black, the smiling sun vanishing into thin air. Rainbow Dash couldn’t see the horizon any more, but she wasn’t concerned with that. She was concerned with only one thing at the moment.

Zooming back through the room, she scooped up a surprised Pinkie Pie in her forelegs and flew out the window. By now, she had begun to panic, sweat beginning to drip down her forehead as she raced the landscape around her falling into the abyss. Pinkie held tight to Rainbow, her eyes reflecting no joy and all fear.

Beneath them, the ground continued to collapse. Rainbow backtracked, trying to stay over something solid. It became quickly apparent that there was nowhere left to turn. She hovered in the air, her pink friend shaking in her grip. Abandoning the blind hope she was clinging to, Rainbow Dash looked at Pinkie. She had her eyes closed tight, but a few tears were leaking through. “I’m scared, Dashie.”

Running a hoof through her mane, Rainbow smiled. “I know. But it’s okay, Pinkie. I’m here for you.” She kissed the top of Pinkie’s head and pulled her into a hug. “I’ve always been here for you. You’re like a sister to me, Pinkie. Sisters look out for each other.”

The terrified pegasus continued to embrace her earthbound friend, tears streaming from her eyes as well. The ground was all but gone now. Both mares felt that this was going to be the end, but neither noticed as Pinkie Pie’s hair began to coil up into its usual springy self. Then the two let out screams, feeling the rest of the world fall into the black hole beneath them.

**********

“AAAAAAHHHHH!!!” Rainbow Dash woke with a start, screaming her head off, bullets of sweat speeding down her forehead. She sat up in bed and wiped it off, her heart racing a mile a minute. Her mind was still trying to fly away, but the sleep-induced paralysis had not worn off of her wings yet. She heard a pounding sound, thinking it was coming from inside her own head until the door to her room was thrown open.

A small group of ponies barged into the room, Twilight Sparkle at the front of the pack. “Rainbow Dash! Are you alright!?” Within a moment she was at the cyan pegasus’ bedside.

Her breath finally starting to catch up to her, Rainbow realized that she wasn’t in her own bed, and this wasn’t her own house. Looking at the walls, she saw books all around her. This was Twilight’s house. Rainbow returned her attention to the unicorn in question. “What…? Where…?”

“Hold on there, Sugarcube. Just relax now.” Her eyes wandered to the new speaker with her cowpony hat.

“…Applejack?”

“It’s alright, Rainbow. Everything’s okay now,” Twilight comforted.“You’re in my house. Our friends are all here.” True enough, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack were standing alongside Twilight, crowded around the bed. This comforted Dash a little bit.

The comforting feeling faded as the rainbow-maned mare recalled just why she was in the library. She leaned back in the bed as a cold truth hit her in the face. “…I failed. I couldn’t save Pinkie Pie.” Tears began to well up in her eyes and she looked down, unwilling to face her friends. “I couldn’t save her…”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say tha~at!” a singsong voice called from behind the group.
Rainbow Dash’s head snapped up and the tears stopped flowing immediately. “P-Pinkie Pie!?”
The four smiling ponies parted, revealing a fifth, previously unnoticed member. Her pink hooves echoed on the floor as she stepped forward. Her poufy mane bounced with each step. Her smile looked kind of blurry, as if she were choking back tears. “Hi, Dashie.” The tone in her voice strongly supported that idea.

Rainbow’s mind was spinning. “But… how are you here? You were in the hospital, and… and I lost you in the darkness…”

She was silenced by her friend shaking her head. “No, you didn’t. You made me realize how much I love my friends; how much I love you, Dashie.” Pinkie approached Rainbow, a tear materializing in the corner of her eye. The others in the room remained silent, letting the scene play out on its own. “I never thought about it before, but you’ve always been there for me, Dashie. You cheered me up when I was sad. We pulled pranks together and had a blast. I-” she choked, her words catching in her throat. “When I was gone… I-I thought I’d never see you again. And… and I was okay with it!” At this, the usually peppy pony broke down, tears following tears as she lay on the ground in a crumpled heap. “I was okay with i-i-i-i-it!” Her voice came out in strangled sobs.

Unable to completely process the raw emotion in the room, Dash leapt from Twilight’s bed and ran up to Pinkie, wrapping her hooves around her in a vice grip. “I’m here Pinkie. It’s all over now. We don’t have to worry anymore!” Everypony in the room was now sobbing uncontrollably, but Rainbow still managed to speak clearly. “I’ll always be here for you, Pinkie.”

**********

After the moving events in her bedroom, Twilight explained what had happened to Rainbow Dash. Apparently, she had gone into a vague trance, unresponsive to the outside world. Twilight put her in bed to keep her comfortable should she ever awaken. Rainbow was very surprised to hear that she had been gone for three days. The trance had ended sometime during the second day, but the pegasus had slipped into a deep sleep. Suspecting something had happened, Twilight checked up on Pinkie Pie at the hospital. The doctors there were baffled to see Pinkie Pie in her usual eccentric self, but completely sane, for all intents and purposes. The unicorn explained the spell she had found to them, and they understood immediately why their pink patient had been healed. Unable to detect any trace of true psychotic behavior, Pinkie was released by the staff, who warned that she was still at risk. “But if this Rainbow Dash is this close to you, I’m sure she will happily do what it takes to bring you back,” Doctor Horse had said. He was truly happy with the outcome of the scenario.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today I learned that no matter what happens, your friends will always be there for you. They are willing to take great risks to make sure that you are safe and happy. No matter what the obstacle, they will face it with doubtless determination. And when they do that, you sometimes realize that they are like a family to you, caring for you and helping you as if you were sisters. That bond, between family and friends, is truly magical.

Twilight glanced out her window when she heard the sound of an air horn. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie could be seen rolling on the ground, laughing hysterically, as Rarity rubbed her ear tenderly before cracking a smile as well. The purple mare chuckled at this and rolled up Pinkie Pie’s letter, thinking, Things are finally back to normal.

Author's Note

This is my magnum opus for creative writing class. It's also my first fictional pony fanfic. Please rate and review honestly. We wouldn't want to hurt anypony's feelings, now would we? Hope you enjoyed the story. Here's 'til next time. Cheers.