Chapters Pinkie Pie leaned her head against the shower wall and blankly stared in front of her. The water softly beat down on the top of her head. She focused on just feeling the water and listening to it. The sound was almost entrancing; she averted her gaze from the wall to the shower head. She watched as the steady stream of water poured from it. She closed her eyes and thought about the sleeping pills she had taken before getting into the shower. They would eventually take effect and she would fall into a deep sleep and left to drown in the ever rising water that was gathering in the tub. The reason she was doing this was unclear to her. She just couldn’t seem to find the happiness in life like she used to, ever since what she let happen to the Cake twins while they were under her watch. Her friends had tried consoling her, but soon left her to her own devices after several failed suicide attempts. They felt they should let her work things out own her own, they said if she truly wanted to commit suicide she would do so. The feeling of abandonment sent her into a deeper depression. She sought out counseling, but couldn’t afford the payments any longer. And thus she was left in this position, standing in the shower, waiting to die, with nothing but the soothing sound of running water to keep her from backing out. She could feel herself drifting off to sleep, it wouldn’t be long now. She inhaled deeply and slumped over into the tub of water letting it all fade to black.
She awoke with a start in nothing but darkness. She blinked several times to see if her eyes could adjust and find any form of light, nothing.
“Hello? Is anyone there?” She called out. She waited a few seconds but there was no response. She stood up and looked around her, nothing but darkness for as far as she could see. She lowered her gaze to the ground, or what she thought was the ground, “So this is what it’s like to be dead, to live in an eternity of darkness.”
She picked her head up and began to walk forwards, maybe if she went far enough she would find something. After all, she had to do something for the eternity she would be here. As she walked forwards her hooves made a soft clacking sound with every step she took, as if she was walking on hard wood flooring. She listened intently on the sound, there was no echo. Meaning the space could travel on forever in all directions. The thought made her tremble, was she really going to be forced to live in this forever. What had she done? She doomed herself to nothing but darkness and emptiness.
“I guess it’s better than living sad all the time though,” She thought out loud.
She continued walking for what felt like hours, but who knows how long it truly was. The sense of time could have been different for wherever she was at. She was just about to lie down and give up when she caught a glimpse of what appeared to be a dim light. She stopped and reached up to rub her eyes. After rubbing them she blinked several times to see if her eyes weren’t just playing tricks on her. Once her vision focused, she was astonished to see that the light truly was there. She took off full gallop towards the light; she stopped just short of it and gazed upon it. It wasn’t like the light films and stories portray after you die. It was more like a light from an overhead lamp. She looked up to see if there was a beginning point, but it seemed to go on forever. Was there an end to anything in this strange place? She walked around the light, continuing to stare at it. What was its purpose? Why was this the only lit area of this never ending void? She stopped and stared at the ground beneath the light. And lying at its center was a music box, but not just any music box; it was Pound Cakes music box. Pinkie was stunned. Why was this here? Was someone trying to play some cruel joke on her, using her guilt as the punch line? She looked around to see if anyone would jump from the darkness. She couldn’t explain it but it felt as if someone or something was watching her. A chill ran down her spine. She stopped looking around and went back to the music box. Something was telling her to pick it up, some unknown force seemed to be pulling her towards it. She stepped into the light; it felt so warm and comforting. It seemed to wash her troubles away, for a short while it made her forget she was dead. It made her forget that she was trapped here, but as soon as the warmth had flooded her body it was gone again. She was brought back to reality. She looked down at the music box; she could see Pound Cakes name carved into the lid. Mr. Cake had gotten it for him his first day out of the hospital, a day after he was born. Pinkie was beginning to get choked up. She turned away from the box and began to cry. She turned back towards it and wiped the tears from her eyes. She took a few more moments to gain her composure back. After she stopped sniffling and her heart returned to her chest she reached out a hoof to touch the box. As soon as she came in contact with it the light overhead went out and a deafening beeping noise began. She threw her hooves up to cover her ears.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
It felt as if something was trying to bore its way into her skull. She began spinning around the emptiness. She pushed her hooves tighter against her ears.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
She couldn’t seem to keep the sound out. She curled up in a ball on the ground and began to tremble. She could feel the foam pouring from her mouth. It was going to kill her, but could she really die twice. She felt something trickling down her hoof; she knew her ears were bleeding.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
She bit down on her bottom lip as tightly as she could. Foam continued to pour from her mouth, and she began to tremble harder. This was what she was doomed to live, this endless torture. Her entire hoof was covered in blood and more kept coming. She guessed this was what she deserved; this is what all ponies deserved for taking the easy way out. She would suffer many more years of depression rather than having to endure this torture. Suddenly, the beeping stopped, and was replaced with a cheerful tune. She opened her eyes, to her surprise she was lying in her bed. Sunlight streamed in through the window and illuminated the room. It appeared to be early morning, maybe eight o’clock. She held her hoof up to her face, no blood. She rubbed her mouth and ears. No blood, no foam.
“Was it all a bad dream?” She asked herself, “All of it, the suicide attempt, the black void, the music box. But, it all felt so real.”
She glanced around the room and she noticed something odd. This was the room above Sugar Cube Corner. She hadn’t stayed here since before the accident. She sat up in the bed and threw the covers off of her. How did she get here? She climbed out of the bed and stood at the center of the room. She looked around her; she was having trouble grasping reality. She didn’t know what to believe was real. Could all the life she had lived after the accident been a bad dream? Or was she dreaming at this very moment. Trying to think about it too hard made her head ache. She decided to let it alone for now and try and regain her bearings. She left the bedroom and went downstairs to the bakery. It was empty; it wasn’t too much of a surprise seeing as to how it wouldn’t open for another hour. As she looked around the bakery she noticed everything appeared to be brighter even though the shutters to the shop remained closed. Everything had a certain gleam to it, as if somepony had furiously cleaned the entire shop. She shrugged it off; it was probably the effect of waking up from such a horrible nightmare. She left the front of the shop and headed into the kitchen to look for Mr. and Mrs. Cake. She pushed the swinging doors open and walked into a completely empty kitchen.
“Odd,” Pinkie muttered out loud, “the Cakes are usually up baking today’s batch by this time.”
Pinkie noticed a note lying on the counter; she walked over to it and began reading it.
“Dear Pinkie,” she read aloud, “went to Appleoosa for Southwestern Bake Off. We will be back on Saturday, look after the shop while we’re gone. Love, Mr. and Mrs. Cake.”
Pinkie turned the paper over to see if anything was written on the back, then crumpled it up and threw the note away. Pinkie still felt that something was very odd, that something wasn’t quite right. She shrugged it off and walked back into the front of the shop to lift the shutters and started cleaning the place up for business today.
Author's Note
After the flop that was Army Of Shadows, I decided to write a story more like Anything for the Trees. Longer but with the same dark story plot. I really like where this one is going and I hope it gets better reviews than AoS.
Pinkie started humming a tune, she had no idea where she had heard it from but it had been stuck in her head all day. She was just helping who she thought was the last few customers of the evening. She was actually in a pretty good mood, she couldn’t remember the last time she felt this happy, she had nearly forgotten about her nightmare. She had stopped dwelling on it and questioning whether this was all real or not. She was just about to close down the shop when Twilight walked in. As she walked into the shop she appeared to be looking for something, she kept glancing around the room really fast and slinking low to floor like a cat. Twilight was always gathering research in strange ways, so Pinkie paid no mind.
“Hey Twilight,” Pinkie said cheerfully, “I was just about to close up shop, but what can I do you for you?”
Twilight continued to slink around the room.
Pinkie shifted her eyes nervously, “Uh, Twilight, what are you doing?”
She stopped where she was, sat down and mumbled something under her breath.
“I’m sorry I didn’t catch that,” Pinkie said walking closer to Twilight, “Say it a bit louder this time.”
Twilight jolted upright, startling Pinkie. She grabbed Pinkie by the shoulders and started shouting, “It’s all wrong, all wrong! Not supposed to be here, not supposed to be here!”
Twilight let Pinkie go and clutched her head, “They won’t get out of my head! Oh, god. Get out of my head!” Twilight fell to the floor still clutching her head.
“Twilight, you’re scaring me,” Pinkie said frightened, she wanted to help Twilight, but she didn’t know what to do, “Tell me what’s wrong, who won’t get out of your head?”
“Can’t talk to you,” Twilight responded.
“Why not, what’s wrong?” Pinkie asked.
“You don’t belong here!” Twilight went back to shouting, “Not yet, unfinished business, unfinished business. Please, get out of my head.”
Pinkie had never seen Twilight this way, it was really scaring her. It was as if Twilight was possessed or something.
“Twilight, what do you mean?” Pinkie asked, “Why would I not belong here?”
Twilight picked her head up and quickly glanced around the room. She rose up on all fours and Pinkie backed up against the counter. She didn’t know what Twilight would do next; she couldn’t believe she was frightened of her own friend.
“Pinkie, what am I doing here?” Twilight asked confusedly.
“What do you mean, you walked in and started babbling nonsense,” Pinkie responded, still backed against the counter.
“Babbling nonsense, how so?” Twilight asked beginning to step closer, but when Pinkie Pie flinched she held back.
“You came into the shop slinking around and shouting, ‘It’s all wrong, not supposed to be here, not supposed be here’ and then you grabbed your head and started screaming for something to get out of it,” Pinkie explained, “It was terrifying, I didn’t know what to make of it.”
“Well that certainly is odd,” Twilight said rubbing her chin, “The last thing I remember was walking towards Sofas and Quills and next thing I know I’m here, lying on the floor.”
“So, you don’t remember any of it?” Pinkie asked, finally stepping away from the counter, “And I suppose you don’t know what you were talking about either?”
“I haven’t the slightest; it’s all very strange,” Twilight said looking at the floor quizzically, “Oh, well. That’s that I suppose.”
Pinkie Pie was astonished, “What, just like that? You’re not going to investigate, or figure out what the heck you were saying, or why you can’t remember it?”
“I don’t see any reason to investigate,” Twilight said opening the door to leave.
“You don’t see any reason to investigate?!” Pinkie asked, a bit irritated, “You came into my shop unaware, and started shouting. And you have no reason to investigate.”
Twilight paused in the doorway for a few seconds, and then turned back to Pinkie before leaving, “Nope.”
Pinkie let out an exasperated sigh after Twilight had left. Her fears were now confirmed something was clearly wrong here. What was Twilight talking about, why wasn’t she supposed to be here? And why couldn’t Twilight remember any of it, unless she was hiding something. She did seem rather keen on not figuring out what was going on, but Twilight had a terrible poker face. She couldn’t hide a lie to save her life. Pinkie rubbed her chin, everything that happened so far has been quite strange. She was beginning to question what was real again; she didn’t know what to believe. She stood pondering it a while longer, then she shook it off and began closing down the shop for the day. Maybe things would make more sense after a good night’s sleep.
As Pinkie Pie lay in bed, Twilights bantering began running through her mind. She was trying to piece it together; it was going to drive her mad trying to figure out what she meant. She rolled over onto her stomach and hid her head under her pillow, trying to keep the thoughts out so she could get some sleep. And finally, after several minutes of tossing and turning she drifted off to sleep.
Pinkie opened her eyes to find that she was back in the void of darkness, basking under an overhead light. In her lap was Pound Cakes music box, open and playing the tune she was humming earlier today. Suddenly, it came back to her. She now remembered where she had heard it from, Mr. Cake would open this music box every night for Pound Cake so he would go to sleep, and the sweet tune would fill the entire shop and coax Pinkie to sleep. Pinkie closed her eyes and let the music fill her ears. It seemed to help melt the worries about being back here away. She began humming and swaying back and forth to the tune, but as she listened something seemed to be off, the song sounded as if it were slowing down. Pinkie opened her eyes, the music box was gone. Pinkie searched the ground around her, but it was nowhere to be found. Where was the music coming from? The tune continued to slow; it now sounded less like a cheerful tune and more like a demonic chant. Pinkie stood up on all fours and glanced around the area. She didn’t know what to do; the tune was truly making her uneasy. Why was this happening? She began to hyperventilate as the song began to slow even more.
“Come on Pinkie, get ahold of yourself,” she said trying to calm her nerves, “Just keep breathing. In, out. In, out.”
Pinkies breathing returned to normal, but the tune continued to slow. It was nothing but a jumbled bit of incoherent nonsense now. Pinkie closed her eyes tightly, maybe when she opened them this nightmare would be over. She waited a few seconds and the tune came to a complete stop. She waited a few more seconds for it to start up again, nothing, complete silence. She opened her eyes and to her dismay she was stood in complete darkness. The overhead light was gone and she was left alone. She turned several time looking for light, but it was nowhere to be found. She was beginning to feel uneasy again, why was this happening to her.
“Hello!” Pinkie cried out, she didn’t expect anyone to call back. She would’ve been more scared if someone actually had, “Why is this happening to me? I just want to wake up, please, just wake up.”
Pinkie stood still for a while; she didn’t know what to do. If this was a dream, it certainly didn’t feel like one. It all felt too real, she hung her head and let out a sigh. Suddenly, her feet fell out from under her. It took her moment to realize that she was falling. She let out a yelp as she began to fall faster and faster. Acting on instinct, she stuck out her front hooves, hoping to grab hold of a wall or something. She felt her hoof scrape down what felt like cobblestone. She pulled it back in pain, she was moving too fast. It would end up scraping her hoof down to bone, but she realized that if she didn’t do it she would meet a much more painful fate if she met the ground at this speed. She took in a deep breath and stuck her hooves out, pressing as hard as she could on either side. She let out a bloodcurdling scream as the friction began to burn her hooves, she could feel herself slowing, but she was still moving too fast. She pressed harder, her hooves felt as if they were on fire. She could feel the skin being scraped off, much more of this and she wouldn’t have any front hooves left. As she slowed to descent speed, the walls ended and she was dropped with a jarring thud on the ground. She brought her front hooves up to her face, but it was too dark to see the damage. She knew though that it wasn’t pretty. She rolled over onto her back and felt something jab her. She reached under her back and cringed when it came in contact with her injured hoof, as she brought it out it made a rattling sound.
“A rattle?” Pinkie questioned, “What the…”
Pinkie trailed off as a bright light cut on behind her. It looked like an exit.
“Oh, thank Celestia,” she cried in excitement, “Finally, a way out.”
She tried to stand up, but as soon as she put pressure on her front hooves the pain was too much to bear and her legs buckled. She stared at the light, she couldn’t give up; she needed to get out of here. She moved the rattle to her left hoof, she didn’t know why she was holding on to it; she felt a certain attachment she supposed. Pinkie used her right hoof to drag herself towards the light. With each pull her hoof ignited in pain, but she wasn’t giving up, she needed to get out of this place. As she got closer to the light it began getting brighter. She closed her eyes and crawled through. As she continued to crawl, the light grew dimmer and she opened her eyes. She was lying in her bed, sunlight streamed in through the window.
“These nightmares are going to be the end of me,” she exclaimed, reaching up to rub the sweat off her forehead. As she reached up something jabbed her in the side of the head. She looked in her hoof, and in her grasp was a pink baby rattle.
Author's Note
The plot thickens...
Pinkie shrieked in terror and threw the rattle away from her. The rattle hit the wall and shattered into pieces, scattering beads and plastic about the room. Pinkie's chest began to heave uncontrollably, she felt as if she was going to be sick. Where did the rattle come from? She didn't have one in her room to grab late in the night. It couldn't have just manifested itself into her hoof from her nightmare, could it? She finally calmed her nerves enough to where she didn't feel like vomiting, so she got out of bed and went over to investigate what was left of the rattle. Maybe it was her imagination, maybe it wasn't there. She could have been seeing things, she just thought it was a rattle because of the nightmare. As she walked around her bed, her heart sank. There in the corner was the pieces of the pink baby rattle. Frankly, she didn't know why it was so startling and unnerving. Maybe it was because a rattle was the thing she was holding in her nightmare. A thought popped into Pinkies head, maybe the Cakes left the rattle in her hoof to show that they had come home early. It seemed far fetched considering the Southwestern Bake Off was never cut short, rain or shine. There was no reason for them to even consider leaving early, she guessed she was just telling her self this so she wouldn't have to accept the fact that the rattle appeared out of nowhere. She picked up the pieces of the rattle and threw them in the trash before heading downstairs to the shop.
"Yep, just as I figured," Pinkie said to herself with a sigh, "empty."
She was worried, maybe she was losing her mind. Maybe she had the rattle all along but just forgot about it.
"Ponies always said you would lose your mind," Pinkie told herself, "Look at you, talking to yourself. You have gone crazy."
Pinkie walked out the shop door and breathed in deep, after the start she had received this morning, she didn't feel like opening the shop up today. She needed a break, a chance to get some fresh air. She locked the shop behind her and went for a stroll around Ponyville. As she walked she could feel her troubles melting away. She breathed in deep and let a smile spread across her face. Maybe she was right, all she needed was a little fresh air. She entered the residential district and found something odd. She didn't see any pony around. She glanced up at the town clock and noticed it was about one. Meaning most ponies were probably in the market district shopping. She began trotting in that direction, with just a hint of pep in her step, She was feeling pretty good. The sun shone down, the bright blue sky hung overhead with not a cloud in the sky. Birds chirped and she felt as if everything was finally at peace. She breathed in deep once more and began hopping, she hadn't felt this good in a long time.
As she hopped into the market district, the streets were full of hustle and bustle of ponies buying goods, conversing or selling their wares. Pinkies smile grew larger, seeing all these ponies just brought back her old Pinkie self. As she walked past the stalls she said hello and waved at every pony she passed. As Pinkie looked about the stalls and carts she noticed all of the smiling faces and heard everypony talking and laughing. She had completely forgotten about her nightmares. She continued down the street and came to a stall selling flour and other ingredients for baking.
"I am almost out of flour," Pinkie said to herself.
Pinkie stepped into line and began humming to herself. She was feeling so good that she may go back and open up the shop.
A good five minutes later and it was Pinkies turn.
"Next," the clerk said.
Pinkie stepped forward, "Hi, can I get a small bag of..."
"Next," the clerk cut her off.
Pinkie looked at her confused, she glanced around, "yes, can I get a small bag of flour?"
The clerk just stood there, "Sir, could you please step forward. You're holding up the line."
Pinkie noticed she was looking past her, she turned around to see Doctor Hooves in a conversation with Lyra. She turned back to the clerk, "But I was in front of him.:
Yet again she just stood there, "Sir! Could you please step forward."
Finally, Lyra pointed Doctor Hooves to the clerk. Pinkie stepped out of line and let the doctor approach the counter.
Pinkie was baffled, she turned around and noticed Minuette. She walked over to her, "Did you see that? She completely ignored me."
Minuette stood there continuing to converse with the pony next to her.
"Um, Minuette," Pinkie said raising her tone, "Why is everypony ignoring me?"
She waved her hoof in front of her face, Minuette didn't even flinch.
"What the heck is going on here?" Pinkie said, her worrying feelings returning back to her, "Is this some sort of joke?"
Pinkie looked around, no one was paying any mind to her.
"Okay guys, this isn't funny!" Pinkie shouted, no one turned in her direction. She walked next to Minuette and put her hoof on her shoulder, she didn't seem to notice, it was as if she wasn't there. Pinkies chest began to heave again, this time she was sure she was going to be sick. She gagged and ran off behind one of the stalls to vomit. Once finished, she wiped her mouth and began to walk back to Sugar Cube Corner. Her fears were now confirmed, something was seriously wrong. Everything was indicating such, the reoccurring nightmares, Twilight's strange behavior yesterday, and now this. A knot was growing in the pit of her stomach. Whatever was happening she couldn't even begin to figure it out. As she rounded a corner she could see Sugar Cube Corner in the distance, and what she saw made the knot in her stomach grow larger. Sugar Cube Corner appeared to be in shambles, but not like somepony had ransacked the place, but as if it had been abandoned for many years. Pinkie sped off toward the bakery and came to a halt at the door. All the windows and doors were boarded up and a letter was nailed to the doorjam. Pinkie approached the letter and it read: "FORECLOSED DUE TO ABANDONMENT BY OWNER." Pinkie stepped back with a look of utter horror on her face.
"No, no," Pinkie stammered, "this can't be, I was just here this morning, it was in complete repair then. How could this be?"
Pinkies entire sense of reality was slowly falling around her. Had she truly lost her mind, was she even really here. She reached up and grabbed her head. Letting out a primal yell full of sobbing and anger. She didn't know what to do, so she just laid down and buried her head in her hooves and began to sob uncontrollably. She cried for what she felt was like hours, she cried well past the point of tears. All that she had left were sobs and sighs of anguish. Finally, a flickering and a slight crumbling noise caught her attention and as she raised her she noticed what it was. Sugar Cube Corner was now set ablaze, but not just the shop. The sky appeared to be on fire as well, and as it melted away, nothing but emptiness was left in it's place; pure darkness. Pinkie let out blood curdling scream of complete terror. She furiously glanced around for anypony coming to help. But they all appeared oblivious to the fire. Nothing but the skeleton of the bakery was left and nearly all of the sky was engulfed in emptiness.
"Somepony help!" Pinkie screamed, "Please, call the fire department or something!"
No one payed her any attention. Pinkie saw Octavia walking by, she ran over and placed a hoof on her shoulder to stop her. But as she did, Octavia collapsed into a pile of ash and blew away.
"AHHHH!" Pinkie shrieked, clambering backwards.
To her horror, all the ponies stopped in there place and collapsed int.o piles of ash. Pinkie began to hyperventilate.
"What the heck is going on!" she screeched, tears of terror poured down her face.
The emptiness had nearly engulfed everything, the only area untouched was the spot Pinkie was standing on and the smoldering remains of Sugar Cube Corner. Pinkie looked around at the blackness in fear, she had no idea what was happening, why it was happening, or what she could do. So, she just stood there and excepted the inevitable, she was soon engulfed by the encroaching emptiness and she felt herself begin to fall, just like in her nightmare, except this time there was nothing to slow her dissent. If the ground was quickly approaching, she wouldn't be able to see it. She closed her eyes and shortly after felt herself come to a complete halt. When she opened her eyes she was crawling through light, continuing where her nightmare left off. She realized she still had the rattle clutched tightly in her left hoof and pulling herself through with her right hoof. Her hooves were still badly injured and with each tug she could feel skin being ripped from her leg, but with each tug she could also see the light dim and an entrance or exit approach. She continued to crawl onward, and just as the pain was nearly to much to bear she reached a doorway. She released the rattle and attempted to stand up. As she put pressure on her hooves a crippling pain shot through her body. But, she just had to grin and bear it. She had to figure out why she was being put through this torture and she had a feeling the answer was on the other side of this door. She turned the knob and pushed the door open. A bright light poured from the other side, she turned her head until it dimmed down. When she looked back she was surprised to see it was the shop of Sugar Cube Corner, and across at the counter was her and the Cake twins latched to her ankles. She immediately knew what this was, it was her memory of the accident.
Author's Note
I'm sorry for the story being a bit weird and acid trippy so far. It's just the way it's playing out in my head as I write.
Tragedies
Pinkie stared in complete shock at the scene that played out in front of her. She watched as Pumpkin cake circled furiously around her doppelgangers legs, while Pound Cake fluttered just above her head. Pinkie looked away, tears beginning to form in her eyes.
She looked away, "Make it stop, please! I can't bear to watch this!"
But, as Pinkie looked back at the scene it seemed as if she was beginning to meld with the memory, and before she knew it, she was now reliving it.
"Pound Cake, you get down her this instant," Pinkie commanded as she tried to balance a mixing bowl and pan in her hooves. She was having the hardest time getting to the stove, with Pound Cake circling above like a vulture and Pumpkin Cake running around her ankles like an excited puppy. She was nearly tripped up on several occasions while preparing the cupcake mix. She finally made it to the stove, she poured the mix into the pan and place it in the oven, she placed the empty bowl on the counter and averted her attention back to the twins. With her now free hooves she reached up and plucked Pound Cake out of the air.
"Gotcha!" she exclaimed playfully messing up his mane, "Now to round up your sister." And as if cued, Pumpkin Cake came crawling hurriedly through Pinkies legs and disappeared under the kitchen table.
"That little devil!" Pinkie exclaimed, "Come on now Pumpkin, don't make me come in there after you."
But, the truth was Pinkie wanted to go after her. She always enjoyed playing with the twins, they almost had as much energy as she did, "Alright, looks like we're going to have to come get you."
She place Pound Cake on the floor and began whispering to him, "Alright, I'll go to the front of the table and you fly over to the back, she'll have nowhere to run, unless she goes to the left or right."
Pound Cake nodded in agreement and gave Pinkie a hoof bump for good luck. Pound Cake immediately took to the air and hovered over the table waiting for Pinkie to hold up her end. Pinkie hunched lower to the floor like a cat and inched closer to the table. She couldn't see Pumpkin Cake because of the table cloth draped over the table, but she had a feeling she was going to surprise her. She looked up at Pound Cake and held her hoof in the air to give him the signal. And at that they both dove under the table and smashed into each other. With the force of the collision the table toppled over, draping the table cloth over the both of them. They had been bamboozled. And as Pinkie sat that there, pouting that she had been had she could her cute giggling just outside the tablecloth. She pulled the cloth off and sure enough, there was Pumpkin Cake, laughing her head off at her little joke. Pinkie gave her a scowl and she stopped laughing. But Pinkie just couldn't stay mad at her, her scowl soon formed into a smirk and Pumpkin knew she was off the hook. She stood up and jumped into Pinkies arms and Pound Cake followed suit. They all three sat there for a few more minutes, giggling about Pumpkins trick. But, soon Pinkie noticed they were looking a bit drowsy. She glanced up at the clock, it read 8 P.M. A bit early for her bed time, but the twins were still just infants and they had long day of terrorizing Pinkie while she baked.
"Alright guys, time for bed," Pinkie instructed, placing the twins on her back after returning the table to its upright position. She walked the twins upstairs to their bedroom and gently tucked them into bed. She turned on Pound Cakes music box to help try and keep them asleep. She turned to leave but stopped in the doorway and turned back to them and whispered, "Goodnight you guys, see ya in the morning."
Once Pinkie made it to her room, she felt sleepy all of a sudden. It was strange, she never went to bed before 10 before. But, she guessed to rambunctious twins could have that effect on somepony. She crawled under the covers and laid on her back staring at the ceiling for a few moments, she couldn't help but feel she had forgotten something. She pondered it a few more moments, then shrugged it off and closed her eyes to sleep.
Pinkies nostrils flared at the smell of something peculiar, she tossed and turned a few times to try and rid her self of the smell until it finally occurred to her what the smell was. Smoke. She darted up out of bed and threw the door open, she gasped at what she saw. The hallway was ablaze, flames darted up and down the walls.
"The stove!" Pinkie remembered, but she didn't have time to worry about that now. She needed to get to the twins and get them out of here. She hunched to the floor under the smoke and crawled towards the twins bedroom. The flames had now spread to the ceiling, she needed to hurry before the entire place came down. As she got closer to their bedroom she could here the twins crying inside.
"Its okay guys, Pinkies coming!" Pinkies shouted trying to reassure them.
Finally, she made it to their bedroom doorway, but just as she was about to step into the room, a flaming beam fell from the ceiling and blocked the doorway. This sent the twins into an even worse panic attack, their crying had now became screaming.
"Don't you worry, I'm going to figure out a way to get to you," Pinkie said staring at the beam. She reached out a hoof and touched it, she quickly pulled back in pain. The beam was to hot to grab, but it was the only way she was going to get to them, "You guys hold tight, I'm coming."
She took in a deep breath and grab the beam in her hooves and began trying to lift out of the doorway. She could feel the fire burning the flesh off her hoof, she cringed in pain but continued lifting. She wanted so badly to drop the board and shake her hooves to be rid of the pain, but she wanted even more to get the twins to safety. And with one more quick thrust of force Pinkie threw the beam out of her way and rushed into the room to rescue the twins. As she got closer to their beds, she knew something was wrong. They weren't crying any more. Pinkie looked over into their cribs, they were passed out. She grabbed them up and draped them across her back. She needed to get them out of here and into the fresh air fast. She darted from the room, her injured hooves slapping hard against the floor. With every step her bed cringed in pain, but she didn't care, she needed to get them to safety. As she ran down the stairs she noticed the fire had completely engulfed the kitchen and the ceiling was starting to come down. She ran to the door and threw it open with her shoulder, arriving in the cool night air just as the ceiling collapsed on the shop. Ponies had gathered in the street to watch the horror unfold. The fire department soon arrived and took to putting out the fire. Pinkie placed the twins on the ground and tried to shake them awake. They didn't stir.
"Oh, Celestia no!" Pinkie shouted as she began crying, "No, no, no, please wake up!"
She began performing CPR on them, pushing her hooves against their chests as she counted to ten and then performing mouth to mouth. After three attempts they still hadn't awoken.
"Somepony help me!" she screamed. The EMT soon showed up and walked over to aid them. He put a stethoscope to their chests and listened for a heartbeat. His face grew solemn as he removed the stethoscope from his neck, he looked at Pinkie and shook his head. The floodgates opened and Pinkie fell back onto her back a cried up at the sky. And as Pinkie laid there the world began to dissolve around her until nothing was left but darkness, the memory was over. She continued to sob uncontrollably, coughing and screaming as tears poured from her eyes. She didn't know how long she laid there in darkness crying, she cried until she couldn't cry anymore, until no more tears came out. Only then did she sit up and droop her head to the floor and mutter, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."
Author's Note
I'm sorry for this chapter being delayed for so long, I've just been a bit preoccupied with work and other projects, but I finally got around to doing it, and I believe there is only one chapter left after this. I don't know, we will just have to see how things go, but until I get around to writing it, hope you guys have enjoyed the story so far, things have finally been revealed.
Pinkie sat in darkness, the last moments of the memory replaying in her mind like a broken record. Her eyes began to well up once more, but a noise behind her made her spin around in a start.
"Wh- who's there," she called out timidly.
"No worries, I'm only here to easy your confusion," the voice responded.
Pinkies ears perked up, she knew that voice, "Twilight?"
A light formed over her head, Pinkie closed her eyes for a few seconds to give her eyes time to adjust, once she opened them she saw Twilight step in front of her. Pinkie threw her arms around her, giving her the biggest bear hug she could muster.
"Twilight I'm so glad to see you, it's been horrible," Pinkie said, not loosening her grip around Twilight.
Twilight let out a small laugh and gently loosened Pinkies hold on her, "I'm not quite Twilight, let's just say I'm your guardian angel. I have only taken the image of one of your friends so as I won't excite you to much. I know you've been through a lot."
Pinkie had a look of utter confusion on her face.
"I know it's a bit much to take in, but it's the truth," the guardian angel said giving a small smile.
Pinkie looked at the ground, her expression moving from confused to solemn," So, if you are my guardian angel, then it is true. I really am dead."
The angels face grew solemn as well, "I'm afraid this is true as well."
"So what is this?" Pinkie said looking around, "My own private hell, the dreams, the darkness, and the memories. Am I to suffer through this for all eternity for my suicide."
"No, no, no," the angel stated in a comforting tone, "the memories were merely there to help you cope as it were. To tell you that you shouldn't dwell in the past and blame yourself for what happened."
"But, it was my fault!" Pinkie shouted, "I left the oven on, I wasn't able to save them in time. All of it was my fault."
"Yes you left the oven on, but after that the situation was out of your hooves, there was nothing you could do," the angel responded, putting a hoof around Pinkies shoulders to comfort her.
"So your telling me that it was their time to go, they were only a year old," Pinkie said snapping a bit.
The angel removed her hoof, "Not necessarily, but what I am saying is that you tried, and there was nothing more you could have done, and that you need to stop beating yourself up over it. I know it's difficult to hear, but there was really nothing you could do."
Pinkie looked down at her hooves, noticing the scars for the first time in years, she tried hard to keep herself from crying again. She turned to the angel, "So, is this hell?"
The angel shook her head, "Like I said early, only consider me as a guardian angel. I probably should have used conscious. What ponies believe to be a heaven and hell do not exist. Except going to fire and brimstone or a kingdom in the sky upon death, they will instead go into a eternal dream state. Living on in memories remixed into new ones to seem like new days. Your own private world in which you live on forever in."
Pinkie remained silent for a few more seconds, perplexed.
"But, I don't understand, "Pinkie finally responded, "Why did my "world" turn to ash, and leave me in darkness?"
"Your world collapsed due to your haunting memories remaining to plague it," the "angel" responded, "due to you still brooding on them, the world was forced to "reset" as it were. Which is were I come in to ease the suffering, to ease your mind."
Pinkie couldn't explain it, but it did feel like a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders. She genuinely felt content. Her conscious must have taken notice to this.
"Ah, there we are," she said smiling," the old Pinkie Pie I know and love."
And just like that there was a bright flash and Pinkies eyes snapped open and sunlight streamed in through her windows. Birds chirped outside, and she could hear the hustle and bustle of the ponies in the street below. Pinkie Pie sat up in bed and stretched. A huge smile spread across her face, she couldn't really recall why she was smiling, but she had a feeling that it must have been a pretty good dream. She threw the covers from her and crawled out of bed and headed downstairs to the bakery.
As she arrived in the bakery the cakes walked threw the doors.
"Ah, hello Pinkie," Mr. Cake chimed, "Man, it's good to be home. What a long trip."
Mrs. Cake followed Mr. Cake in to the kitchen and in tow were the twins. Upon seeing Pinkie they both squealed in glee and jumped a top her.
"I feel like I haven't seen you guys in ages," Pinkie Pie said tickling both of them, "I've missed you guys so much, it's been so boring around here without you."
"We've only been gone a weekend," Mr. Cake spoke up.
"I know, but it felt like an eternity," Pinkie Pie said releasing the twins and standing up.
She walked over to the window and looked out. It seemed brighter for some reason, like everything was right with the world. She couldn't put her hoof on it, but it felt as if she had been reborn. She felt like she was the happiest she had ever been, and ever will be, at this very moment. She breathed in deep and turned to help the Cakes open the shop for the day.
Author's Note
Sorry, for yet again a huge month long delay. But, I am glad to say I have finished Pinkie and I am quite pleased with this story. But, feel free to tell me how it fared for you guys. Feed back is always appreciated.
