Giggle at the Ghostly, Hide from the Pain

A small human girl tumbled around her Granny's living room on all fours, making a whinny sound.

"Oh, Diane, honey, you make this old lady's heart sing with happiness."

"Daddy says only God should do that.", the girl said, looking up at her Granny uncertainly.

"Your Daddy doesn't know anything about happiness. Imagine, only giving you girls ROCKS for Christmas.", the old woman fretted, her shaking hands arranging a row of cupcakes on a plate. They were beautiful, an array of chocolate and vanilla topped with pink, blue, and yellow frosting.

"Granny, granny, may I please have a cupcake?"

"Of course you can! What kind?"

"Ooh, ooh, vanilla with pink frosting!" Diana stood up, revealing a gray, modest nightgown that covered everything from her ankles to her wrists, and most of her neck. Granny handed her a cupcake and she nommed it down in one bite.

"How's school, sweetie?"

"It's okay. There are some mean people there who make fun of me and my sisters for our clothes and how we act. They say we're weird...", Diana said, looking down at the ground. Granny tilted her chin up.

"You're not weird. You're my beautiful granddaughter and that will never change." She kissed the girl on the forehead, then scooped her up and carried her to bed.

"Granny, can't I sleep with you tonight?", the child asked, her eyes darting around the dark room.

"Why would you need to do that?", Granny inquired, covering her up.

"I'm scared...", Diana whispered, her blue eyes wide. Granny chuckled.

"Diane, you gotta stand up tall, and learn to face your fear. They can't hurt you if you don't let them."

"Really?", she asked, eyes drooping sleepily.

"Really. And if you're that afraid, just laugh, and they'll go away."

"O-okay...", she yawned, snuggling into her blankets and falling asleep.

"Granny! Look at the clothes I'm going to wear to my first day of eleventh grade!" Diane skipped into the house eight years later, wearing a pair of jeans with a pink belt and a pink top, with balloons on it. Underneath, she'd layered a blue striped long-sleeved shirt. Granny looked up with a smile.

"Oh sweetheart, you look beautiful.", the old woman said, wrapping her arms around the tall teenager. "You do know your father would whoop you if he saw you dressed like that, right?"

"I know! That's why I'm gonna change after school, here!" She gave her Granny the long dress she'd normally have to wear, then pulled her back in for another hug.

"You be good today, honey.", Granny said softly. Diane nodded, and walked out the door to head to school.

That day, Diane walked through the hallways, attracting a lot of attention. Boys catcalled at her, and girls shot her envious looks. For the first time in her life, she felt pretty, the kind of pretty everyone else was.

"Diane..." The soft whisper at her side made her smile as she turned to her shy, sweet friend Shyanne. Shyanne was as much of a social reject as she, mainly due to the fact that she was kind of a child. She used animal stickers and stamps on all her assignments, and drew bunnies in the margins. Her shyness didn't help either. Diane frowned. She shouldn't be analyzing her best friend this way.

"Hiya 'Shy!", she beamed.

"Y-you look different...", Shyanne mumbled quietly, nervously twisting a lock of light pink hair.

"Of course I do silly! I'm not wearing my usual clothes!", she giggled.

"W-why not?"

"Because I wanted to be pretty!"

"You already were...", began Shyanne, only to be interrupted by a tall senior standing at her locker. He had blonde hair, and was wearing a white button down shirt with a star necklace, and black dress pants.

"Diane. As prince of the homecoming court, it's imperative that you accept my offer of a date." Shyanne squeaked slightly, burying her face in a children's animal activity book.

"As much as you flatter me, your royal meanness, I've heard of you. I heard you took that popular girl, Diamond or something, on a date, and treated her like she was your chauffer. Thanks but no thanks.", she chuckled. The boy was flustered. His mouth opened and closed, and he finally gave out a growled "Whore!" and left. Diane bit her lip, her heart giving a small, hurt pang. Then she laughed. She always did. It made the bullying hurt less.

She skipped to Granny's house after school, a hesitant Shy following her.

"Hiya Granny!", she yelled as she all but danced inside. The old woman looked up from the table.

"Hello dear. Would you like to meet your dad's new helper." A tall, strong man sat opposite her, wearing a flannel and a pair of overalls over work boots. He had golden hair, and piercing green eyes. She found herself blushing.

"Hiya! I'm Diane!"

"Eyup. I'm Mack." As she turned to grab a cookie out of the jar on the counter, the man admired her body for a second. He grinned, walking out of the house. He knew she wasn't supposed to dress like that. Granny had already told him that, trusting him. She shouldn't have.

"I think that man liked you...", Shyanne whispered, laying next to Diane on the latter's bed.

"No way, 'Shy! Don't be silly!", Diane said, back in her long, grey nightgown.

"He was staring at you in a scary way...", she said, wrapping her baby blanket, a soft, pink thing embroidered with bunnies, around herself, over her soft white nightgown, then covering herself with Diane's comforter.

"He was not.", Diane protested, cuddling up under her comforter as well. Shyanne whimpered softly into her stuffed rabbit, Angel.

"O-okay... I-if you think s-so...", she said nervously.

"I do think so."

A week later, Diane was walking home. It was late, because she'd spent most of the evening at her grandmother's house, but she had a bunch of sweet apple tarts to show for it. She started skipping and giggling. The night air was cool, and felt good on her bare skin.

"She's an evil enchantress and she does evil dances!", she sang. She'd written a song about Diamond today, and it was really catchy! She beamed happily, then stopped. There was a rustling sound behind her and she froze, goosebumps rising. Her heart raced, and she picked up her pace, sprinting. Something heavy stomped after her. She whimpered, and started running. Suddenly, she was yanked into the treeline.

"Shut up and I won't have ta kill ya." The heavy, southern-accented voice was heavy in her ear. It was Mack, her dad's new helper, and he was armed. She squeaked, terrified, as one of his hands ran over her body. It was sweaty, and hot. She heard a loud tear and before long she was naked underneath the man, a gun to her head. Tears started streaming out of her eyes.

"Laugh to make them disappear..." ,her Granny's voice whispered in her mind. She started giggling, her body trembling, her tears turning into sobs. She was determined to tune him out as he grunted into her ear, her body being brutally ripped apart. Her laughter got louder until she was in hysterics underneath him. Her mind swirled with flashes of color, and then, she was gone. into her own mind.

"Hello?" Twilight Sparkle smiled nervously at Pinkie. She gasped, then took off running. She was blissfully party planning.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!

"Sooo, watch out!"

"Catchy."

"It's a work in progress."

"More balloons! No, that's too many balloons. More candy! No, that's too much candy! Ooh, I know! STREAMERS!"

"Cupcakes cupcakes cupcakes!"

When I was a little filly and the sun was going down...

The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown...

I'd hide under my pillow

From what I thought I saw

But Granny Pie said that wasn't the way

To deal with fears at all

She said: "Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall

Learn to face your fears

You'll see that they can't hurt you

Just laugh to make them disappear."

Ha! Ha! Ha!

So, giggle at the ghostly

Guffaw at the grossly

Crack up at the creepy

Whoop it up with the weepy

Chortle at the kooky

Snortle at the spooky

And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike and leave you alone and if he thinks he can scare you then he's got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna... hahahaha... heh...

Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaauuugh!

Granny looked at her granddaughter, who had a huge grin on her face while she laid on the hospital bed.

"I love you Diane...", she said, stroking the girl's hair. She nodded at the doctor, who reached over and pulled the life switch. She didn't want to do it, but she'd been in the coma for four months, ever since they'd found her on the side of the road, laughing loudly, and hoarsely. She'd been covered in blood, and other substances she didn't even want to think about. She wouldn't wake up. The doctor's explained this was common for a rape victim, to fall into their own subconscious. It damn near killed her to hear the flat-line. She started to cry.

Rain drizzled down from a heavy gray sky. Two people stood huddled by a grave. The headstone was pink, and it read 'To a wonderful, beautiful, granddaughter and friend, Diane.' It was crude stone, bought by Shyanne and Granny's own money, but to them, it was the most beautiful tribute they'd seen, and would most likely ever see. The two women held each other tight, crying for the loss of a life. As they prepared to leave, Granny stooped down and placed a single cupcake on the grave. It was vanilla with pink frosting, and it read 'Happy Birthday Pinkie' on the top.

"Goodbye everypony!", Pinkie yelled, waving her pink hoof in the air. She was on her way back to the rock farm, so she could visit her Granny Pie for the first time since arriving in Ponyville. She gave a quick glance back. Twilight, Rarity, they were all gone. The world she had created was fading away into whiteness, and pretty soon, she realized, she'd be gone too.