Pinkie back home

by Guillderay

Rating: teen
Tags: Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Sad, Main 6
Length: 8880

Breeze, a big pegasus is sent to Ponyville to tell Pinkie pie that her father is dying.

Breeze, a big pegasus is sent to Ponyville to tell Pinkie pie that her father is dying. all he has as help to find her, is a picture of a little sad filly. he has never seen this pony before, nor has he ever been in Ponyville. will he be able to find her? will she come back to the rock farm to say goodbye to her dying father? will she be able to grant him his one final wish?

Published 2012-03-16 02:04:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-04-08 21:59:10 UTC

chapter 1

”Please find her”... Those were the last words they said to me before i closed the door, and started walking towards Ponyville. I can’t help but to think of how they are doing now, or even more importantly, how’s the old man doing? I knew he wasn’t as strong as he used to be, but I thought that he was just getting older.

They’ve taken such good care of me all these years. They’ve given me a home, food, work and a family, so seeing Mrs. Pie with tears in her eyes was one of the most heart crushing things I have ever witnessed.

“He’s not going to get out of bed. Not this time”, she said before issuing me with this task. I can’t say that I have much to go on. If I even manage to find this so called “Ponyville”, will I even be able to find her in time? All Mrs. Pie could give me as help to find Pinkamena, was a picture of a young, sad filly. The picture makes me somewhat sad when I look at it. I know life on the rock farm isn’t full of fun, but this filly seems to hide many deep feelings, as if she is reaching out for something more than just the rocky wastes. I can hardly blame her for leaving the rock farm, as the only thing keeping me there was the bond I have with Mr. and Mrs. Pie.

It feels like I have been walking for hours now. It might be a good idea to have a look at the map, so I know if I’m getting any closer. As I take off my saddlebags, I decide that this place is a good spot to eat my lunch. The weather here is nice, but then again, I can see plenty of weather Pegasi soaring through the sky, playfully attacking every cloud they see. I can’t help but envy them a little. Even though I’m a Pegasus myself, I can’t fly and I probably will never be able to. Last time I tried to flap my wings, I ended up dislocating both of them, and severing some muscles. Now I know that I can only unfurl them, but that’s as far as I can take it. One of the Pegasi seems incredibly acrobatic and fast to me. As far as I can see, she’s the fastest of the lot, and she makes doing loops and spins seem like child’s play. It also seems like there’s a rainbow trailing her path, but that must be my eyes playing tricks on me.

As I finish up my lunch I have come to a conclusion. I have no idea where I am, and I am lost. I’ve got to find somepony to show me directions, because this map is too old to be reliable. It took me about 5 minutes to figure out, that the path I’m following isn’t even on this map.

“That’s a mighty old map you’ve got there”

The deep voice entering my left ear startles me. How could I not have heard this big stallion approach me? He’s huge. In fact, he’s almost as big as I am. As I turn around to face the red giant, I notice that he’s carrying two big saddlebags, filled almost to the point of bursting, with big, red apples.

“Uhm, hi!” I say surprised. “I’m sorry to bother you sir, but could you point me to the direction of a town called 'Ponyville'? I seem to have lost my way”.

The orange haired stallion quickly answers me “Ponyville, eh? I’m heading there right now. you’re welcome to follow me”. It seems I can finally get to Ponyville.

** ** ** **

As we enter Ponyville, I’m almost cursing my navigation skills. Was it really this close to where I had met this guy? We have only been walking for a couple of minutes, and we are already here. I can’t help but looking around, taking in the scenery. This town is so full of life. I had no idea how big this place was, but then again, I never really left the rock farm. The only occasion I left it, was a trip to the hospital, but I didn’t really see anything, since I was too focused on the pain in my wings at the time.

After a long time of silence, the red stallion finally speaks. “so, what’s your name stranger?” This is the first time in many years someone has asked me that question.

“I’m Breeze. What’s your name?”

“Macintosh, but my friends call me Big Macintosh” he replied with a gentle smile on his face. I can’t imagine this guy has conversations often, so this must be a happy experience for him.

As I get my mind back on the task at hand, I reach into my saddlebag to find the picture of Pinkamena. As I show it to Big Macintosh and ask if he knows this filly, he stares at it for quite some time. He states that she does look familiar, but he’s not sure if he knows her. “I’ve never seen a pony with hair like that, and the name Pinkamena doesn’t ring a bell. Maybe my sis knows. She knows everypony in this town.” As he says this, we’ve reached something that looks like a market place. There are all kinds of grocers here, every single one of them selling different products. The area itself seems to be quite large to for such a small town. I guess we are in the center of Ponyville by now.

“There you are, big brother. What took you so long?” the female voice comes from one of the shop carts. I had imagined this guy’s sister being somewhat huge, but to my surprise she looked just like an average earth pony, except for the brown cowboy hat resting on her head.

“Just helped a lost pony find his way here, sis.” The gentle giant said, still with a smile on his face. The orange mare can’t seem to take her eyes off me, and I can’t blame her. I wish it were my stunning good looks that had taken her breath away, but I can’t imagine that she sees ponies that rival her brother in size that often

As the blonde cowpony snaps back to reality, she quickly shakes my hoof to break the awkward silence. “Well howdy, stranger. My name’s Applejack. Welcome to Ponyville.” For a pony her size, her hoof shake is ridiculously strong.

“Hi. My name is Breeze.” I reply, my words coming somewhat shaken out of my mouth due to the rough handshake.

“So big guy, what brings you to our fine town?” I show her the picture of the sad little filly from the rock farm, and she identifies the pony faster than her brother could say her name. “That there’s Pinkie Pie. She’s always throwing parties and making everypony smile.”

The description didn’t seem to match something I’d see in this picture. Could this emotionally crushed filly throw parties, and could she make other ponies smile, when she clearly had nothing to smile about herself? Or am I just judging this pony from a picture? I think about these questions I have for a second, but one thing does make sense. Pinkie Pie does sound kind of close to Pinkamena Pie, so it could be her. The orange mare pads me on the shoulder to get my attention. “I’m heading for the library to meet the gang. Pinkie Pie might be there, so why don’t you tag along?” while I’m wondering how she can just abandon her store in the middle of the day, Big Macintosh is already selling apples to customers from the same spot, so I let that go and follow Applejack.

** ** ** **

When we get to the library, Applejack knocks on the door. Her strong hooves can sure knock gently when she wants them to. “Come in.” I hear a female voice yell from inside. As we enter the library, I can’t help but be amazed at how many books there are in this place. There’s everything you would need to know, and even more. I’ve never been inside a library before, so this is pretty amazing for me. The only books I’ve read are about rocks. While Applejack is greeting her friends, I am still checking out this wonderful place, as if it was the last time I’d ever see a library. From what I can hear, there are 4 other ponies inside this room except for me and Applejack. 3 of the voices I have never heard before, but one sounds familiar.
As I turn around, Applejack is introducing me to her friends.

“Everypony, this is-“

“ BREEZE!!!”

one of the ponies interrupts Applejacks introduction with a scream of joy. When I look around to see where this voice is coming from, my eyes finally find her. My eyes start producing small pearls of tear when I see who it is. Who would have known that she had been here for all those years? I am so happy, that I can’t pronounce her name. after all, I haven’t used this name in at least a decade. The 4 other mares stare at their friend with priceless expressions of a thousand questions on their faces. I don’t blame them, to be honest, because this particular pony used to be very shy, and probably still is.

As the tears start streaming down my cheeks, I can finally find the name I’ve not said for several years. At long last, I get to address my dear childhood friend again. Running towards her to embrace her in a hug. I finally utter her name in a happy shout.

“FLUTTERSHY!!!”

chapter 2

When Fluttershy and I finally let each other free from our embrace, we finally notice that the other ponies are asking all sorts of questions, but the one everypony is focusing the most on, is where Fluttershy knows me from.

“We went to kindergarten together in Cloudsdale, but got separated about 2 weeks before Rainbow dash’s first sonic rainboom” Fluttershy said while smiling at her friends.

“Yeah, it’s a bummer that flight school made you so busy. I really missed you since I wasn’t exactly qualified to go there” I said with a light chuckle.

Fluttershy’s smile faded away as she got reminded about the state of my wings. I don’t blame her for forgetting. It’s been a long time after all. After a few seconds, she finally breaks the silence.“So… how are your wings? Have they fully healed? Can you fly now?” she asks, hiding her face in her mane as she often does. She truly hasn’t changed a bit in that regard.

“No, I still can’t fly, and I will probably never be able to. My wings have healed as much as they can and I can unfold them, but if I try to flap them they start to ache and have a high risk of dislocating.” I shudder as I mention this, getting reminded of the horrifying pain my little “experiment” brought me last time I tried to flap my wings.

As everypony searches for words to say, a blue Pegasus with a colorful rainbow mane looks at me with a face which only shows signs of pity and sadness. I remember seeing her clearing the skies while I was eating my lunch. I’d imagine that with the acrobatic display she did in the sky, most of her life must involve flying, so hearing about a permanently grounded Pegasus must hit her somewhat hard.“You… you can’t fly? How come?” the blue Pegasus asks, droplets of tears beginning to form in her eyes.

“And where have you been all these years? I went to Cloudsdale a few times to look for you, but you were nowhere to be found.” Fluttershy added. As I feel a little overwhelmed by the wave of questions, I try to get back on track.

“I will tell you all about it later, but first I must find Pinkamena. I have important news for her” I say, trying to push these questions aside for later.

“Pinkie Pie is very busy today. The bakery she works and lives at got an order for a wedding, and they need to finish up tonight. The couple mentioned that they wanted to get married during full moon. We can probably catch her once the bakery closes, which it does in three hours.” A purple unicorn quickly says, clearly curious about knowing the answers to my past. With magic, she quickly pulls a table and 6 chairs to the center of the library, and sends her small purple dragon to get us all something to drink.

“While we’re waiting for Sugar Cube Corner to close for the day, you simply must tell us your story darling” I hear the white unicorn say.
As I see no way to delay my story, I simply sigh and tell them the whole thing.

** ** ** **

The accident that destroyed my wings happened when I was about three months old, so I only know that story as my mother used to tell it to me. I was a baby foal, and my parents were as happy as can be. After all, they had a healthy colt and one of the largest houses in all of Glacier Summit. The city was named after its founder, Storming Glacier, who was a retired Wonderbolt. It was not a large city. In fact, it was small enough to be called a town just 2 years earlier. It was a classic mountain city, but for a Pegasus city it was rather strange. It had no houses built out of cloud. The weather simply didn’t allow it. There was also the danger of unnecessary construction causing an avalanche, since building houses from different cloud types usually had a chance of causing thunderstorms.

Only my mother and I were home during the day, as my father was a very busy weather pony. The weather in this land didn’t always bend itself to Pegasi will and hooves, so there was a lot to be done to keep snow storms under control. Mother had no problems with her having to stay at home and watch me. She had plenty of stuff to do during the day. If she wasn’t cleaning or cooking, one of her big hobbies was cloud sculpting. Every toy I’ve ever owned was hoof made by my mother and some of the furniture in the living room was made of cloud. I remember nothing from Glacier Summit myself, but it all sounded like a happy and wonderful life. On the day of the accident, my father was busy as always with weather related work, and my mother was making something nice out of cloud, to bring a smile to his face after a hard day’s work.
As she was in deep concentration, a loud thunderous roar sounded from outside. When she went to the window to see if she could figure out what was roaring, she heard a knock on the door. As she opened it, a sweaty, frightened weather Pegasus told her that there’s an avalanche on its way down the mountain, and it would eventually hit the city dead on. He flew off, telling mother that her husband was on his way, and she might want to pack up our belongings and prepare to evacuate. Panicked by all of this, my mother started packing up important things and memories, hoping to be ready to leave Glacier Summit when her husband finally came home. She had only packed food, diapers and pacifiers when the entire house started shaking. The avalanche had stopped before it reached half way through the city, but it still managed to hit our house slightly. The force of the impact sent my mother flying into a wall, the crib where I lay was knocked over, and our fine, very old and very heavy china cabinet fell. The china cabinet landed right beside me. It didn’t crush me, but a foal’s scream was heard nonetheless. When my mother finally got back up on her feet, she could see that the cabinet had landed on my wings, and it had broken them. Panicking even more than before, she started to comfort me while she tried to lift the heavy cabinet to get me free.

She quickly found out that she wasn’t strong enough to lift it, and then started singing me to ease until my father finally barged in. he quickly told his wife that there was a second avalanche coming, this one being much bigger than the one that had just hit the house. My mother started to fear for the fate of her child once she realized that not even the big stallion she married could lift the cabinet even an inch from the ground. They almost got into a heated fight about how to get me free, as none of them seemed to have a good plan. If they were to simply pull me out, the cabinet might rip my wings off.
My father started franticly kicking the wooden object, and my mother kept checking on me. Tears were brought to the eyes of the two Pegasi, as they could hear small bones crack with every kick. After several torturous minutes of kicking the cabinet, I was free. My parents were horrified at what they saw. My wings were stripped of almost every feather, they were bleeding heavily, and had lost their original shape since the bones no longer had a certain structure. Ignoring every piece of their belongings, they rushed me to Cloudsdale hospital.

They had never been so nervous in their lives. The time they had to wait in the hallway seemed to pass by mercilessly slow. The doctors kept working on me for the rest of the night, to try to shape my wings back into something that looked like Pegasus wings. After thirteen cruel hours, a doctor finally came out to my parents to tell them about my condition. My mother went pale and broke down, and my father fumed with rage. The doctor told them that in order to save me, he might have to amputate my wings. After settling down the angry stallion, the couple asked whether amputation was the only way. There was an experimental practice involving high risk magic which might allow me to keep my wings, but there wasn’t but a 15 percent chance for it to fully restore them. There was also, as always, chance of the result being my death. After a long time talking back and forth, my parents agreed to try the magic procedure.

** ** ** **

Before I could finish my story, the blue Pegasus interrupted me.

“So, what happened? Did it work?” she asked, her forehead being pressed against mine as if she thought that might rush out some answers. This mare surprises me. She seemed so rough and tough before, but now she’s crying more than anypony has ever done while hearing my story. Fluttershy and the purple maned white unicorn have tears in their eyes, but this mare is bawling her eyes out. Feeling sorry for her I grant her wish, and the story reaches its conclusion.

“It worked… but not entirely. While it was effective enough to restore the bones in my wings, the tissue was severely damaged, and the spell they had used was mainly focused on bone manipulation. It was not very good for restoring tissue. There was a chance of my wings healing completely over time, but that has never happened and it probably never will. I’ve learned to live with it though.” I said with a heavy sigh.

As everypony is searching for the words to break the tensing silence, Fluttershy is the first one to open her mouth.
“I’ve often wondered this. When did you leave Cloudsdale? I’ve tried to look you up every time I’ve been there, but there were no signs as to whether you still lived there or had moved.”

“That might be a story for another time. I haven’t even tasted the tea which this Spike guy made yet” I say, hoping to avoid telling more sad stories for now.

As I take my first sip of the tea, which is delicious by the way, I can feel something working its way up my tail. I tend to get shivers a lot, so I just ignore it and continue to drink my tea. The shivers suddenly feel more like something small running along my back, and it isn’t until I feel a small but forceful kick to the back of my head, that I’m starting to wonder what’s on my back.

“Angel! That’s no way to treat people.” I hear Fluttershy say in a motherly tone.
I direct my eyes upwards, and I see this small white rabbit tapping its feet on my mane with a look of anticipation and wonder in his eyes.

“Aw, what a cute little fella.” I can’t help but say with a bright smile.

“I’m so sorry, he’s usually not this rude to people he’s never met before. I wonder why he’s acting like this.” Fluttershy says.
“Maybe he’s just hungry. He always kicks when he’s hungry.” Applejack chuckles.

The white rabbit shakes his head and jumps down onto the table. He then grabs the book the purple unicorn, who I now know goes by the name of Twilight Sparkle, was writing notes in.

“Hey, give that back you little fur ball.” Twilight commands.
The bunny just points his tongue towards twilight, turns towards me and slams the book up to my face. He frequently points towards the notes Twilight has written while I was telling my story.

“I think the little darling cannot wait to hear more of your story dear” rarity laughs, trying to hide her mouth with her hoof.
Angel then drops the book and gives Rarity a big hug
.
“I have to say, we still have about an hour to spend until Pinkie is done for the day at the bakery, and I think we are all just as curious as Angel about what happens next” twilight says, looking at the white ball of fur with a forgiving look on her face.

As everypony seems interested in why I left Cloudsdale, I give a submitting sigh. “Fine. You win, Angel.” I smile at the rabbit.
Clapping his paws together in delight, Angel takes his place just in front of me on the table, and waits with anticipation.
“I didn’t ever want to leave Cloudsdale, but an unexpected turn of events pretty much forced me to do so.” I continue my story.

** ** ** **

During my treatment at the Cloudsdale hospital, my parents had decided that it was best for our family to live close by, so that if any further treatment was needed we would always be close to the Hospital. As it turned out, no further treatments were needed for my wings to heal, or rather, nothing more could be done.

We all had a good life in Cloudsdale. My mother had gotten back to her cloud sculpturing since Cloudsdale had more clouds than Glacier Summit. In fact, she ran her own store in Cloudsdale and our apartment was on the top floor. My father started working in the weather factory, since the Pegasi in Cloudsdale found his knowledge about snow and blizzards to be intriguing. I myself had started in Cloudsdale kindergarten, and that was just what I needed to get my mood up. Every day in kindergarten was a blast. I played so much with the other kids, that my wings were the least of my worries. Even though some of the other foals could fly, my best friend, a certain yellow Pegasus, couldn’t. This connection held us close until she was sent to flight school. I for good reasons could not follow her.

The longer she stayed at the flight school, the more time passed between her visits. In fact, after the pretty rainbow colored explosion a year ago, she stopped coming by completely. My guess was at the time that her father had forbidden her to talk to me. He was never very fond of me. He was also the meanest doctor in the hospital, and I hated it every time he was the one who did my monthly checkups. I have nothing personal against Cloudsdale’s best doctor, but he did say that Fluttershy had to see more ponies that could fly, as she never flew when she spent time with me. For the moment I had no friends, and my mother’s sculpting could not cheer me up anymore.

For my 7th birthday, my parents had both taken the day off to celebrate with me. Not only were we celebrating my birthday, but the fact that I after 3 years of daily exercise was finally able to stretch out my wings. My parents had their way of making every little feat of strength seem like a big deal. While we were eating cake, a knock on the door occurred.

“Who’s there?” my mother asked.

“The royal guard, miss” an official sounding voice said.

My mother rushed to the door, wondering why the guard was here. “on my way sir.”
When my mother opened the door, her voice changed to an even more serious tone. “Boltwing? What are you doing here?”

“Long time no see, eh? It’s good to see you again, Featherchill” the guard said. “Nice armor, huh? I’ve become a big shot in the royal guard in Canterlot, so I’m making a lot more bits then when we were dating. That’s the real reason why you left me, right?” the stallion blurted out, unaware of this fact hitting me and my father like a punch in the gut. “If you’re not busy, can I take you out sometime? I’ve changed a lot, I promise. I have my own house now, I’m not rude any more, I’ve taken anger management classes, and I’ve not had a cup of cider in 5 years.” The Pegasus continues, puffing his chest out.

“I am certainly glad you have changed to the better, Boltwing. Come in and have a piece of cake. We’re in the middle of celebrating our son’s birthday.” My mother says with a smile on her face.

This Pegasus seemed to take this “son” word the wrong way. “I… I have….. a son? How come you didn’t tell me?” His jaw is almost dislocating at this point.

My mother quickly reacts to this. “No no, he’s not your son, Boltwing. Remember my friend Frostbite, who used to try and help you quit drinking? After I couldn’t handle you anymore, I moved out, and after 2 years I’d started dating him. We’re married now and this is our son, Breeze.” She points a hoof towards us.

I felt bad for the Pegasus at the time. While kind and caring towards me and my dad, my mother could be rather bold towards strangers, and especially Pegasi she hadn’t seen in years.

“I… Iwonacpts…” the Pegasus mumbled something we couldn’t understand at first.

“Excuse me, but we didn’t hear that.” My father said.

“I… won’t accept this” the stallion now said more clearly. This guy scared me a lot. His face which was full of excitement before, was not completely stripped of all emotion, and his eyes seemed empty and shallow. “I was here on official business, but I decided to just come by and take you back into my life. If you won’t come by yourself, I have other means of making you mine. You have unpaid taxes. It’s only for one month, but I can always tell the captain that you simply refused to pay. Silver Armor might be a good leader, but he’s also pretty gullible, so I can keep you in the dungeon for a long time. In the dungeon you will always be mine and no one can do anything about it except-“ the stallion got cut short by another pegasus charging into his chest with his forehead.

“ME!” my father yelled.

I was surprised by this. Not only did this guard refuse to stand down, but he was weighing my father down as well. They kept fighting for a while until my father’s legs gave up and he lost his balance.My mother’s ex saw an opportunity and reached for his sword with his mouth.

I tried to yell “Look out, Daddy!”, but before I could react the stallions sword was already piercing my father’s neck. When I saw the light of life leave my father’s eyes, I could feel my heart rip into pieces as well as my mother’s heart getting crushed. If my father got sliced down by such a guard, then what were the chances for me and my mother?

“We will find a way” my mother kept saying, tears streaming down her coat.

I saw the guard turn his head now, and his expression had changed from a expressionless mannequin to a wide smile of psychotic glee. With a chuckle he started to walk towards us. “Now the only thing separating our happy life together is this little colt. We can’t have a happily ever after wile this piece of trash’s offspring still breathes, can we? That’s not how fairytales are, he he…” The way he talked was something you cannot forget. It was a middle part between crying, yelling and singing.

I suddenly felt my mother’s hind legs kick me out of the back door. “RUN BREEZE! Run and don’t look behind you.”

I of course protested to this. “But mom – “

“GO!!!!! I’ll be fine, I promise. If I don’t do anything, none of us will get away from here. I will always love you Breeze, now GO!!!”

As I turn around, my voice starts cracking. I know deep inside that what I’m about to say is a lie. “See you soon, mommy. We will finish the cake when you find me.”

When I was almost out on the street, my mother shouted her final words to me.
“Happy birthday, Breeze”

I cared little about where I was going, so I just kept running. I just wanted to escape alive. I had forgotten how close we lived to the edge of Cloudsdale, so without looking towards where I was going, I fell off the edge.

** ** ** **

“How did a colt who can’t fly survive that fall? Oh, and sorry about your parents” the cyan Pegasus interrupted my story once again.

“I had recently learned to spread my wings and hold them stretched out. It was a bit hard at first, but I had other things to worry about.” I explain. “When your life depends on it, you can glide a fair distance with damaged wings, and I discovered that I was rather good at gliding. In fact, when I landed I had received my Cutiemark.”

Fascinated by the gliding theory, Twilight almost shouts “So THAT’S why your cutie mark is a snowflake blowing in the wind. I’ve been pondering that since I saw it.”

“Yes, that’s right.” I say rolling my eyes a bit. Getting interrupted while telling stories can be annoying.

“Where have you lived all these years?” Fluttershy asks curious.

“well, after gliding for what seemed like an eternity I crash landed in a barn. The owner of the barn took me in for treatment, and him and his wife decided to adopt me. Their own daughters had left the rock farm some time ago, the first one being Pinkamena.”

Applejack is taken aback by this. “So, you live with Pinkie’s birth parents?”

“yes. And I have a very important message for Pinkamena, so can we soon get going? I love sitting here and chatting with all of you, but the message I have for her is urgent.” I state, trying to get the focus from me onto something more important.

“I’m sure she’s finishing up by now, so we can go there soon.” The white unicorn assures me.

Fluttershy suddenly takes air. “Oh my goodness, I forgot Angels lunch. I’ll be back in two minutes. Can you please take care of him while I’m gone, Breeze?”

I turn my head and look at the sleeping bunny on the table, and I smile back a t Fluttershy. “Shouldn’t be a problem.”

The next expression on Fluttershy’s face puts my mind to a calm state in which it hasn’t been for years. She smiles at me. She even made that cute squeaky sound I’ve not heard in years, as soon as she’s gone, I start to remember all the funny things we did when we were small kids. Her teaching me everything about medication, playing doctor with her and even hoof racing with her. She wasn’t much for hoof racing, but even she thought that playing doctor all the time could be boring. We also used to just lie on the cloudy grass in my garden and look at the skies and what the weather Pegasi did with them. I feel a warmth on my cheeks. It’s good that my coat is a dark grey color, because if it wasn’t, the other ponies might be able to see that my cheeks were rosy.
I must have dozed off in my thoughts for longer than I thought, because the next thing I saw was Fluttershy feeding Angel.

“Well, if everypony’s ready, let’s head for Sugar cube corner.” The lavender unicorn sais eagerly.

“You guys go ahead. I have something I need to give Breeze in private” Fluttershy grins softly. As soon as the other ponies are out of the library, Fluttershy reaches down in her saddlebags which had contained Angles lunch. She then pulled something out of it and put it on the table in front of me. “I’ve had this in ages, but I think you can make better use of it than I can.” She sais while giving me a friendly hug.

My mouth is wide agape and droplets of liquid start forming in the corners of my eyes. “how long have you had this?” I asked, my voice shaking.

“I’ve had it since the day before I left for flight school. It has cheered me up a lot looking at this and it has helped me remember the good old times. After hearing about what happened in Cloudsdale, I simply had to give this to you.” Fluttershy said softly.

I can’t help but weeping tears of joy. I’d never thought that such a thing existed anymore. I’ve not smiled this much in months.
“Thank you, Fluttershy. It’s lovely.”

chapter 3

I still cannot believe that this still exists. I look at Fluttershy with a happy smile on my face.

“How long have you had this?”

“I’ve kept it with me since the day it was taken. It was the last time I saw you, after all, so this has served as a memory of one of the best, yet saddest days of my life” Fluttershy says with her always soothing voice.

As I look at the picture she gave me, I remember the day it was taken as was it yesterday. It was the birthday party we had for me a few days before my actual birthday, so that Fluttershy could attend. We all went out on a picnic, even Fluttershy’s dad was happy that day. He may be frowning a bit in the picture, but that’s because of the present Fluttershy gave me. She felt so bad for not remembering to buy me a present, but I told her not to think about it. My dad had brought his camera, and as always on birthdays, he wanted to take a group photo. As my dad rushed to our side after setting the timer on the camera, Fluttershy leaned in to whisper in my ear.

“Happy birthday Breeze” she said, and just as the camera took a picture, she kissed me on the cheek. This was truly the best day of my life.

“You have no idea how much this means to me. Thanks.” I tell her while I put the picture into my saddlebag.

“Well, it means a lot to me to. I actually had a copy made of it, in case something would happen to it, because I would never want to lose this picture. It makes me, uhm well, happy. Anyway, let’s hurry so we can catch up with the others.” She says with her cheeks becoming a cute, yet burning red.

“A hint of romance, eh Fluttershy?” we hear from above as we exit the library.

“Rainbow Dash?! Uhm, no it was just friendly talk, yes, that’s all.” Fluttershy’s face is now burning red as she responds to the cyan pegasus.

“Relax, I’m only teasing you. Besides, the guy is a hunk, so it was an obvious joke.” She laughs wile nudging Fluttershy’s mane with her hoof.

“That’s enough, Rainbow. You ain’t going to scare our new friend away on his first day here now, are you?” I hear Applejack say while pushing rainbow towards what I can only assume is Sugarcube Corner.

“what are you two doing here? Why aren’t you with the others?” I can’t help but wonder.

“I went back to fetch a certain somepony.” Applejack glares at Rainbow Dash.

“You guys were taking so long, so I got curious. I wanted to see what you were doing. Besides, what did she give you anyway?”

“Uhm, well, a picture from the last time we saw each other. You girls have seen it before, it’s the one on my nightstand.” Fluttershy mumbles from behind her pink mane.

“So this guy is the kid sitting next to you in the picture?” Rainbow Dash says after pushing away Applejack.

“Well, that’s mighty cute I must say. Come on now, Rainbow. Let’s go back to the others.” Applejack starts trotting towards the pegasus.

** ** ** **

As we get to the bakery, I can’t help but to heel a little hungry. The cakes and sweets they have on display look amazing. I haven’t even entered yet, and I can imagine how great it all must smell and taste. My daydreaming about cupcakes and muffins is cut short when I hear Twilight knock on the door.

As the door opens, the first thing I notice is the smell of the baked goods inside. It is way better than anything I could have imagined. I’ve had cake before, but I’ve never actually been inside a bakery. My daydreaming is cut short once again when a pink pony with a mane which looks like candy floss appears in the doorway.

“Hi everybody. I’m sorry it took so long, but the Cakes hadn’t bought enough ingredients for the wedding cake so they really needed to buy more which made us start baking the cake an hour late, so we really had to hurry, But we made it just in time, so now everything is okeydokeylokey.”

I am amazed that anyone can talk that fast. Reminds me of Mr. Pie’s parody of the Canterlot auctioneers and the Wonderbolt racing commentators.

“Nothing to feel sorry for Pinkie, we wouldn’t want to interrupt you on such an important task. May we come in?” Twilight asks the pink pony.

“I appreciate that, Twilight. Today has been pretty hectic, but everything worked itself out in the end since we were able to find a babysitter for the foals. Now they are with Granny Smith, so they should be just fine, and oh, who is that guy you brought with you?” The pink mares eyes fall upon me.

“Uhm, hello. I’m Bre-“ She interrupts me before I am able to finish my introduction.

“Are you new here? You must be new here, because I know everypony in Ponyville, so I’m guessing you’re from out of town. Am I right? Where are you from? What is your name?” This mare has no understanding for personal space, it seems.

“My name is Breeze, and no, I do not live in Ponyville. I live on a farm outside this town. A farm you are familiar with, Pinkamena.” I try my best to prepare myself for giving her the news I carry with me, but I can’t possibly do anything to make such a happy pony sad. I’ll have to ease myself into it.

The look on Pinkamena’s face shifts to a more curious one. “Pinkamena. How do you know that name? who told you? It’s been a long time since anypony has called me that. I’ve been called Pinkie since I was a little itty bitty tiny filly.”

“I’ve actually lived on a certain rock farm since I was a little colt. The farm you were born at, I believe. I’ve been raised by your parents, Mr. and Mrs. Pie. May we come in?” I’d rather tell her about her father inside.

“Haha, silly me. Come on in, all of you. I’ll bake some cupcakes for all of us, and we can have a ‘Oh yay, I have a surprise big brother’ party.” She bounces back inside, and starts baking immediately. It is amazing to watch this mare bounce around in her kitchen. I almost got a headache from straining my eyes, trying to keep up with her movements as she jumps to the left corner cabinet to fetch her mixing bowl, and then with one graceful leap she’s right in the center of the room, as she left her mixer on the table, where she had dropped it before when she came to the door to greet us.

“Ough, don’t you ever clean this room?” Rarity complaints, while franticly trying to brush her mane clean from the flour that had somehow gotten here in the first place. “This is a culinary minefield.”

Applejack pokes her shoulder, then quietly leans closer to Rarity’s ear. “You know that they’ve just been busy fulfilling a tall order, right Rare!?” Suddenly, the white unicorn seems oblivious to the fact that her elegant purple mane is covered in baking ingredients. She then later continues to struggle with the flour, but with the most elegant and violent subtlety I have ever witnessed.

My admiration of the pink pony’s dexterity in the kitchen gets interrupted by Twilight prodding me about my being in the Sugarcube Corner in the first place.

“Weren’t you supposed to give Pinkie some urgent news?”

I turn to face the lavender coated mare. “By the looks of this places mess, I’d say that she’s had a pretty stressful day. Shouldn’t we at least let her host her ‘Superduper Surprise Brother Thingie Whatever Party’ so she can relax a bit? I don’t want to lay depressing news onto a stressed pony. That would just be insult to injury. Let’s eat some cupcakes, and when the mood is right, or at least as right as it can be, I will tell her, but only when I see the time as being right.”

Twilight’s face now sends mixed signals. She looks sad, but also angry at the same time.

“Wow. You’re quite the insightful one, aren’t you? I guess I didn’t think that far ahead. Fine, let’s do it as you see fit.”

Twilight isn’t angry with me, or anypony else for that matter. She angry with herself. I’d love to say that this fact comes to light from me being an incredible reader of pony emotions, but it comes to light as soon as I hear mumble “Stupid egghead, stupid, stupid, stupid. Timing. Read the mood Twilight. You’re better than this.” as the walks over to Rarity to clean her mane with a magical spell, before the poor thing rips her mane apart.

“Hey, Bro! Big brother!?, Little brother!? I guess you’re bigger than me, so that must make you my big brother, right? Anyway, want to help me with the final touches on these cupcakes made specially for you? It can be our first brother and sister happy fun time.”

As I look back towards the kitchen, I notice how messy Pinkie looks. Rarity’s mane had been a mess from the flour, but pinkie’s entire coat is covered in frosting and various other cupcake ingredients. It’s funny to see this pink mare act as nothing has gotten stuck to her coat. has she not noticed? I guess she’s just a lot more casual about it than Rarity is. As I get into the kitchen, I don’t even get a chance to ask her where I should start and what I should help her with. She has already prepared two trays with equally many cupcakes on them, frosting of various colors and flavors, more types of sprinkles than I had ever imagined existed in this world, and to top it all off, a giant bowl filled with cherries, which I can only assume are supposed to go on top of the cupcakes as a grand finale.

“The one who makes the prettiest, cutest and most awesome cupcakes the fastest, gets a big hug from the other, ok!?” Pinkie squeaks excitedly while jumping up and down.

I accept her challenge, of course. the Pie’s have baked some holiday treats here and there, and I always got to put on the finishing touches. I might not win, but I can honestly say, that I might give her some decent competition.

The other ponies spectate the decorating competition with fascinated looks on their faces, well, almost all of them. One particular pony really gets into the spirit of things, and starts cheering for me. I find it a bit odd that Rainbow Dash isn’t cheering for her friend to win, but I guess she has a habit of voting for the strongest player, and not necessarily the most skillful player, but then again, I’m only speculating.

After about fifteen minutes of squeezing, sprinkling and cherry plonking, the contest has come to an end. I’m satisfied with my result, if I have to say so myself. I wouldn’t want to eat the cupcakes that Pinkie had decorated, though. I mean, who would? they’re works of art. There’s one cupcake for everyone of us, which is decorated with our cutiemarks. Heck, there’s even one shaped exactly like Canterlot castle. how did she manage to create something so beautiful with only frosting and sprinkles? Needless to say, she has won this game. I face her, so i can give her her reward.

“Congratulations Pinkame- no, Pinkie. Your cakes are beautiful.” i declare calmly while giving her the longest lasting hug I’ve given today. I can tell Pinkie has worked hard all day. She feels heavy as she rests on my shoulder. It must have been the first time that she’s even leaned up against something today, just to relax.

Only three seconds after the hug, Pinkie seems as energetic as when she had greeted us, and bounces over to the dinner table, while Rarity slowly levitates the cupcakes over to them. Fluttershy comes over with some tea, that she has apparently made while the decorating game was going on. Now we have a complete party dinner table, and so, we can sit down and relax.

As the cupcakes slowly disappear from the trays, a lot of chit chat goes around, but mostly it’s the pink party pony and me who are talking. We mostly talk about funny things that have happened on the rock farm, which there aren’t many off, but she is rather taken in by my tale of how her father had recently grown a small field of corn with great success. The saddest part about that story, is that the piece of soil he planted on, isn’t fertile anymore. I’ve also told her the story, that i told the other ponies before, but she seems to handle it much better than the others did. sure, she got sad from hearing it, but she picked herself up real fast when I told her, that I honestly am okay with how my wings are. I can’t fly with them, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t keep them in shape. I can still glide a fairly long distance, and I can carry a decent weight on my wings while they are fully stretched out. I just don’t have the muscular function of rapidly flapping my wings, but besides that, there’s nothing wrong with my wings anymore. sure, they are a little scarred and are missing a feather or two, but it’s nothing anypony can notice if they aren’t actively searching for it.

“Anyway. What brings you to Ponyville in the first place, bro? How are the oldies back home?” Pinkie asks eagerly, and thus she reminds me of why I came to visit her in the first place. I take a look at my surroundings before choosing my course of action. the trays on the table are empty, and all of the tea is gone. all of the other ponies lean closer over the table, and silently but assuredly, give me a collective, single nod.

I sigh, and take a deep breath. the time will never be right, and I can never prepare Pinkie for such devastating news, but I guess now is as good a time as any.

“Your folks back home. that’s actually the reason I came to search for you. Your father is very ill. We don’t know what is wrong with him, but we got a doctor from the forest who comes weekly and takes care of diagnostics and general caretaking procedures, but so far, even she hasn’t found any clues. she has however stabilized his condition for a small foreseeable future, but he wants to see you again, Pinkie. If not for the last time, then he at least wants to catch up on what’s been going on in his daughters life, whether he becomes healthier or worsens. I’m sorry that I have to be the bearer of bad news. It breaks my heart to see the old man like that.” I can’t hold back my tears as I tell her about her father. The old man has technically been my father too, and seeing him in his current condition breaks my heart. I can’t carry this heavy load anymore, and seeing Pinkie’s smile disappear and her eyes getting watery, pushes me over the edge. I lose all strength in my legs, and collapse onto the table, crying my eyes out. I can hear the soft sobbing of Pinkie pie, and then Applejack cuts in with words of easing.

“I- I had no idea the news you carried were so bad. I don’t know the man, but he’s Pinks family, so that makes him our family too. I just wish there’s anything I can do to help.”

“we all do.” Rainbow Dash almost yells as she trots to the side of Applejack, and Puffs her chest forward, as to seal her words with a statement. The rest of the ponies followed Rainbows lead.

All of these kind words sweep my legs away. I haven’t been around other ponies than the pies, and even though our bond is tight as can be, I didn’t know that ponies that i have only known for a couple of hours could radiate such a comfortable aura in a time of need. I wipe my eyes dry, and face the crowd. since they have just made an incredible offer, I have to let them help wherever they can.

“Actually, there is a way you can help, but it will require much hard work, and an incredible amount of care and passion.”

“Anything Sugarcube.” Applejack replies.

I resume telling them why we need help on the farm.

“Pinkies father realizes that he might pass away from this disease, so thinking ahead, he wrote a will, and made me read it before I departed towards Ponyville. In the will are papers containing detailed and vital information for the farm, everything that he would have to pass on. But, there was also an envelope. He didn’t tell me what was in it, but he did tell me that I wasn’t allowed to read it before I had found his daughter and people willing to help with whatever is described in the envelope.”

Pinkie rises her head from the table, and with a hoarse, sad voice, she confirms what all of us are already thinking at this point.

“Daddies envelope. did you bring it? can we see what’s inside?”

Now that I have found my stepsister and gained some new friends, I can’t think of a better time to take the envelope out of my bag, and lay it on the table for all of us to read. I let Pinkie open the envelope. After all, it’s her dad who wrote whatever is inside. When she has opened the Envelope, she takes out a letter, folds it out, and spreads it on the table. All of us hare holding our breaths at this point. We can’t even seem to get past the first three words on the paper.

“MY FINAL WISH”