Never Stop Smilingby CaisiusChaptersChapter One: Spirit GuideChapter Two: To Help or To HurtChapter Three: Finding PeaceChapter One: Spirit GuideThe moon hung high in the sky, gripping the world in its soft light. It was a relatively comfortable night out, aside from the occasional stray, chill breeze that could make any pony shudder. The elements however didn't affect the pink mare, weaving around the invisible barrier she earned long ago, as she lay dormant sleeping under the giant oak. At least, it felt long ago. Soft sobs trickled into Pinkie Pie's ears, coaxing her from her slumber. She blinked away her tiredness and rose from where she was lying. Her ears stood at attention, listening to the sad song of the sobbing pony from behind her oaken home. She had a hunch as to who would be visiting her in the middle of the night. She sighed heavily and leaned against the trunk. Who else would it be other than the same pony who had made a routine out of visiting her so often? Pinkie bit her lip and peaked around the tree, spotting the moonlit glow of a brilliant rainbow mane. She wasn't surprised by this late visit; it had become the norm for her. It still didn't rid her of the pain she felt in her heart. Every visit was both a blessing and a curse. Rainbow Dash gave her enough light to see through the dark; she offered that little bit of color in her otherwise gray world. Pinkie enjoyed her company, even if Rainbow Dash thought otherwise. She made her way to Rainbow and took a seat in the unkempt tufts of grass beside her. A simple, arched stone stood facing them, wielding her cutie mark across its face. Rainbow stared at it with clouded eyes, blocking out the rest of the world. Truth was, this was always how her visits were. To Rainbow, she only existed as a stone slab that called itself “Pinkie Pie” and proudly displayed her cutie mark for all to see. If only Rainbow could just look at her once more, to acknowledge her one last time, she could smile again. “I couldn’t sleep again,” Rainbow exhaled. Pinkie glanced toward her friend with ears perked. The least she could do was give her attention. “I-I don’t know, I try to sleep, but I always see you on that cliff, and when I close my eyes, it’s… it’s like when I turned my back.” “Oh, Dashie…” Pinkie wrapped her hooves around her friend in a light embrace. Rainbow didn’t budge. “So, I just get up and try doing laps—anything to get that day out of my mind… Sometimes it works, but those thoughts always come back and slap me in the face. I’d give anything just to make them go away. I… I’d give anything for you to come back.” The wind sang through the limbs of the oak tree, catching Rainbow Dash in a shiver. Pinkie tightened her grip and willed her presence to shield her friend from the cold. Her heart sank when it did not. How could she? The ailment that gave her immunity from the chill wind also prevented her from giving the same to others. Her warm embraces were no longer warm, no longer felt, and no longer gave the sense of comfort and security her grieving friends needed. “Look at me,” Rainbow Dash muttered, her hoof passing through Pinkie to wipe her eyes, “I’m pathetic. I’ve never let anything beat me like this before…” She got up and walked to the tombstone. “I know I should be strong, but it’s just so hard, y’know? Knowing that one of my best friends is gone because of… because I was too arrogant. Too prideful… What good is pride when it gets your friend killed?” Pinkie looked on helplessly. “It wasn’t your fault…” “It’s not good for anything!” Rainbow stomped, “Nothing but hurting ponies. Killing ponies… That’s what happens when I let my ego get too big: ponies die!” Pinkie grimaced at Rainbow’s outrage. Sure, Rainbow Dash wasn’t the hardest pony to anger, but she’d never seen her like this. A moment passed in silence, the wind still chilling the air. Rainbow Dash continued to shiver, though Pinkie was beginning to believe that it was not from the cold. Rainbow took a deep breath and placed her hoof on the tombstone. “I took everything away from you, Pinkie… Took everything you loved away from you, and took you away from everypony that loved you. I know I’ve said this a thousand times already, but I mean it—I miss you. Please, forgive me…” Rainbow Dash sighed and stepped back from the grave. “I should get going. I’m supposed to help AJ with something tomorrow, and I’m not gonna be much help if I’m exhausted.” Pinkie sat with her back facing the stone. Rainbow Dash looked at her—through her—and said, “See ya later, Pinkie Pie…” She spread her wings and caught hold of the breeze, leaving Pinkie alone. Again. Pinkie Pie wilted as her friend flew out of view. “Tell Applejack I said ‘Hi’...” “I do not believe she can hear you.” A chill broke through Pinkie’s barrier and ran down her spine. She turned. A stallion, as pale and faded as she, stood looking at the tombstone that donned her cutie mark. His features marked him as an older pony; his coat was a light tan and his graying mane slicked back out of his eyes. Despite the wrinkles spread across his face, he still stood tall and looked to carry the strength of any younger pony. His eyes pulsed with an amber glow that was oddly comforting to Pinkie, warm like a cozy fire. “Your passing was nearly one year ago today, and yet you have not moved on. Instead you lay beneath the oaken tree to greet your guests as the unseen guardian of your own grave.” He turned to her. “Why have you not moved on?” Pinkie froze. The warmth in this stranger’s eyes didn’t show in his voice. Though not harsh, his words held little emotion. “Y-you can see me?” He nodded. “I can, and what I see is troubling.” “Why?” Pinkie asked. “Life is no secret to the keepers of the dead, Pinkie Pie. You were as energetic in spirit as you were in action. However, the spirit I see before me is not of the mare described. It seems death was unkind to you.” “What do you mean? Who are you?” “Who I am is not relevant to the current situation. Just know that a spirit who wanders long in this realm will lose every trace of who they were in life.” He frowned. “There are possibilities far worse than losing your life, Pinkie Pie. If you continue your time in the realm of the living, you will lose every bit of who you are. Now, I shall ask again. Why do you remain here?” Pinkie swallowed the lump forming in her throat. Her shield was all but gone now, leaving her exposed to the chill of not the wind, but of this stallion, or rather what his intentions were. She felt the need to run far away and never look back, to get away from that voice whose chilly lack of emotion sent shocks throughout her being, but those eyes kept her rooted in place. They still comforted her and sympathized with her, and curiosity clouded them. Words can be deceiving, but eyes always reveal the truth in a pony. Maybe this stallion could be trusted? “I… couldn’t leave them.” “Them?” “My friends.” “Ah, and I suppose the colorful one was one of your friends?” “Yeah, she is.” Pinkie nodded. “That was Rainbow Dash.” “I suspected that is who it was. The mare who let her pride and ego blind her of her actions.” The stallion turned back to the stone, running a hoof across the surface. “Such negligence is dangerous, as you have experienced.” “It wasn’t her fault!” Pinkie shouted. “Do not let anger grab hold of you, spirit. That leads down a dangerous path,” he warned. “I do not pin the blame on her fully. My research shows the collapse was triggered by her, but there was possibly no way of knowing it would happen.” The collapse… Pinkie didn’t like thinking about it, but it always managed to wiggle its way into her mind one way or another. If anypony was to blame, it was herself. The whole idea was hers to begin with. She wanted to make the routine extra special; with an audience, fireworks, the whole shebang! But, it didn’t end the way she had planned… She clenched her eyes shut and prayed for them to shield her from the memories. The past was the past. No point in dwelling on it now. The stallion sighed, “My apologies if my words seem cold. My passing was long ago, and I am unpracticed in dealing with emotional situations such as this.” His eyes softened for the first time, their glow becoming that of embers. His lips curled into a light smile. “Your journey will be far easier if you rid of your regret. Do you want to talk about it?” “I don’t even know who you are,” Pinkie said weakly. “Besides, you seem to know everything about me, so I don’t know what’s left to talk about…” “Lore Scripture.” “Huh?” “My name,” the stallion said, “is Lore Scripture. Perhaps on the journey to Tartarus I will tell you more, but first we must rid you of your regrets, lest you risk living forever with them in the afterlife.” Pinkie’s ears perked at his every word. There was something different to his speech now; the coldness of his voice was warming. Perhaps he really was trying to help her. “I don’t really regret anything… at least I didn’t when I was alive. I only ever wanted to make everypony happy. Their smiles lit up my day everytime I saw them.” “Were you happy when you died?” “I… I think so,” Pinkie said. “I remember hurting all over, and I couldn’t move… But then Dashie showed up. I asked if she liked the routine, and she said she… that she loved it. I was happy for her.” “That is very selfless of you,” Lore Scripture observed. “Death’s grip did not change who you were. That still begs the question: if you had no regrets in life, then what are your regrets in death?” “I know Dashie was lying to me. It’s pretty obvious that she was every time I see her. She blames herself and thinks I hate her… and I can’t tell her I don’t.” Lore’s eyes regained their fiery glow as he turned fully toward her. “Then your regret is tied with hers. She will live out the rest of her years believing she is solely to blame for your passing, and as such she will live with the belief that you will never forgive her for what happened.” He closed his eyes and paused for a moment before continuing. “Will her knowing that you forgive her rid you of your burden?” “If she can move on and be happy... then yeah.” Lore nodded and turned back to face the grave. He touched the top of the stone and clenched his eyes shut. Pinkie couldn’t tell what he was doing, only that the air around the stone began to glow a cold blue. Soon the glow engulfed the stone and ran across its surface like water in a flowing stream, eventually puddling in the indentations of her cutie mark. The glow intensified to a near-blinding light before finally dispersing, leaving a flat, blank surface on the stone. Pinkie gasped, “Wh-what happened to my cutie mark?” Lore relaxed, opening his eyes and removing his hoof from the stone. He turned to Pinkie, his soft smile returning to his features. “This, Pinkie Pie, is the turning of the page, the new chapter, the blank slate. “Magic of the living world is harnessed by those who can reach it. Unicorns, alicorns and the like. They do not merely pull magic from thin air to do with as they please, they pull it from the shared realm of the dead. You, Pinkie, are energy coalesced into the form you are, the thoughts you maintain from the being you once were,” Lore explained, his lips long in a smile Pinkie hadn’t thought possible for the stallion. “In truth, all the magic of Equestria comes from this realm: the realm of spirits. As such, all spirits can grab hold of this energy and bend it to their will, provided they possess the knowledge on how to do so.” Pinkie’s eyes grew wide, “And you want to teach me how to do that?” “I do not wish to see your regrets follow you to Tartarus. I cannot teach you everything, but I can set you on the path to learn for yourself,” Lore said. He pointed to a pebble at the base of the oak. “That should suffice. Your first lesson is to reach out to that rock and pick it up.” Pinkie looked at the rock and shrugged, making her way over to the pebble. She reached for it and tried to scoop it up; her hoof passed through it, leaving it resting unaltered. Pinkie blinked and tried again, with each try leaving the pebble untouched. She looked over to Lore Scripture. He grinned. “A spirit cannot interact with the world as the living can. Look at the pebble, study it, and close your eyes.” Pinkie did as instructed. “Good,” Lore continued, “Now visualize it in your mind. Trace each jagged curve, feel the texture of its surface and the coolness of its touch. Make that visualization a reality in your mind. Do you see it?” “Yes,” Pinkie replied. “Now—and this is important—focus all your concentration on that pebble and lift it. Let it follow your gaze… Yes, that’s good. Now, without losing that concentration, open your eyes.” Pinkie cracked her eyes and gasped. The pebble hung in the air, frozen in time. She beamed. “I did it! It’s floating! It’s— aww…” The pebble landed on the ground with a thud. Lore smiled and, with little effort, picked up the pebble and placed it on top of the tombstone. “For your first time you did very well. Just remember to never lose concentration, lest you lose grasp of your task. “The rest is for you to learn, Pinkie Pie. I will give you as much time as is possible to help your friend. Though if you have not completed your task by the time I return, we will have no choice but to leave. My master will not be happy if I delay for too long.” “Wait, you can’t help me?” Lore shook his head. “I am afraid not. I have other matters to attend to. Do not worry. Just remember the simple instructions I have told you. The same applies to whatever you wish to do, though greater effort may be needed for some tasks. Farewell, Pinkie Pie, and good luck.” Lore Scripture took a few steps away from her before evaporating into the dark. It was quiet once again, with the wind still blowing its soft song though the limbs of the oak. Pinkie Pie smiled up at the moon, a glint of determination in her eye. She looked back at the pebble resting on top of her grave and nodded. She was equipped with the power to get her message across, now she just had to use it. She had to find Rainbow Dash. Author's Note Thank you to my pre-readers who helped me spot a few of the mistakes I missed! - watermelonpizza - Jurassicdl3 - Green_Dragon_Iris - Artea - Bait And thank you to Bait for the awesome art! Chapter Two: To Help or To HurtShafts of pale light broke through the cloud canopy of Rainbow Dash’s home, painting the edges with an almost eerie glow. A light peeked through one of the windows, with a shadow swallowing the light every few seconds. As quickly as the light went out, it would come back with its faint brilliance. Pinkie Pie stood staring up at the home and counted the number of times it flickered off and on. Ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine… It stopped. A moment passed before the window went dark. It was time. There was only one problem: how to get up there? Having been so caught up on knowing what she wanted to do, she had not given thought as to how she would accomplish it. Where she would normally inflate some balloons to reach heights and places impossible to an earth pony, her spectral form made the easiest solution impossible, as the balloons would just ignore her presence and float off without her. No, that wouldn’t work at all, but what other options did she have? Pinkie looked up helplessly. Her goal was in sight; so close, and yet so far out of reach. Lore Scripture had given her the knowledge to do what she needed, but it’s not as simple as levitating a rock and throwing it at Dash’s window to say she’s sorry. If anything, that would accomplish the opposite. But if she could levitate a stone, could she levitate herself? She may have been incorporeal, but she was still her. She had to be real enough for the magic to work on herself! A determined smile crossed her face as she set her mind on the task. She closed her eyes and planted her hooves firmly against the ground; the only way she would be moving was up. She concentrated deeply on herself. The faded pink of her coat and mane materialized in her mind, followed by every feature that defined her. The image became as clear as her reflection in a mirror. She imagined her pose, and the cloud home high above, and she saw herself ascending from the ground; she felt the land beneath her hooves fall away. She opened her eyes to a height, some distance above the earth; the detail on the ground below her faded into obscurity. It was working! She felt the sudden urge to cheer, and the image in her mind wavered. She suddenly saw her destination slip from her grasp and seemingly fly up and away from her. She was falling down again! She panicked as the ground raced toward her, and quickly tried to bring the picture back to her mind. She once again pieced the image together and willed it into action, and the ground beneath her retreated once more. Finally, when she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the shade of a darkened window. Pinkie cheered, gleefully clapping her hooves together whilst careful as to not lose the image that had gotten her there. She reached for the window to open it, but stumbled with a quiet yelp as her hoof passed through the glass. She regained her balance and air-trotted through the closed window. Pinkie eyed the floor beneath her with hesitation. If she could pass through the walls, surely up here she would also pass through the floor. She assumed it would be no different here than it was for the earth below. She lowered herself to the floor and passed right through, and then she quickly darted back above the floor. Realizing that it’s not so simple, she pondered what the difference was between the ground and the floor. She had recalled multiple times during her life having no issue walking on the floor here, which, while built in the clouds, was designed for everyone to walk on. This should make it no different than the ground below. The walls, however, were another thing altogether. Then, it clicked. She smiled as she realized she had been overlooking what could be deduced by Lore Scripture’s lessons. After all, it was completely natural to walk on the ground down below. She just assumed she could, and so she was able. With this whole idea of spectral magic floating around in her head, she was definitely expecting more than required. She closed her eyes and visualized the floor. She imagined herself lowering onto the swirls of tightly-packed cloud. She felt the coolness of its touch on the soles of her hooves, and she could see herself walk across it with the ease of walking down a cobblestone street. She opened her eyes and beamed with delight as she found herself standing on the solid floor. That was much easier than she thought; if you believe it’s a floor, then you’ll be able to walk on it as you would a floor! Pinkie’s smile lightened as she set her mind to her task. Gotta get to Rainbow Dash! The cloud home was fairly large compared to most houses in Ponyville, except maybe Twilight’s castle, but she traversed its halls as she would her own home. She made her way up the stairs and to Rainbow’s room. She thought about knocking, but that would require too much effort, plus it would probably frighten Rainbow Dash. No, if she was going to wake up Rainbow Dash and tell her she forgave her, she would have to be much more creative. She walked through the closed door and saw Rainbow lying in her bed, her blanket curled tightly around her. Pinkie crossed the room and sat down next to the bed to look at Rainbow Dash. The mare’s eyes were closed to sleep, but Pinkie thought she could see the faintest movement beneath her eyelids. Pinkie grimaced. Judging by the frown bent almost into a snarl, Rainbow must be having the same dream she told Pinkie about so many times before. The pink mare felt her eyes moisten, a sensation she had found possible many times before when she’d felt so hopeless as a spirit. “I wish you would stop thinking about it…” Pinkie remembered that day, so long ago now, where she had done so much to help Rainbow with her plans. Though Rainbow thought a simple display of the Sonic Rainboom would suffice to celebrate the day they all became friends, and the link they shared since they were all fillies, Pinkie had wanted to help make it extra special. A nice set of fireworks would do nicely; set them off at just the right time… Remembering why she was here, Pinkie rid her mind of such toxic thoughts, which would only serve to slow her down. It is what it is, and the least Pinkie could do was try to make things better. She focused back on Rainbow Dash, and even with the presence of bad dreams, she couldn’t help but smile. Rainbow Dash had always had a tough exterior, but she looked as gentle as a foal in her sleep. Pinkie’s brow creased. Sitting there was not solving the issue. Pinkie stood up and looked around the room. There was a mirror on the wall with a picture of her and Rainbow Dash slid into a narrow opening in the corner of the frame. She remembered it as a time where they had just gotten back from their mission to Griffonstone. Rainbow had been in such a good mood that they had decided to celebrate at Sugarcube Corner—at Pinkie’s suggestion, of course. After they both had their fill of sweets, they had gotten their picture taken by Mrs. Cake. Though the picture had proven that Mrs. Cake’s talents were better suited to baking, it was still good enough to capture the cherished memory. Obviously, Rainbow Dash had thought so, too. Finally, she decided to put the reminiscing aside and get to work. But how? Looking once more at the photo, an idea sprang to her. She found a notebook on the dresser and levitated a pencil over, with some effort. She found a blank page and visualized the pencil sliding across the paper, forming letters, then words, then a sentence. She felt exhausted by the time she was done, but she was happy with the letter she wrote, even if it was only a short sentence in length. Please don’t blame yourself. I forgive you, Dashie! - Pinkie Pie It was short and sweet, and got the point across well enough; it would have to do. She levitated it up to a vacant corner of the mirror and tried to slide it in. It wouldn’t catch, so she tried again, and again, and again. The paper curved just enough at the top that it just wouldn’t slide into the tiny opening between the mirror and frame. “C’mon, dumb mirror… Let me slide the paper in!” After a few more tries, she growled and tried a different corner. After failing that, she grit her teeth in frustration and focused on applying some pressure to the page and the mirror and then tried to slide... A crash rang out across the room as the mirror shattered into shards and flung around the room every which way. Rainbow sprang up from her sleep with a shout and shielded herself with her blanket as shards of glass rained down. Once the last shards had fallen, Rainbow uncovered her head and looked wide-eyed at the broken mirror. Pinkie panicked and quickly grabbed another framed photo of them along with the pencil she had been writing with and tried to point to herself. Rainbow screamed as the objects floated in front of her. Pinkie quickened her pace and tapped the glass of the picture frame, accidently cracking it over Rainbow’s face. “Oh, no, no no. NO!” Rainbow shot up from her bed and shot toward the window, fumbling at the lock to open it. “Rainbow Dash, please!” Pinkie cried out, “I’m just trying to tell you that I forgive you!” She brought the frame closer to her friend, and Rainbow screamed again, kicking open the window and flying out. “I was just trying… to tell… you…” Pinkie felt tears well up in her eyes as Rainbow disappeared into the darkness. ~~~ Pinkie Pie lay motionless in a patch of open field, her eyes fixated on an apple rocking gently in the breeze. She wished she could feel the coolness of the air on her body, and with a discontented sigh, bemoaned her inability to feel any physical force. She hated feeling foreign, like she didn’t belong. And although she could see, everything was less saturated than when she breathed living air. Her sense of sound was slightly muffled, but she hadn’t noticed it with Lore Scripture the night before. The smell of the environment, and the apples that surrounded her, was but a faint, dull aroma. Not only could she not feel anything of the physical world, she couldn’t even feel her own heart beat. Granted, this did not come as a surprise to her, given her ghostly nature. Strangely though, she could feel exhaustion even as a spirit, and with another sigh, she let her head fall into the hooves lying beneath her. She had waited in Rainbow’s room for her to return, and had set out to fix the objects she had broken. The picture frame was pretty easy; she had just inserted the image of the frame into her mind, and erased the cracks from existence. It was amazing what spectral magic could do! What wasn’t so easy was fixing the mirror. She had to levitate every shard, every speck of broken glass, into its former shape. Then, envisioning it in her mind, she stuck the pieces together as if with glue and removed the cracks. The end product was a mirror untouched by violence, and a pit of exhaustion that had been dug inside of her afterwards. Rainbow still hadn’t returned by the time everything was restored, so Pinkie had decided to make her way to Sweet Apple Acres to wait for her arrival; she remembered that Rainbow Dash had an obligation she had to fill that morning. The sun was high enough in the sky to begin the work day. Where was Rainbow? Pinkie yawned and closed her eyes. I think it’s okay to rest my eyes for a couple minutes… “There you are! Where’ve you been?” Pinkie jumped and looked around. Applejack was leaning on a fence several yards away talking to… “Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie shouted, sprinting to see the pegasus. Rainbow Dash hovered several feet off the ground. Her ragged, unkempt mane matched well with the drooping bags beneath her eyes. She stifled a yawn, “Sorry, AJ… I, uh, had a late night.” Applejack raised her brow, “A late night, huh? Well, you look it. You sure you’re good to work?” “Pfft,” Rainbow exclaimed with a smirk, “I’ve had less sleep than this during Wonderbolts practice, and still outperformed the competition!” “Uh-huh,” Applejack chuckled, “Well, exhaustion sure ain’t slowin’ your boasting. Alright, let’s get to it, then.” Pinkie watched the two mares walk the length of the fence to a collapsed section. Three segments of the wooden fence had fallen over or completely cracked from the wear of time. Applejack pulled a cart closer to the section and began lifting boards. Rainbow Dash yawned and joined her. “Alright, Rainbow, simple work. All I need ya to do is place these here boards in the posts I already have up.” Rainbow laughed, “That’s it? I’m shocked that you need my help with this, AJ!” Applejack grinned, “This is only the first of a dozen places that need patchin’, and this is the shortest bit.” Rainbow’s eyes widened in response, flying up a bit and staring down the long length of fence surrounding the farm. “Great…” Pinkie sat watching as the pair began their work, but she didn’t see them, as her vision was overlaid by a reminder of her blunder. Writing a simple note amounted to unwittingly intensifying the stress of an already emotionally shattered pony. Regret is all she felt, all she saw, for making matters worse. After Rainbow had flown away, Pinkie had thrown the note out the window. Let the wind do whatever it wants with it… Pinkie thought sourly. “Uh, Rainbow? You sure you can work in that state?” Applejack asked, noticing Rainbow’s slumping form. As Pinkie shook herself from her thoughts, she saw Rainbow jerk much the same way she had. Once the troubled mare had settled, she put on another of her grins, though Pinkie could see that she was only masking what she actually felt. “Oh yeah, I got this. Just a power nap, that’s all. Good for giving quick boosts of energy!” Rainbow Dash said. “Right, well if you start feeling too tired to work, you can go—” “Home?” Rainbow interjected as she laughed nervously, “Nah, I’m good. I spend way too much time kooked up in that place anyway. I think I’ll go on a camping trip or something, enjoy some fresh air!” “Maybe that’ll do ya some good!” Applejack said with a chuckle. Pinkie didn’t laugh, however. Had she really scared Rainbow so much that she didn’t feel safe going home? She hadn’t meant for that to happen. She sighed. Maybe it would be best to forget this whole endeavor before she hurt Rainbow Dash even more. Pinkie studied the pegasus; she fumbled with the boards, barely able to fit them into the slots of the posts. The least Pinkie could do for her was to help finish her work so she could get some much-needed rest. She bided her time, glancing over at Applejack. The farm mare had moved down to the next gap in the fence several lengths down and was concentrating on the work in front of her. Pinkie nodded, looking back to Rainbow Dash. She had closed her eyes and laid her head against a board she had managed to get slotted. Pinkie smiled sadly at her friend. “Oh, Dashie… You need rest.” Checking for any prying eyes, Pinkie focused on one of the boards and willed it off its pile. She allowed it to slide easily into the first post, and then she squeezed it as gently as she could into the second post. Easy! She could vaguely remember a time where she hadn’t enjoyed farm chores, but this was a piece of cake! She did the same with the remaining boards, focusing her mind on each board, and sliding them into their respective posts with little effort. “Rainbow?” Applejack called out. Rainbow Dash jumped, “Huh?! Wha-What happened?” Applejack walked up beside the fence, placing a hoof on the beams, “Huh, I know it wasn’t a lot of work, but you sure finished that quick!” Rainbow blinked at Applejack and turned to face the fence, almost jumping at the completed fence, “What?! But I didn’t do—Well, I didn’t think I did…” “Well, somepony did, and you’re the only one I see around here.” Applejack said as she looked at her worriedly, “Look, Dash, I’m worried about ya. You’re actin’ like you haven’t slept in a week. Maybe you should get some sleep. I’d understand.” “No! I promised I’d get this done, and ain’t no way I’m gonna let sleep get in the way!” Rainbow huffed over to the cart of planks and began pushing in off to another section of fence. Pinkie followed. A short time later, Rainbow was back to dozing on a length of upright fence. Now’s my chance, Pinkie thought, taking the boards in her mind and completing lengths of fence as quickly and quietly as she could. Almost done! Just a few more... “What in the—!” Pinkie shot a look at Rainbow Dash, who was gaping wide-eyed at the floating plank. To Pinkie’s shock, the board bolted towards Rainbow Dash. She dodged out of the way as best she could, but the weight of exhaustion slowed her reflexes. She screamed out as the board struck home on her hind leg. If Pinkie’s heart could beat, it would have stopped there. She rushed to Rainbow’s side, while Applejack sprinted from the other direction, “Dash! What happened? You alright?!” Rainbow scrambled to her hooves, taking care as to not put weight on her injured leg. “Yeah, fine. Just flippin’ fine!” she scowled, looking at the fence. “I swear the world is trying to kill me!” “Rainbow—” “Leave me alone!” Rainbow Dash shouted up at the sky, rage blazing in her eyes. Or was that fear? “You hear me? LEAVE! ME! ALONE!” Rainbow rocketed into the sky and bolted away from the farm. “Rainbow, wait!” Applejack sighed, looking at the work left to do before shaking her head and running off in pursuit. Pinkie slumped to the ground, the grass cushioning her fall, though she couldn’t feel it. She couldn’t feel anything but a sting of pain in her chest; a clenching knot of despair gripped her, and moisture pooled heavily in her eyes. She wanted to do nothing more than to help her suffering friend, but she had done nothing but make things worse. She curled herself into a ball on the ground. All she wanted to do now was cry. Author's Note Thank you to my editor, Cpt. David, as well as my proofreaders Jurassicdl3 and DashieChad! Chapter Three: Finding PeacePinkie Pie lay with lidded eyes in her usual spot, shaded from the crescent-dimmed moonlight by the giant oak she had claimed as her home. The wind lent itself to the tree, sounding off an illusion of sea waves crashing against the shore. It was a nice thought, a happy thought of a time she had seen the wide expanse of water. She had swum through the chilling sea, fingers of ice only momentarily grasping at her flesh before releasing her to a more comfortable embrace as her body grew accustomed to it. It had been refreshing like nothing else. Leaving the water welcomed the presence of the sea breeze; warm-air-turned-cool on her wet body, and the salty air filled her lungs with such refreshment. It was a moment away from the craziness, away from the parties and the ponies. It was just a joyous moment in nature’s bliss. Now, Pinkie could no longer feel the wind’s cool touch, with every passing day a reminder of a memory that could never be relived. Pinkie opened her eyes lazily, refusing to move an inch more. She had no energy left to move, or rather, she had no desire left to move. The same could have been said a week ago, too, though that had all changed when Lore Scripture came to deliver her to Tartarus. He had sensed her hesitation—her pain—and offered to help her make things right. He had taught her the tools she would need, and she was given the chance to make things better. Everything had been spread before her, and she had screwed it all up. Rainbow Dash feared her, and everything she tried to do made it worse. It had spiraled out of control since the incident at Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow stayed away from her friends, and aside from feeding Tank, she would stay away from her own home. Pinkie had done nothing but to make the uneasy mare feel like the target of her wrath. Pinkie Pie’s eyes swiveled toward her tomb stone—still blank from near a week before. If Rainbow Dash ever worked up the courage to visit her again, the smooth face of that stone would do nothing to settle the mare’s mind. Pinkie sighed and rose from her bed, dragging her hooves to the stone. She studied it for a moment. Lore Scripture had erased the contents of that stone, calling it a blank slate—a new start for her to make things right. It was his contract to her and it awaited her signature. Whatever his intent was, her cutie mark needed to don that stone once again. Mimicking what Lore had done before, she placed her hoof on the stone’s surface and closed her eyes. She pictured it in her mind, and pictured her cutie mark on it, with every curve of the balloons chiseled precisely in the stone. A faint glow invaded her closed eyes before dissipating. Opening her eyes, Pinkie was greeted by her cutie mark, a perfect copy of its original self. Well, that was back to normal, but Pinkie still felt a hole in her heart. It just wasn’t fair! She had done everything she could to tell Rainbow Dash she forgave her, and everything had just worked against her. She just wanted to see a smile—a legitimate smile—on Rainbow Dash’s face, but that seemed so out of reach now. She couldn’t even smile herself anymore. Scowling, Pinkie turned to face the oak and lashed out at it. Invisible blades struck the bark, leaving scrapes and cuts of various lengths and depths, until finally she let go of the image in her mind. She read the words in silence. They were the last thing she had asked of Rainbow Dash before she died, and Rainbow had not heeded it. Pinkie threw herself back into the grass and studied the night sky. A pony she knew as a filly had once told her that when somepony died, they would join the stars in the sky and smile down upon you through both the good and bad times. Well, if that were true, why was she stuck here on the ground, desperate for a smile to light her way? Just a single smile from Rainbow Dash would… Pinkie blinked up at the sky, or more precisely at the winged figure in the sky. She didn’t need the moon’s help to recognize the radiance of that rainbow mane. Pinkie held her breath and waited to see what Rainbow would do. The mare shook her head sadly and flew off toward town. Pinkie pounded the ground with her hoof. Another night of being ignored because of her stupidity. It just wasn’t fair! “No!” Pinkie growled, forcing herself to her hooves, “Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Pinkie Pie! Get out there and make things right! Don’t give up until it’s too late!” The only question was how to do that. Pinkie’s eyes followed the fading rainbow trail to the tips of Twilight’s castle in the distance. It made sense, if a pony had a question they couldn’t think of an answer to, they would go to Twilight! Pinkie smiled determinedly and ran on with a purpose that she had once thought lost. ~~~ Twilight’s castle, known by those outside of Ponyville by its more formal name, the Castle of Friendship, shimmered vaguely in the light of a crescent moon as Pinkie Pie approached. Light seeped through the gap underneath the entrance, holding any darkness escaping the faint moonlight at bay. Pinkie pushed herself through the unopened door without issue. Inside, the castle lobby was left mostly unchanged from when she had last visited a year ago, with perhaps the addition of a few new banners and potted plants. Even with what Pinkie believed were the only new additions, the large lobby was still fairly barren, with a long, red carpet running the length of the room. The floor would normally give off a dull sheen in the day, but with the night it was a lifeless gray, amplified by the desaturation of the spirit realm. The door at the far end of the room was left ajar, with rays of light casting across the room to touch an unremarkable section of a far wall. Pinkie closed the distance to the door in a moment; words gave quiet echoes from the map room on the other side. “—think you are just overreacting.” It was Twilight’s voice, surprisingly lacking the slurring of sleep. It must have been another of Twilight’s late ‘library dates,’ as Pinkie liked to call her study sessions. “I’m telling you, Twilight, I’m not!” Rainbow growled, “I know what I’ve been seeing! It’s been like this all week long, and it doesn’t matter where I am, things just fly around without warning.” Pinkie pushed through the door with the same ease as she had earlier. Rainbow Dash paced back and forth in a short, 5-step span, with Twilight seated in one of the nearby thrones encircling the Cutie Map. To Pinkie’s surprise, Spike and Starlight Glimmer were both absent. Perhaps they had been able to escape the pains of another late night of books with the Princess of Books, another of Pinkie’s terms for Twilight. Rainbow grimaced as she came to a stop and rubbed her hind leg. “I mean, c’mon, Twilight… How do you think I got this? It wasn’t during practice, I can tell you that much.” Twilight looked at Rainbow thoughtfully, “You said you hadn’t had any sleep the night before. You could have just hurt yourself while helping with Applejack’s fence. Exhaustion can cloud your mind, so you could have easily turned and bumped a loose beam, and it could have fallen and hurt your leg. I’m sure they’re heavy, so it’s feasible.” “I think I would know the difference between a board falling over and being THROWN at me!” Rainbow shouted frustratingly, “I saw it, Twi. I know I did. So yeah, maybe I did doze off a little, but I shook myself awake and there it was: a wooden beam just floating there, with no unicorns in sight.” Rainbow continued her pacing for a moment before flinching in pain again. She sat down beside Twilight with a sigh. “Look, Twilight… I’m not crazy. I know what I saw. Please, believe me…” Twilight studied Rainbow for a moment before finally nodding, albeit slowly. “Okay, Rainbow, I believe you, but I’m still not sure what would have caused something like that…” “Ghosts! Don’t look at me like that, it’s gotta be!” Rainbow argued, “I swear, Pinkie just hates me for what I did, and her ghost is trying to kill me, or at least make my life miserable…” Pinkie winced. Her fears had come true, confirmed straight from the mouth of the victim. She had set out to ease Rainbow’s suffering, and she had only made it worse. Much worse if Rainbow thought she was trying to kill her. Pinkie felt moisture in the corners of her eyes, she fought it back with an effort. “Rainbow,” Twilight stepped from her chair to Rainbow, laying a hoof on her shoulder, “Listen, all of us have hurt from Pinkie’s passing, but we’ve all managed to move on, somehow… I’m afraid you still haven’t, and I feel like you aren’t trying to.” Rainbow closed her eyes tightly and trembled at Twilight’s touch. Pinkie had seen that look many times before when Rainbow would visit her grave. While Rainbow wouldn’t cry every time she visited, there were times that she came close. This was one of those times, with Rainbow straining to maintain her composure, trying to play the strong mare she had always tried to show to the public. Pinkie wasn’t sure if she would win out on this one. Twilight continued, “I know it’s hard, Rainbow, but you need to try to come to terms with what’s happened. I promise you that everything will feel much better once you do.” Rainbow shook again, and vainly sniffed back a tear. “I see it every night, Twilight—that terrible, good-for-nothing cliff. I just see it crumbling, only I don’t. It’s like I’m not in my own body, and I can see myself racing away from the cliff with this… this proud smile on my face. I’m oblivious to everything.” Rainbow’s tears finally fought through the mental barrier she had set. “I look down at you guys and expect to see applause at my Sonic Rainboom, and Pinkie’s fireworks, but you’re all freaking out, running toward the show, and that’s when…” Rainbow sobbed, the barrier all but gone now as Twilight brought her head into the nook of her shoulder. Twilight shushed her, patting Rainbow’s back, “You had good intentions, Rainbow… You just wanted to celebrate our friendship, and we all appreciate it, but nobody could have known that the cliff was unstable,” Twilight continued, “You have to remember that, Rainbow. What happened to the cliff was not your fault.” “But it was, Twilight,” Rainbow squeaked, “That cliff would still be standing if… if I hadn’t done the Sonic Rainboom. The force from it was too much… I killed her, Twilight… It was me, and I was too blinded by pride to see it, and the fake cheers in my head blocked out—it blocked the crashing of the cliff, and...” Rainbow choked up, “I could have reached her in time…” “That’s nonsense and you know it.” Twilight’s words were stern, though soft as a pillow. “Nothing anypony could have done would have changed events much beyond what we have now. As sad as it is, accidents can happen, and we can’t change them.” Twilight gently pushed Rainbow back to see her face. “Now, please, find peace with what happened. I’m positive Pinkie wouldn’t want you feeling this way. She would want you to smile, and I think that’s the best way to celebrate her life.” Pinkie could only nod, her lips trembling through a faint smile. Twilight had managed to do what she had failed to over the past week, and based on the smile donning Rainbow’s face, however forced it may have been, it seemed to have worked. “Thank you, Twilight…” Pinkie whispered to herself. “Now,” Twilight began, giving Rainbow a small smile, “I think you should go visit Pinkie Pie tomorrow and let her know that you’ve finally found the means to move on. Let her know that you will find that happiness she would want you to have.” Rainbow Dash’s smile seemed genuine now, an eagerness in her eyes. “I’ll go tonight. I owe her that much.” Pinkie’s eyes widened. Rainbow Dash may have finally found the peace she had been seeking, but Pinkie wanted more. She would only have one more real shot at sending a message to Rainbow Dash, and she wanted her to know for certain that she was forgiven. A part of her argued that she should quit while she was ahead, to not risk losing the ground she had gained, but her mind was set. Pinkie had one more shot to put any remaining fears in Rainbow to rest, and she intended to take it. She closed her eyes and pictured the gravestone, her cutie mark chiseled on its face. She saw the great oak, imagined its limbs swaying, and its leaves rustling in the wind. She imagined she was there… ~~~ The blinding light faded to the familiar scene of her oaken home by her tomb. Pinkie surveyed the scene to form a plan; the pieces to the puzzle were here, she just had to figure out how to place them. She spotted the crudely carved letters in the trunk of her tree and smiled. Good, that could help. Pinkie heard the vague, yet unmistakeable sound of flapping wings. She looked to the sky and saw the rapid approach of a rainbow mane glinting in the shallow moonlight. Pinkie sighed to herself; she would have to improvise for the rest of her unformed plan. Rainbow Dash landed several yards away from the tombstone with a muffled thud, and Pinkie instinctively dodged out of the way. Rainbow stared at the tombstone, unflinching, before finally inhaling heavily and pushing herself forward. She stopped a few feet from the stone and let go of the breath she had been holding in. The moonlight angled just right to conceal the stone-etched cutie mark in shadow, but Rainbow looked at it as if it was the only thing she saw. “Hey, Pinkie Pie,” she began, clearing her throat, “I, uh, I’m sorry for avoiding you for so long. I just—I mean, I wasn’t sure if you wanted to… see me.” Rainbow brushed her hoof in the tufts of grass in front of her, staying silent as if to wait for a reply. When none came, she sighed and continued, “I just got these crazy ideas in my head that you hated me for what happened to you… And, I guess I forgot that it was never like you to hate somepony, or to hold a grudge. I just hope that you can forgive me.” The mare closed her eyes and bowed her head. Now was Pinkie’s chance to act! She quickly looked at the stone, and then at the carving on the tree before nodding to herself and closing her eyes. She reached for the stone, placing her hoof on its surface as she had done earlier and imagined her cutie mark disappearing. She felt the stone smoothen its features, and immediately she followed through with an image of a message. She saw the stone give way to her words, like soft clay in a potter’s hooves. The message had to be simple, the first prong of a multi-phased attack of love and forgiveness. She finished off the sculpting by concentrating the glow that normally engulfed the entire stone into a cool blaze of blue light forming to the letters of her message. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and gasped at the display, reading the words quietly to herself, “Look to your left…” Rainbow swallowed and did as she was instructed, giving off another gasp at the message she had not seen on the tree. Pinkie smiled and added a softer glow to the message she had previously carved out in frustration—a message she had originally written as a reminder to herself, but would now serve to aid in her cause. The words blazed a cool blue. Never stop smiling. Rainbow Dash trembled again, but this time not fighting back the tears that desperately yearned for release. “That—” she choked on the word. She hoarsely cleared her throat before continuing, “That was the last thing you said to me… Pinkie Pie, are you… are you really there?” Pinkie smiled, her own tears threatening to fall from the sheer happiness that overwhelmed her. She was almost done; she just had to add the cherry on top. The wind blew and Pinkie glanced up at a rustling in the leaves that was not like the rest. A white sheet of loosely-crumpled paper was snagged on one of the twigs. Her eyes widened at the recognition of it. Fate had a funny way of playing things, and it had delivered her a winning card to her final gamble with spectral magic. Before Pinkie could loosen the page on her own, a faint glow pulled it from its held place and let it gently ride the air in a rocking motion. She blinked at the page and looked behind her. Lore Scripture smiled at her and nodded, letting go of his magic. Rainbow Dash flinched when the page landed softly on her head. She hesitantly took the page and held out the page to read. Please don’t blame yourself. I forgive you, Dashie. - Pinkie Pie Rainbow let out a half-laugh-half-sob and held the page against her in a tight embrace. “Thank you, Pinkie… Thank you so much!” Pinkie ran to her friend and embraced her in a huge of her own. Rainbow shivered as if in response, but her smile grew wider. Pinkie could hear Rainbow mumbling thanks repeatedly as she rocked the page back-and-forth. She held on tighter, her mind willing her hooves to not pass through her friend. Though she was a ghost, the hug was as real as if she were alive there with her friend. After a moment, Rainbow pulled away from the page and looked at it. “I promise, Pinkie, I will never blame myself. You will live on every time I smile.” Her smile widened to its brink. “And I promise you that I will never stop smiling.” Lore Scripture approached the tomb stone with a light grin of his own and placed a hoof on its surface. A moment later, the markings on the stone returned to the original balloons of Pinkie’s cutie mark. The fading glow caught Rainbow’s attention and she turned with a slight start, though the smile never faded from her face. “I’ll come back soon, Pinkie Pie, and I’ll update you on what everypony’s up to.” She jumped into the air, her wings catching the air in a hover. “Thanks again, Pinkie. You’ll always be my friend.” With that, the pegasus dashed into the sky, riding the wind into the distance. Pinkie watched her go with a content smile on her face. Lore Scripture sat down beside her and nodded in satisfaction. “You are a quick learner, Pinkie Pie. Quite a remarkable student, indeed.” Pinkie blinked at him. “Huh?” Lore stifled a chuckle. "You learned many things I did not think you would learn in such a short period of time with spectral magic. The ability to teleport, for one, is a difficult feat,” Lore observed, “Though, I suppose you do have a very active imagination, so that would benefit you.” Pinkie nodded at the older spirit with a smile, “Well, I had a great teacher! It really wasn’t that hard. Well, except for the mirror… that was exhausting to put back together. Oh, and the teleporting made me a little dizzy...” Lore Scripture laughed, “I suppose that it would be dizzying if you did not know how to brace for it. Do not worry, Pinkie Pie, you will grow accustomed to it with time and practice.” He stood up to face the horizon, with an eager look in his eye. “For now, It is time for us to depart, Pinkie Pie. My master awaits our return to Tartarus.” Pinkie’s smile disappeared as she looked back to where her friend had been. “But, what about Rainbow Dash? Or anypony else that comes to visit me?” “They will come to speak to the stone, Pinkie Pie,” Lore said, “It is to honor you, but you do not need to be present to hear it. Your soul will always be bound here, and you will always hear them speaking to you as a small voice in the back of your mind. They will be there for you in their words just as you will be forever present in their smiles.” Lore Scripture began forward, speaking over his shoulder, “Now, come along, Pinkie Pie. Tartarus awaits.” Pinkie Pie followed reluctantly, but took a moment to look back one more time at the great oaken tree and tomb she had called her home for so long. She may be gone, but she would never be forgotten. She would live on in the lives of her friends with one simple legacy she had left behind. Never stop smiling. Author's Note The end. Thank you to DashieChad, watermelonpizza, and Jurassicdl3 for proofreading!
Chapter One: Spirit GuideThe moon hung high in the sky, gripping the world in its soft light. It was a relatively comfortable night out, aside from the occasional stray, chill breeze that could make any pony shudder. The elements however didn't affect the pink mare, weaving around the invisible barrier she earned long ago, as she lay dormant sleeping under the giant oak. At least, it felt long ago. Soft sobs trickled into Pinkie Pie's ears, coaxing her from her slumber. She blinked away her tiredness and rose from where she was lying. Her ears stood at attention, listening to the sad song of the sobbing pony from behind her oaken home. She had a hunch as to who would be visiting her in the middle of the night. She sighed heavily and leaned against the trunk. Who else would it be other than the same pony who had made a routine out of visiting her so often? Pinkie bit her lip and peaked around the tree, spotting the moonlit glow of a brilliant rainbow mane. She wasn't surprised by this late visit; it had become the norm for her. It still didn't rid her of the pain she felt in her heart. Every visit was both a blessing and a curse. Rainbow Dash gave her enough light to see through the dark; she offered that little bit of color in her otherwise gray world. Pinkie enjoyed her company, even if Rainbow Dash thought otherwise. She made her way to Rainbow and took a seat in the unkempt tufts of grass beside her. A simple, arched stone stood facing them, wielding her cutie mark across its face. Rainbow stared at it with clouded eyes, blocking out the rest of the world. Truth was, this was always how her visits were. To Rainbow, she only existed as a stone slab that called itself “Pinkie Pie” and proudly displayed her cutie mark for all to see. If only Rainbow could just look at her once more, to acknowledge her one last time, she could smile again. “I couldn’t sleep again,” Rainbow exhaled. Pinkie glanced toward her friend with ears perked. The least she could do was give her attention. “I-I don’t know, I try to sleep, but I always see you on that cliff, and when I close my eyes, it’s… it’s like when I turned my back.” “Oh, Dashie…” Pinkie wrapped her hooves around her friend in a light embrace. Rainbow didn’t budge. “So, I just get up and try doing laps—anything to get that day out of my mind… Sometimes it works, but those thoughts always come back and slap me in the face. I’d give anything just to make them go away. I… I’d give anything for you to come back.” The wind sang through the limbs of the oak tree, catching Rainbow Dash in a shiver. Pinkie tightened her grip and willed her presence to shield her friend from the cold. Her heart sank when it did not. How could she? The ailment that gave her immunity from the chill wind also prevented her from giving the same to others. Her warm embraces were no longer warm, no longer felt, and no longer gave the sense of comfort and security her grieving friends needed. “Look at me,” Rainbow Dash muttered, her hoof passing through Pinkie to wipe her eyes, “I’m pathetic. I’ve never let anything beat me like this before…” She got up and walked to the tombstone. “I know I should be strong, but it’s just so hard, y’know? Knowing that one of my best friends is gone because of… because I was too arrogant. Too prideful… What good is pride when it gets your friend killed?” Pinkie looked on helplessly. “It wasn’t your fault…” “It’s not good for anything!” Rainbow stomped, “Nothing but hurting ponies. Killing ponies… That’s what happens when I let my ego get too big: ponies die!” Pinkie grimaced at Rainbow’s outrage. Sure, Rainbow Dash wasn’t the hardest pony to anger, but she’d never seen her like this. A moment passed in silence, the wind still chilling the air. Rainbow Dash continued to shiver, though Pinkie was beginning to believe that it was not from the cold. Rainbow took a deep breath and placed her hoof on the tombstone. “I took everything away from you, Pinkie… Took everything you loved away from you, and took you away from everypony that loved you. I know I’ve said this a thousand times already, but I mean it—I miss you. Please, forgive me…” Rainbow Dash sighed and stepped back from the grave. “I should get going. I’m supposed to help AJ with something tomorrow, and I’m not gonna be much help if I’m exhausted.” Pinkie sat with her back facing the stone. Rainbow Dash looked at her—through her—and said, “See ya later, Pinkie Pie…” She spread her wings and caught hold of the breeze, leaving Pinkie alone. Again. Pinkie Pie wilted as her friend flew out of view. “Tell Applejack I said ‘Hi’...” “I do not believe she can hear you.” A chill broke through Pinkie’s barrier and ran down her spine. She turned. A stallion, as pale and faded as she, stood looking at the tombstone that donned her cutie mark. His features marked him as an older pony; his coat was a light tan and his graying mane slicked back out of his eyes. Despite the wrinkles spread across his face, he still stood tall and looked to carry the strength of any younger pony. His eyes pulsed with an amber glow that was oddly comforting to Pinkie, warm like a cozy fire. “Your passing was nearly one year ago today, and yet you have not moved on. Instead you lay beneath the oaken tree to greet your guests as the unseen guardian of your own grave.” He turned to her. “Why have you not moved on?” Pinkie froze. The warmth in this stranger’s eyes didn’t show in his voice. Though not harsh, his words held little emotion. “Y-you can see me?” He nodded. “I can, and what I see is troubling.” “Why?” Pinkie asked. “Life is no secret to the keepers of the dead, Pinkie Pie. You were as energetic in spirit as you were in action. However, the spirit I see before me is not of the mare described. It seems death was unkind to you.” “What do you mean? Who are you?” “Who I am is not relevant to the current situation. Just know that a spirit who wanders long in this realm will lose every trace of who they were in life.” He frowned. “There are possibilities far worse than losing your life, Pinkie Pie. If you continue your time in the realm of the living, you will lose every bit of who you are. Now, I shall ask again. Why do you remain here?” Pinkie swallowed the lump forming in her throat. Her shield was all but gone now, leaving her exposed to the chill of not the wind, but of this stallion, or rather what his intentions were. She felt the need to run far away and never look back, to get away from that voice whose chilly lack of emotion sent shocks throughout her being, but those eyes kept her rooted in place. They still comforted her and sympathized with her, and curiosity clouded them. Words can be deceiving, but eyes always reveal the truth in a pony. Maybe this stallion could be trusted? “I… couldn’t leave them.” “Them?” “My friends.” “Ah, and I suppose the colorful one was one of your friends?” “Yeah, she is.” Pinkie nodded. “That was Rainbow Dash.” “I suspected that is who it was. The mare who let her pride and ego blind her of her actions.” The stallion turned back to the stone, running a hoof across the surface. “Such negligence is dangerous, as you have experienced.” “It wasn’t her fault!” Pinkie shouted. “Do not let anger grab hold of you, spirit. That leads down a dangerous path,” he warned. “I do not pin the blame on her fully. My research shows the collapse was triggered by her, but there was possibly no way of knowing it would happen.” The collapse… Pinkie didn’t like thinking about it, but it always managed to wiggle its way into her mind one way or another. If anypony was to blame, it was herself. The whole idea was hers to begin with. She wanted to make the routine extra special; with an audience, fireworks, the whole shebang! But, it didn’t end the way she had planned… She clenched her eyes shut and prayed for them to shield her from the memories. The past was the past. No point in dwelling on it now. The stallion sighed, “My apologies if my words seem cold. My passing was long ago, and I am unpracticed in dealing with emotional situations such as this.” His eyes softened for the first time, their glow becoming that of embers. His lips curled into a light smile. “Your journey will be far easier if you rid of your regret. Do you want to talk about it?” “I don’t even know who you are,” Pinkie said weakly. “Besides, you seem to know everything about me, so I don’t know what’s left to talk about…” “Lore Scripture.” “Huh?” “My name,” the stallion said, “is Lore Scripture. Perhaps on the journey to Tartarus I will tell you more, but first we must rid you of your regrets, lest you risk living forever with them in the afterlife.” Pinkie’s ears perked at his every word. There was something different to his speech now; the coldness of his voice was warming. Perhaps he really was trying to help her. “I don’t really regret anything… at least I didn’t when I was alive. I only ever wanted to make everypony happy. Their smiles lit up my day everytime I saw them.” “Were you happy when you died?” “I… I think so,” Pinkie said. “I remember hurting all over, and I couldn’t move… But then Dashie showed up. I asked if she liked the routine, and she said she… that she loved it. I was happy for her.” “That is very selfless of you,” Lore Scripture observed. “Death’s grip did not change who you were. That still begs the question: if you had no regrets in life, then what are your regrets in death?” “I know Dashie was lying to me. It’s pretty obvious that she was every time I see her. She blames herself and thinks I hate her… and I can’t tell her I don’t.” Lore’s eyes regained their fiery glow as he turned fully toward her. “Then your regret is tied with hers. She will live out the rest of her years believing she is solely to blame for your passing, and as such she will live with the belief that you will never forgive her for what happened.” He closed his eyes and paused for a moment before continuing. “Will her knowing that you forgive her rid you of your burden?” “If she can move on and be happy... then yeah.” Lore nodded and turned back to face the grave. He touched the top of the stone and clenched his eyes shut. Pinkie couldn’t tell what he was doing, only that the air around the stone began to glow a cold blue. Soon the glow engulfed the stone and ran across its surface like water in a flowing stream, eventually puddling in the indentations of her cutie mark. The glow intensified to a near-blinding light before finally dispersing, leaving a flat, blank surface on the stone. Pinkie gasped, “Wh-what happened to my cutie mark?” Lore relaxed, opening his eyes and removing his hoof from the stone. He turned to Pinkie, his soft smile returning to his features. “This, Pinkie Pie, is the turning of the page, the new chapter, the blank slate. “Magic of the living world is harnessed by those who can reach it. Unicorns, alicorns and the like. They do not merely pull magic from thin air to do with as they please, they pull it from the shared realm of the dead. You, Pinkie, are energy coalesced into the form you are, the thoughts you maintain from the being you once were,” Lore explained, his lips long in a smile Pinkie hadn’t thought possible for the stallion. “In truth, all the magic of Equestria comes from this realm: the realm of spirits. As such, all spirits can grab hold of this energy and bend it to their will, provided they possess the knowledge on how to do so.” Pinkie’s eyes grew wide, “And you want to teach me how to do that?” “I do not wish to see your regrets follow you to Tartarus. I cannot teach you everything, but I can set you on the path to learn for yourself,” Lore said. He pointed to a pebble at the base of the oak. “That should suffice. Your first lesson is to reach out to that rock and pick it up.” Pinkie looked at the rock and shrugged, making her way over to the pebble. She reached for it and tried to scoop it up; her hoof passed through it, leaving it resting unaltered. Pinkie blinked and tried again, with each try leaving the pebble untouched. She looked over to Lore Scripture. He grinned. “A spirit cannot interact with the world as the living can. Look at the pebble, study it, and close your eyes.” Pinkie did as instructed. “Good,” Lore continued, “Now visualize it in your mind. Trace each jagged curve, feel the texture of its surface and the coolness of its touch. Make that visualization a reality in your mind. Do you see it?” “Yes,” Pinkie replied. “Now—and this is important—focus all your concentration on that pebble and lift it. Let it follow your gaze… Yes, that’s good. Now, without losing that concentration, open your eyes.” Pinkie cracked her eyes and gasped. The pebble hung in the air, frozen in time. She beamed. “I did it! It’s floating! It’s— aww…” The pebble landed on the ground with a thud. Lore smiled and, with little effort, picked up the pebble and placed it on top of the tombstone. “For your first time you did very well. Just remember to never lose concentration, lest you lose grasp of your task. “The rest is for you to learn, Pinkie Pie. I will give you as much time as is possible to help your friend. Though if you have not completed your task by the time I return, we will have no choice but to leave. My master will not be happy if I delay for too long.” “Wait, you can’t help me?” Lore shook his head. “I am afraid not. I have other matters to attend to. Do not worry. Just remember the simple instructions I have told you. The same applies to whatever you wish to do, though greater effort may be needed for some tasks. Farewell, Pinkie Pie, and good luck.” Lore Scripture took a few steps away from her before evaporating into the dark. It was quiet once again, with the wind still blowing its soft song though the limbs of the oak. Pinkie Pie smiled up at the moon, a glint of determination in her eye. She looked back at the pebble resting on top of her grave and nodded. She was equipped with the power to get her message across, now she just had to use it. She had to find Rainbow Dash. Author's Note Thank you to my pre-readers who helped me spot a few of the mistakes I missed! - watermelonpizza - Jurassicdl3 - Green_Dragon_Iris - Artea - Bait And thank you to Bait for the awesome art!
Chapter Two: To Help or To HurtShafts of pale light broke through the cloud canopy of Rainbow Dash’s home, painting the edges with an almost eerie glow. A light peeked through one of the windows, with a shadow swallowing the light every few seconds. As quickly as the light went out, it would come back with its faint brilliance. Pinkie Pie stood staring up at the home and counted the number of times it flickered off and on. Ninety-seven, ninety-eight, ninety-nine… It stopped. A moment passed before the window went dark. It was time. There was only one problem: how to get up there? Having been so caught up on knowing what she wanted to do, she had not given thought as to how she would accomplish it. Where she would normally inflate some balloons to reach heights and places impossible to an earth pony, her spectral form made the easiest solution impossible, as the balloons would just ignore her presence and float off without her. No, that wouldn’t work at all, but what other options did she have? Pinkie looked up helplessly. Her goal was in sight; so close, and yet so far out of reach. Lore Scripture had given her the knowledge to do what she needed, but it’s not as simple as levitating a rock and throwing it at Dash’s window to say she’s sorry. If anything, that would accomplish the opposite. But if she could levitate a stone, could she levitate herself? She may have been incorporeal, but she was still her. She had to be real enough for the magic to work on herself! A determined smile crossed her face as she set her mind on the task. She closed her eyes and planted her hooves firmly against the ground; the only way she would be moving was up. She concentrated deeply on herself. The faded pink of her coat and mane materialized in her mind, followed by every feature that defined her. The image became as clear as her reflection in a mirror. She imagined her pose, and the cloud home high above, and she saw herself ascending from the ground; she felt the land beneath her hooves fall away. She opened her eyes to a height, some distance above the earth; the detail on the ground below her faded into obscurity. It was working! She felt the sudden urge to cheer, and the image in her mind wavered. She suddenly saw her destination slip from her grasp and seemingly fly up and away from her. She was falling down again! She panicked as the ground raced toward her, and quickly tried to bring the picture back to her mind. She once again pieced the image together and willed it into action, and the ground beneath her retreated once more. Finally, when she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the shade of a darkened window. Pinkie cheered, gleefully clapping her hooves together whilst careful as to not lose the image that had gotten her there. She reached for the window to open it, but stumbled with a quiet yelp as her hoof passed through the glass. She regained her balance and air-trotted through the closed window. Pinkie eyed the floor beneath her with hesitation. If she could pass through the walls, surely up here she would also pass through the floor. She assumed it would be no different here than it was for the earth below. She lowered herself to the floor and passed right through, and then she quickly darted back above the floor. Realizing that it’s not so simple, she pondered what the difference was between the ground and the floor. She had recalled multiple times during her life having no issue walking on the floor here, which, while built in the clouds, was designed for everyone to walk on. This should make it no different than the ground below. The walls, however, were another thing altogether. Then, it clicked. She smiled as she realized she had been overlooking what could be deduced by Lore Scripture’s lessons. After all, it was completely natural to walk on the ground down below. She just assumed she could, and so she was able. With this whole idea of spectral magic floating around in her head, she was definitely expecting more than required. She closed her eyes and visualized the floor. She imagined herself lowering onto the swirls of tightly-packed cloud. She felt the coolness of its touch on the soles of her hooves, and she could see herself walk across it with the ease of walking down a cobblestone street. She opened her eyes and beamed with delight as she found herself standing on the solid floor. That was much easier than she thought; if you believe it’s a floor, then you’ll be able to walk on it as you would a floor! Pinkie’s smile lightened as she set her mind to her task. Gotta get to Rainbow Dash! The cloud home was fairly large compared to most houses in Ponyville, except maybe Twilight’s castle, but she traversed its halls as she would her own home. She made her way up the stairs and to Rainbow’s room. She thought about knocking, but that would require too much effort, plus it would probably frighten Rainbow Dash. No, if she was going to wake up Rainbow Dash and tell her she forgave her, she would have to be much more creative. She walked through the closed door and saw Rainbow lying in her bed, her blanket curled tightly around her. Pinkie crossed the room and sat down next to the bed to look at Rainbow Dash. The mare’s eyes were closed to sleep, but Pinkie thought she could see the faintest movement beneath her eyelids. Pinkie grimaced. Judging by the frown bent almost into a snarl, Rainbow must be having the same dream she told Pinkie about so many times before. The pink mare felt her eyes moisten, a sensation she had found possible many times before when she’d felt so hopeless as a spirit. “I wish you would stop thinking about it…” Pinkie remembered that day, so long ago now, where she had done so much to help Rainbow with her plans. Though Rainbow thought a simple display of the Sonic Rainboom would suffice to celebrate the day they all became friends, and the link they shared since they were all fillies, Pinkie had wanted to help make it extra special. A nice set of fireworks would do nicely; set them off at just the right time… Remembering why she was here, Pinkie rid her mind of such toxic thoughts, which would only serve to slow her down. It is what it is, and the least Pinkie could do was try to make things better. She focused back on Rainbow Dash, and even with the presence of bad dreams, she couldn’t help but smile. Rainbow Dash had always had a tough exterior, but she looked as gentle as a foal in her sleep. Pinkie’s brow creased. Sitting there was not solving the issue. Pinkie stood up and looked around the room. There was a mirror on the wall with a picture of her and Rainbow Dash slid into a narrow opening in the corner of the frame. She remembered it as a time where they had just gotten back from their mission to Griffonstone. Rainbow had been in such a good mood that they had decided to celebrate at Sugarcube Corner—at Pinkie’s suggestion, of course. After they both had their fill of sweets, they had gotten their picture taken by Mrs. Cake. Though the picture had proven that Mrs. Cake’s talents were better suited to baking, it was still good enough to capture the cherished memory. Obviously, Rainbow Dash had thought so, too. Finally, she decided to put the reminiscing aside and get to work. But how? Looking once more at the photo, an idea sprang to her. She found a notebook on the dresser and levitated a pencil over, with some effort. She found a blank page and visualized the pencil sliding across the paper, forming letters, then words, then a sentence. She felt exhausted by the time she was done, but she was happy with the letter she wrote, even if it was only a short sentence in length. Please don’t blame yourself. I forgive you, Dashie! - Pinkie Pie It was short and sweet, and got the point across well enough; it would have to do. She levitated it up to a vacant corner of the mirror and tried to slide it in. It wouldn’t catch, so she tried again, and again, and again. The paper curved just enough at the top that it just wouldn’t slide into the tiny opening between the mirror and frame. “C’mon, dumb mirror… Let me slide the paper in!” After a few more tries, she growled and tried a different corner. After failing that, she grit her teeth in frustration and focused on applying some pressure to the page and the mirror and then tried to slide... A crash rang out across the room as the mirror shattered into shards and flung around the room every which way. Rainbow sprang up from her sleep with a shout and shielded herself with her blanket as shards of glass rained down. Once the last shards had fallen, Rainbow uncovered her head and looked wide-eyed at the broken mirror. Pinkie panicked and quickly grabbed another framed photo of them along with the pencil she had been writing with and tried to point to herself. Rainbow screamed as the objects floated in front of her. Pinkie quickened her pace and tapped the glass of the picture frame, accidently cracking it over Rainbow’s face. “Oh, no, no no. NO!” Rainbow shot up from her bed and shot toward the window, fumbling at the lock to open it. “Rainbow Dash, please!” Pinkie cried out, “I’m just trying to tell you that I forgive you!” She brought the frame closer to her friend, and Rainbow screamed again, kicking open the window and flying out. “I was just trying… to tell… you…” Pinkie felt tears well up in her eyes as Rainbow disappeared into the darkness. ~~~ Pinkie Pie lay motionless in a patch of open field, her eyes fixated on an apple rocking gently in the breeze. She wished she could feel the coolness of the air on her body, and with a discontented sigh, bemoaned her inability to feel any physical force. She hated feeling foreign, like she didn’t belong. And although she could see, everything was less saturated than when she breathed living air. Her sense of sound was slightly muffled, but she hadn’t noticed it with Lore Scripture the night before. The smell of the environment, and the apples that surrounded her, was but a faint, dull aroma. Not only could she not feel anything of the physical world, she couldn’t even feel her own heart beat. Granted, this did not come as a surprise to her, given her ghostly nature. Strangely though, she could feel exhaustion even as a spirit, and with another sigh, she let her head fall into the hooves lying beneath her. She had waited in Rainbow’s room for her to return, and had set out to fix the objects she had broken. The picture frame was pretty easy; she had just inserted the image of the frame into her mind, and erased the cracks from existence. It was amazing what spectral magic could do! What wasn’t so easy was fixing the mirror. She had to levitate every shard, every speck of broken glass, into its former shape. Then, envisioning it in her mind, she stuck the pieces together as if with glue and removed the cracks. The end product was a mirror untouched by violence, and a pit of exhaustion that had been dug inside of her afterwards. Rainbow still hadn’t returned by the time everything was restored, so Pinkie had decided to make her way to Sweet Apple Acres to wait for her arrival; she remembered that Rainbow Dash had an obligation she had to fill that morning. The sun was high enough in the sky to begin the work day. Where was Rainbow? Pinkie yawned and closed her eyes. I think it’s okay to rest my eyes for a couple minutes… “There you are! Where’ve you been?” Pinkie jumped and looked around. Applejack was leaning on a fence several yards away talking to… “Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie shouted, sprinting to see the pegasus. Rainbow Dash hovered several feet off the ground. Her ragged, unkempt mane matched well with the drooping bags beneath her eyes. She stifled a yawn, “Sorry, AJ… I, uh, had a late night.” Applejack raised her brow, “A late night, huh? Well, you look it. You sure you’re good to work?” “Pfft,” Rainbow exclaimed with a smirk, “I’ve had less sleep than this during Wonderbolts practice, and still outperformed the competition!” “Uh-huh,” Applejack chuckled, “Well, exhaustion sure ain’t slowin’ your boasting. Alright, let’s get to it, then.” Pinkie watched the two mares walk the length of the fence to a collapsed section. Three segments of the wooden fence had fallen over or completely cracked from the wear of time. Applejack pulled a cart closer to the section and began lifting boards. Rainbow Dash yawned and joined her. “Alright, Rainbow, simple work. All I need ya to do is place these here boards in the posts I already have up.” Rainbow laughed, “That’s it? I’m shocked that you need my help with this, AJ!” Applejack grinned, “This is only the first of a dozen places that need patchin’, and this is the shortest bit.” Rainbow’s eyes widened in response, flying up a bit and staring down the long length of fence surrounding the farm. “Great…” Pinkie sat watching as the pair began their work, but she didn’t see them, as her vision was overlaid by a reminder of her blunder. Writing a simple note amounted to unwittingly intensifying the stress of an already emotionally shattered pony. Regret is all she felt, all she saw, for making matters worse. After Rainbow had flown away, Pinkie had thrown the note out the window. Let the wind do whatever it wants with it… Pinkie thought sourly. “Uh, Rainbow? You sure you can work in that state?” Applejack asked, noticing Rainbow’s slumping form. As Pinkie shook herself from her thoughts, she saw Rainbow jerk much the same way she had. Once the troubled mare had settled, she put on another of her grins, though Pinkie could see that she was only masking what she actually felt. “Oh yeah, I got this. Just a power nap, that’s all. Good for giving quick boosts of energy!” Rainbow Dash said. “Right, well if you start feeling too tired to work, you can go—” “Home?” Rainbow interjected as she laughed nervously, “Nah, I’m good. I spend way too much time kooked up in that place anyway. I think I’ll go on a camping trip or something, enjoy some fresh air!” “Maybe that’ll do ya some good!” Applejack said with a chuckle. Pinkie didn’t laugh, however. Had she really scared Rainbow so much that she didn’t feel safe going home? She hadn’t meant for that to happen. She sighed. Maybe it would be best to forget this whole endeavor before she hurt Rainbow Dash even more. Pinkie studied the pegasus; she fumbled with the boards, barely able to fit them into the slots of the posts. The least Pinkie could do for her was to help finish her work so she could get some much-needed rest. She bided her time, glancing over at Applejack. The farm mare had moved down to the next gap in the fence several lengths down and was concentrating on the work in front of her. Pinkie nodded, looking back to Rainbow Dash. She had closed her eyes and laid her head against a board she had managed to get slotted. Pinkie smiled sadly at her friend. “Oh, Dashie… You need rest.” Checking for any prying eyes, Pinkie focused on one of the boards and willed it off its pile. She allowed it to slide easily into the first post, and then she squeezed it as gently as she could into the second post. Easy! She could vaguely remember a time where she hadn’t enjoyed farm chores, but this was a piece of cake! She did the same with the remaining boards, focusing her mind on each board, and sliding them into their respective posts with little effort. “Rainbow?” Applejack called out. Rainbow Dash jumped, “Huh?! Wha-What happened?” Applejack walked up beside the fence, placing a hoof on the beams, “Huh, I know it wasn’t a lot of work, but you sure finished that quick!” Rainbow blinked at Applejack and turned to face the fence, almost jumping at the completed fence, “What?! But I didn’t do—Well, I didn’t think I did…” “Well, somepony did, and you’re the only one I see around here.” Applejack said as she looked at her worriedly, “Look, Dash, I’m worried about ya. You’re actin’ like you haven’t slept in a week. Maybe you should get some sleep. I’d understand.” “No! I promised I’d get this done, and ain’t no way I’m gonna let sleep get in the way!” Rainbow huffed over to the cart of planks and began pushing in off to another section of fence. Pinkie followed. A short time later, Rainbow was back to dozing on a length of upright fence. Now’s my chance, Pinkie thought, taking the boards in her mind and completing lengths of fence as quickly and quietly as she could. Almost done! Just a few more... “What in the—!” Pinkie shot a look at Rainbow Dash, who was gaping wide-eyed at the floating plank. To Pinkie’s shock, the board bolted towards Rainbow Dash. She dodged out of the way as best she could, but the weight of exhaustion slowed her reflexes. She screamed out as the board struck home on her hind leg. If Pinkie’s heart could beat, it would have stopped there. She rushed to Rainbow’s side, while Applejack sprinted from the other direction, “Dash! What happened? You alright?!” Rainbow scrambled to her hooves, taking care as to not put weight on her injured leg. “Yeah, fine. Just flippin’ fine!” she scowled, looking at the fence. “I swear the world is trying to kill me!” “Rainbow—” “Leave me alone!” Rainbow Dash shouted up at the sky, rage blazing in her eyes. Or was that fear? “You hear me? LEAVE! ME! ALONE!” Rainbow rocketed into the sky and bolted away from the farm. “Rainbow, wait!” Applejack sighed, looking at the work left to do before shaking her head and running off in pursuit. Pinkie slumped to the ground, the grass cushioning her fall, though she couldn’t feel it. She couldn’t feel anything but a sting of pain in her chest; a clenching knot of despair gripped her, and moisture pooled heavily in her eyes. She wanted to do nothing more than to help her suffering friend, but she had done nothing but make things worse. She curled herself into a ball on the ground. All she wanted to do now was cry. Author's Note Thank you to my editor, Cpt. David, as well as my proofreaders Jurassicdl3 and DashieChad!
Chapter Three: Finding PeacePinkie Pie lay with lidded eyes in her usual spot, shaded from the crescent-dimmed moonlight by the giant oak she had claimed as her home. The wind lent itself to the tree, sounding off an illusion of sea waves crashing against the shore. It was a nice thought, a happy thought of a time she had seen the wide expanse of water. She had swum through the chilling sea, fingers of ice only momentarily grasping at her flesh before releasing her to a more comfortable embrace as her body grew accustomed to it. It had been refreshing like nothing else. Leaving the water welcomed the presence of the sea breeze; warm-air-turned-cool on her wet body, and the salty air filled her lungs with such refreshment. It was a moment away from the craziness, away from the parties and the ponies. It was just a joyous moment in nature’s bliss. Now, Pinkie could no longer feel the wind’s cool touch, with every passing day a reminder of a memory that could never be relived. Pinkie opened her eyes lazily, refusing to move an inch more. She had no energy left to move, or rather, she had no desire left to move. The same could have been said a week ago, too, though that had all changed when Lore Scripture came to deliver her to Tartarus. He had sensed her hesitation—her pain—and offered to help her make things right. He had taught her the tools she would need, and she was given the chance to make things better. Everything had been spread before her, and she had screwed it all up. Rainbow Dash feared her, and everything she tried to do made it worse. It had spiraled out of control since the incident at Sweet Apple Acres. Rainbow stayed away from her friends, and aside from feeding Tank, she would stay away from her own home. Pinkie had done nothing but to make the uneasy mare feel like the target of her wrath. Pinkie Pie’s eyes swiveled toward her tomb stone—still blank from near a week before. If Rainbow Dash ever worked up the courage to visit her again, the smooth face of that stone would do nothing to settle the mare’s mind. Pinkie sighed and rose from her bed, dragging her hooves to the stone. She studied it for a moment. Lore Scripture had erased the contents of that stone, calling it a blank slate—a new start for her to make things right. It was his contract to her and it awaited her signature. Whatever his intent was, her cutie mark needed to don that stone once again. Mimicking what Lore had done before, she placed her hoof on the stone’s surface and closed her eyes. She pictured it in her mind, and pictured her cutie mark on it, with every curve of the balloons chiseled precisely in the stone. A faint glow invaded her closed eyes before dissipating. Opening her eyes, Pinkie was greeted by her cutie mark, a perfect copy of its original self. Well, that was back to normal, but Pinkie still felt a hole in her heart. It just wasn’t fair! She had done everything she could to tell Rainbow Dash she forgave her, and everything had just worked against her. She just wanted to see a smile—a legitimate smile—on Rainbow Dash’s face, but that seemed so out of reach now. She couldn’t even smile herself anymore. Scowling, Pinkie turned to face the oak and lashed out at it. Invisible blades struck the bark, leaving scrapes and cuts of various lengths and depths, until finally she let go of the image in her mind. She read the words in silence. They were the last thing she had asked of Rainbow Dash before she died, and Rainbow had not heeded it. Pinkie threw herself back into the grass and studied the night sky. A pony she knew as a filly had once told her that when somepony died, they would join the stars in the sky and smile down upon you through both the good and bad times. Well, if that were true, why was she stuck here on the ground, desperate for a smile to light her way? Just a single smile from Rainbow Dash would… Pinkie blinked up at the sky, or more precisely at the winged figure in the sky. She didn’t need the moon’s help to recognize the radiance of that rainbow mane. Pinkie held her breath and waited to see what Rainbow would do. The mare shook her head sadly and flew off toward town. Pinkie pounded the ground with her hoof. Another night of being ignored because of her stupidity. It just wasn’t fair! “No!” Pinkie growled, forcing herself to her hooves, “Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Pinkie Pie! Get out there and make things right! Don’t give up until it’s too late!” The only question was how to do that. Pinkie’s eyes followed the fading rainbow trail to the tips of Twilight’s castle in the distance. It made sense, if a pony had a question they couldn’t think of an answer to, they would go to Twilight! Pinkie smiled determinedly and ran on with a purpose that she had once thought lost. ~~~ Twilight’s castle, known by those outside of Ponyville by its more formal name, the Castle of Friendship, shimmered vaguely in the light of a crescent moon as Pinkie Pie approached. Light seeped through the gap underneath the entrance, holding any darkness escaping the faint moonlight at bay. Pinkie pushed herself through the unopened door without issue. Inside, the castle lobby was left mostly unchanged from when she had last visited a year ago, with perhaps the addition of a few new banners and potted plants. Even with what Pinkie believed were the only new additions, the large lobby was still fairly barren, with a long, red carpet running the length of the room. The floor would normally give off a dull sheen in the day, but with the night it was a lifeless gray, amplified by the desaturation of the spirit realm. The door at the far end of the room was left ajar, with rays of light casting across the room to touch an unremarkable section of a far wall. Pinkie closed the distance to the door in a moment; words gave quiet echoes from the map room on the other side. “—think you are just overreacting.” It was Twilight’s voice, surprisingly lacking the slurring of sleep. It must have been another of Twilight’s late ‘library dates,’ as Pinkie liked to call her study sessions. “I’m telling you, Twilight, I’m not!” Rainbow growled, “I know what I’ve been seeing! It’s been like this all week long, and it doesn’t matter where I am, things just fly around without warning.” Pinkie pushed through the door with the same ease as she had earlier. Rainbow Dash paced back and forth in a short, 5-step span, with Twilight seated in one of the nearby thrones encircling the Cutie Map. To Pinkie’s surprise, Spike and Starlight Glimmer were both absent. Perhaps they had been able to escape the pains of another late night of books with the Princess of Books, another of Pinkie’s terms for Twilight. Rainbow grimaced as she came to a stop and rubbed her hind leg. “I mean, c’mon, Twilight… How do you think I got this? It wasn’t during practice, I can tell you that much.” Twilight looked at Rainbow thoughtfully, “You said you hadn’t had any sleep the night before. You could have just hurt yourself while helping with Applejack’s fence. Exhaustion can cloud your mind, so you could have easily turned and bumped a loose beam, and it could have fallen and hurt your leg. I’m sure they’re heavy, so it’s feasible.” “I think I would know the difference between a board falling over and being THROWN at me!” Rainbow shouted frustratingly, “I saw it, Twi. I know I did. So yeah, maybe I did doze off a little, but I shook myself awake and there it was: a wooden beam just floating there, with no unicorns in sight.” Rainbow continued her pacing for a moment before flinching in pain again. She sat down beside Twilight with a sigh. “Look, Twilight… I’m not crazy. I know what I saw. Please, believe me…” Twilight studied Rainbow for a moment before finally nodding, albeit slowly. “Okay, Rainbow, I believe you, but I’m still not sure what would have caused something like that…” “Ghosts! Don’t look at me like that, it’s gotta be!” Rainbow argued, “I swear, Pinkie just hates me for what I did, and her ghost is trying to kill me, or at least make my life miserable…” Pinkie winced. Her fears had come true, confirmed straight from the mouth of the victim. She had set out to ease Rainbow’s suffering, and she had only made it worse. Much worse if Rainbow thought she was trying to kill her. Pinkie felt moisture in the corners of her eyes, she fought it back with an effort. “Rainbow,” Twilight stepped from her chair to Rainbow, laying a hoof on her shoulder, “Listen, all of us have hurt from Pinkie’s passing, but we’ve all managed to move on, somehow… I’m afraid you still haven’t, and I feel like you aren’t trying to.” Rainbow closed her eyes tightly and trembled at Twilight’s touch. Pinkie had seen that look many times before when Rainbow would visit her grave. While Rainbow wouldn’t cry every time she visited, there were times that she came close. This was one of those times, with Rainbow straining to maintain her composure, trying to play the strong mare she had always tried to show to the public. Pinkie wasn’t sure if she would win out on this one. Twilight continued, “I know it’s hard, Rainbow, but you need to try to come to terms with what’s happened. I promise you that everything will feel much better once you do.” Rainbow shook again, and vainly sniffed back a tear. “I see it every night, Twilight—that terrible, good-for-nothing cliff. I just see it crumbling, only I don’t. It’s like I’m not in my own body, and I can see myself racing away from the cliff with this… this proud smile on my face. I’m oblivious to everything.” Rainbow’s tears finally fought through the mental barrier she had set. “I look down at you guys and expect to see applause at my Sonic Rainboom, and Pinkie’s fireworks, but you’re all freaking out, running toward the show, and that’s when…” Rainbow sobbed, the barrier all but gone now as Twilight brought her head into the nook of her shoulder. Twilight shushed her, patting Rainbow’s back, “You had good intentions, Rainbow… You just wanted to celebrate our friendship, and we all appreciate it, but nobody could have known that the cliff was unstable,” Twilight continued, “You have to remember that, Rainbow. What happened to the cliff was not your fault.” “But it was, Twilight,” Rainbow squeaked, “That cliff would still be standing if… if I hadn’t done the Sonic Rainboom. The force from it was too much… I killed her, Twilight… It was me, and I was too blinded by pride to see it, and the fake cheers in my head blocked out—it blocked the crashing of the cliff, and...” Rainbow choked up, “I could have reached her in time…” “That’s nonsense and you know it.” Twilight’s words were stern, though soft as a pillow. “Nothing anypony could have done would have changed events much beyond what we have now. As sad as it is, accidents can happen, and we can’t change them.” Twilight gently pushed Rainbow back to see her face. “Now, please, find peace with what happened. I’m positive Pinkie wouldn’t want you feeling this way. She would want you to smile, and I think that’s the best way to celebrate her life.” Pinkie could only nod, her lips trembling through a faint smile. Twilight had managed to do what she had failed to over the past week, and based on the smile donning Rainbow’s face, however forced it may have been, it seemed to have worked. “Thank you, Twilight…” Pinkie whispered to herself. “Now,” Twilight began, giving Rainbow a small smile, “I think you should go visit Pinkie Pie tomorrow and let her know that you’ve finally found the means to move on. Let her know that you will find that happiness she would want you to have.” Rainbow Dash’s smile seemed genuine now, an eagerness in her eyes. “I’ll go tonight. I owe her that much.” Pinkie’s eyes widened. Rainbow Dash may have finally found the peace she had been seeking, but Pinkie wanted more. She would only have one more real shot at sending a message to Rainbow Dash, and she wanted her to know for certain that she was forgiven. A part of her argued that she should quit while she was ahead, to not risk losing the ground she had gained, but her mind was set. Pinkie had one more shot to put any remaining fears in Rainbow to rest, and she intended to take it. She closed her eyes and pictured the gravestone, her cutie mark chiseled on its face. She saw the great oak, imagined its limbs swaying, and its leaves rustling in the wind. She imagined she was there… ~~~ The blinding light faded to the familiar scene of her oaken home by her tomb. Pinkie surveyed the scene to form a plan; the pieces to the puzzle were here, she just had to figure out how to place them. She spotted the crudely carved letters in the trunk of her tree and smiled. Good, that could help. Pinkie heard the vague, yet unmistakeable sound of flapping wings. She looked to the sky and saw the rapid approach of a rainbow mane glinting in the shallow moonlight. Pinkie sighed to herself; she would have to improvise for the rest of her unformed plan. Rainbow Dash landed several yards away from the tombstone with a muffled thud, and Pinkie instinctively dodged out of the way. Rainbow stared at the tombstone, unflinching, before finally inhaling heavily and pushing herself forward. She stopped a few feet from the stone and let go of the breath she had been holding in. The moonlight angled just right to conceal the stone-etched cutie mark in shadow, but Rainbow looked at it as if it was the only thing she saw. “Hey, Pinkie Pie,” she began, clearing her throat, “I, uh, I’m sorry for avoiding you for so long. I just—I mean, I wasn’t sure if you wanted to… see me.” Rainbow brushed her hoof in the tufts of grass in front of her, staying silent as if to wait for a reply. When none came, she sighed and continued, “I just got these crazy ideas in my head that you hated me for what happened to you… And, I guess I forgot that it was never like you to hate somepony, or to hold a grudge. I just hope that you can forgive me.” The mare closed her eyes and bowed her head. Now was Pinkie’s chance to act! She quickly looked at the stone, and then at the carving on the tree before nodding to herself and closing her eyes. She reached for the stone, placing her hoof on its surface as she had done earlier and imagined her cutie mark disappearing. She felt the stone smoothen its features, and immediately she followed through with an image of a message. She saw the stone give way to her words, like soft clay in a potter’s hooves. The message had to be simple, the first prong of a multi-phased attack of love and forgiveness. She finished off the sculpting by concentrating the glow that normally engulfed the entire stone into a cool blaze of blue light forming to the letters of her message. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and gasped at the display, reading the words quietly to herself, “Look to your left…” Rainbow swallowed and did as she was instructed, giving off another gasp at the message she had not seen on the tree. Pinkie smiled and added a softer glow to the message she had previously carved out in frustration—a message she had originally written as a reminder to herself, but would now serve to aid in her cause. The words blazed a cool blue. Never stop smiling. Rainbow Dash trembled again, but this time not fighting back the tears that desperately yearned for release. “That—” she choked on the word. She hoarsely cleared her throat before continuing, “That was the last thing you said to me… Pinkie Pie, are you… are you really there?” Pinkie smiled, her own tears threatening to fall from the sheer happiness that overwhelmed her. She was almost done; she just had to add the cherry on top. The wind blew and Pinkie glanced up at a rustling in the leaves that was not like the rest. A white sheet of loosely-crumpled paper was snagged on one of the twigs. Her eyes widened at the recognition of it. Fate had a funny way of playing things, and it had delivered her a winning card to her final gamble with spectral magic. Before Pinkie could loosen the page on her own, a faint glow pulled it from its held place and let it gently ride the air in a rocking motion. She blinked at the page and looked behind her. Lore Scripture smiled at her and nodded, letting go of his magic. Rainbow Dash flinched when the page landed softly on her head. She hesitantly took the page and held out the page to read. Please don’t blame yourself. I forgive you, Dashie. - Pinkie Pie Rainbow let out a half-laugh-half-sob and held the page against her in a tight embrace. “Thank you, Pinkie… Thank you so much!” Pinkie ran to her friend and embraced her in a huge of her own. Rainbow shivered as if in response, but her smile grew wider. Pinkie could hear Rainbow mumbling thanks repeatedly as she rocked the page back-and-forth. She held on tighter, her mind willing her hooves to not pass through her friend. Though she was a ghost, the hug was as real as if she were alive there with her friend. After a moment, Rainbow pulled away from the page and looked at it. “I promise, Pinkie, I will never blame myself. You will live on every time I smile.” Her smile widened to its brink. “And I promise you that I will never stop smiling.” Lore Scripture approached the tomb stone with a light grin of his own and placed a hoof on its surface. A moment later, the markings on the stone returned to the original balloons of Pinkie’s cutie mark. The fading glow caught Rainbow’s attention and she turned with a slight start, though the smile never faded from her face. “I’ll come back soon, Pinkie Pie, and I’ll update you on what everypony’s up to.” She jumped into the air, her wings catching the air in a hover. “Thanks again, Pinkie. You’ll always be my friend.” With that, the pegasus dashed into the sky, riding the wind into the distance. Pinkie watched her go with a content smile on her face. Lore Scripture sat down beside her and nodded in satisfaction. “You are a quick learner, Pinkie Pie. Quite a remarkable student, indeed.” Pinkie blinked at him. “Huh?” Lore stifled a chuckle. "You learned many things I did not think you would learn in such a short period of time with spectral magic. The ability to teleport, for one, is a difficult feat,” Lore observed, “Though, I suppose you do have a very active imagination, so that would benefit you.” Pinkie nodded at the older spirit with a smile, “Well, I had a great teacher! It really wasn’t that hard. Well, except for the mirror… that was exhausting to put back together. Oh, and the teleporting made me a little dizzy...” Lore Scripture laughed, “I suppose that it would be dizzying if you did not know how to brace for it. Do not worry, Pinkie Pie, you will grow accustomed to it with time and practice.” He stood up to face the horizon, with an eager look in his eye. “For now, It is time for us to depart, Pinkie Pie. My master awaits our return to Tartarus.” Pinkie’s smile disappeared as she looked back to where her friend had been. “But, what about Rainbow Dash? Or anypony else that comes to visit me?” “They will come to speak to the stone, Pinkie Pie,” Lore said, “It is to honor you, but you do not need to be present to hear it. Your soul will always be bound here, and you will always hear them speaking to you as a small voice in the back of your mind. They will be there for you in their words just as you will be forever present in their smiles.” Lore Scripture began forward, speaking over his shoulder, “Now, come along, Pinkie Pie. Tartarus awaits.” Pinkie Pie followed reluctantly, but took a moment to look back one more time at the great oaken tree and tomb she had called her home for so long. She may be gone, but she would never be forgotten. She would live on in the lives of her friends with one simple legacy she had left behind. Never stop smiling. Author's Note The end. Thank you to DashieChad, watermelonpizza, and Jurassicdl3 for proofreading!
