The Literal Rise
Pinkie Pie held in her hooves three differently colored, deflated balloons to choose from. She eyed them carefully, inspecting each one for any signs of inadequateness. After all, get-well balloons were nothing to be taken lightly.
"Pink," she decided more simply than originally intended.
"Meh, actually yellow."
She smiled brightly, quickly tossing the pink and blue and ones aside and proceeding to inflate the yellow one. Yellow was a more sunny color, anyway. She figured a sick Twilight would probably appreciate a more uplifting color, so yellow would fit the bill perfectly.
Glancing outside as she pumped, she noticed the sun nearing its peak for the day, and that meant she would have to get back to work at Sugarcube Corner fairly soon. Her shifts at the cash register were usually less strict, but everypony must have been thinking the same thing today, because today everypony seemed to be ordering one or two scoops of ice cream. It wasn't usually been a big item at the Corner, but the sun was feeling extra yellow today, so it was definitely understandable.
Keeping in mind that her free time was limited, she started pumping good bit faster. The next few seconds went by in a blur, and she found herself tying a string around the balloon's end. She then tied it around belly and trotted over to retrieve a get-well-soon card that had been hoof-crafted by none other than herself. She gave a proud smile at the amazingness that was her glitter-stained masterpiece. Which was yellow, of course. She knew her trip wouldn't be long, so she just held it between her teeth. She hoped those weren't yellow...
...but for the love of butter, she was just in a yellow mood today!
Speaking of bad traffic, she needed to be somewhere. Quickly, too, so as to not be late for her usually-less-strict shift.
Turning on her heels, which would have been possible if she had them, she made for the entrance to Sugarcube Corner, which she was temporarily substituting as an exit.
Reaching the fresh air of the world outside, she inhaled deeply, and exhaled happily. She also came to know the reasoning behind everypony's decision to go for ice cream lately.
"Wow, it is super yellow today!" she said around the card in her mouth. A few ponies curiously looked in her direction, only to look away and shake their heads, realizing the owner of the voice. Finding it harder to talk with the card in her mouth, she took it and stuffed it into her mane. Convenience!
Pinkie took off in the direction of the Golden Oaks library. The townsfolk seemed quite attached any kind of shade, it seemed. She even saw a few ponies with umbrellas. And umbrella-hats!
Who wears those?
It was a good thing that it wasn't that far to walk, because she was feeling very light on her hooves as she walked. So light, in fact, that she felt like she might actually float away if she stepped too hard on the ground.
She laughed at the thought, and decided a good bouncing stride would help her get there faster. During her bounce, however, there seemed to be something missing...
'Hmmm... I bent my legs, I jumped, I gained altitude, I--'
She gasped a gasp.
"Where's the ground!?" she shouted, searching frantically for the essential part of her bounce. "Oh, there it is." It was, of course, below her, as it should be. Because grounds are just like that. However, she noticed it wasn't as close her as it usually was at this point. In fact, it seemed to be moving quickly away from her, as if it was under the impression that she hadn't showered in a bit. She was about take offense, but was shortly reminded of the string tied around her, tugging her.
She face-hoofed.
Out of all the days she could accidentally over-inflate a balloon, it had to be today? Really? She had a friend to see, and a shift to work. Now was not the time for floating around.
Twisting her neck around, she noted just how much she had over-filled her captor. Quite a lot, really. It was maybe three times a large as her head.
"Well, that's just poopy." She folded her forelegs, but couldn't decide if a huff or a groan was more fitting in her situation. What came out was a mixture of the two, resulting in what she opted to call a "gruff". Oh, wait. That was already a word. She didn't want to use "hoan", though. That was just awkward-sounding.
She was up pretty high now, she noticed. She'd really done a number on that balloon, it seemed. And now it was doing one on her. Pinkie wasn't really afraid of heights, but she was definitely afraid of falling. And, of course, those were two entirely different things. Twilight would tell her otherwise, she knew, but falling but being scared of falling and being scared of being up high were not really the same thing in her eyes.
The thought of Twilight made her wonder if anypony could hear her from this distance. "HEEEYYY!!! she shouted at the ground. "CAN ANYPONY HEAR MEEEE!?!?"
"Well, uh... I can hear you just fine, Pinkie!" came a far too cheerful voice from beside her. She turned and saw the local mailmare right next to her, flying in place. "W-what are you doing up here, anyway?"
The usually-less-airborne mare gave her an innocent smile. "Oh, just suffering from a small mistake I made." Her smile betrayed her words, but her eyes fully supported them.
"Uh..." Derpy glanced this way and that. "...Did you lose a bet?"
Pinkie shook her head, cause her to turn around slightly. "No, silly! I didn't lose a bet! I just accidentally over-inflated this yellow balloon!" She gestured toward her source of travel.
"Ohhh..." Derpy gave an apologetic look. "I hate it when that happens."
"Wait, you do that, too!?"
"Oh, well, uhm... no." The mailmare shifted her mailbag slightly. "But I do sometimes over-stuff my mailbag, and that makes it harder to get around everywhere." She scratched her head for a moment, and then looked back Pinkie. "Heeeyyy... I just realized that we're exact opposites when it comes to that! You're accident makes it easier to fly, whereas mine makes it harder!"
Pinkie giggled. "Hey, yeeeaah!" She noticed Derpy trying to stay level with her, flying higher every little while. "So, what are you doing up here, Derpy?"
Derpy pulled a letter from her mailbag, looking it over for what was probably the fiftieth time that day. "Well, I was hoping I would find somepony who knows where Roseluck lives..."
"Wait, you mean that pony with the cherry-red mane, who sells flowers and bouquets and stuff?"
"Oh, is that her?'
Pinkie nodded. "Without even a smidgen of a doubt. I know everypony in Ponyville. Every. Pony."
"Huh." Derpy rubbed the back of her neck, blushing a bit. "I guess I never remember her name..." She then smiled. "Well, I better take this to her, then. Thanks, Pinkie Pie!" She took off toward the town below.
"Wait! Other way!" Pinkie called after her.
"Huh? Oh, yeah!" Derpy corrected her direction. "Bye!"
Pinkie smiled and waved. "B'bye!" She watched as the clumsy mare flew off in the right direction. In some ways, they were like twins. Clumsy, full of surprises, and happy all the time.
Speaking of time, she wondered if she would have to explain to the Cakes why she was late. Because things weren't looking on the bright side with her schedule right now. Being held captive by a balloon was be believable, right?
Right?
She sighed. Maybe they would believe her. It wasn't really a rare occasion, over-inflating balloons, but maybe being taken to the sky by one was.
Oh well.
Looking below, she could now see that her ascent had slowed down greatly, and the ground was now a good distance away. Or bad. Bad distance. Yes, falling from this point would definitely be bad.
Well, what better way to spend your time trapped in the air than to go over her list of mental list of things to give to her sick friend? She had the card, the forelegs for a hug - Twilight had informed her that what she had wasn't contagious - the balloon and--
She gasped another gasp.
How could she? She forgot the encouraging words on the balloon! This must be remedied!
Turning to the cause of her ascent, she pulled a pen out from her mane (in case of "pen emergency"), and began writing on it. "Get Well Super-Duper Fast!" should be a nice note, she decided.
"Get", "Well", and "Super" went by quick. She was quite the mouthwriter, as everypony knew, and it took some super serious skill to write on a balloon, head turned around, while floating in the air. She was proud.
However, when she started on the "D", she barely had time to finish the letter before--
~POP!!~
Brilliant. Her yellow balloon popped, her ascent had stopped, she was now falling rather quickly, and she didn't even get to finish writing. Just brilliant.
The Literal Fall
Pinkie reminded herself for the fourth time in the last three seconds to avoid writing on over-filled balloons at all costs. Either that, or use a pen wasn't quite as pointy. Such a waste. And now she couldn't give it to Twilight.
Smiling, she shrugged. "Oh well. I can just get her a another one, and not over-inflate it." She leaned back and relaxed, putting her hooves behind her head and closing her eyes. It was really strange, falling through the sky without a care. Even to her, it was strange. Usually she'd care at least a little bit, but she just happened to have quite a bit of time before really had to care.
Speaking of not caring, she twisted her neck awkwardly to gaze at the ground below, just making sure she didn't have to care yet.
Yup, she had plenty of time.
Glancing down again, she furrowed her brow. She'd never noticed a giant tree in the middle of Ponyville before. When did that get there?
She shrugged again, too busy not caring to care. But seriously, where did that tree come from?
Now she was curious. She looked down a third time, scratching her chin. It was quite a bit closer now, she noticed.
Maybe a bit too close...
Suddenly, she became brilliant. She pulled out her trusty travel xylophone and started playing a very fitting tune, singing along with it.
"She's a good friend, so I thought I'd go see her
And she feels sick, so I made her a card
And I'm a big klutz, 'cause I might just die now
I'm a big klutz, 'cause my balloon popped
And I'm free!
Free fallin'!
Yeah, I'm free!
Free fallin'!
She couldn't come up with any other lyrics for the moment, so she put her instrument away and went back to falling. She checked her watch. It shouldn't be long now. She looked down at the library one more time.
The Library! Of course it was the library! A tree in the middle of Ponyville!? What other tree was there?
Speaking of the color green, she was beginning to feel a tad bit nauseous from all of this falling. She really hoped to land soon, or she just might puke. That would make the tree even more green than it already was.
...Dumb balloon.
_
/ \
\ /
\ /
/\
|
\
/
\
The one thing that anypony could appreciate about being sick was the quiet. The quiet was glorious. Despite being fond of her friends, silence - especially while being sick - was highly favored in Twilight's case.
She sighed happily, comfortable underneath in her bed, a book in her magical grasp. Being under the weather never stopped her from having a good study session.
She flipped a page.
While in her own personal paradise, she glanced at the clock. The mailmare would be there in a moment. Grunting, she leaned on the windowsill, waving her hoof at the gray Pegasus mare. "Derpy!" she called. "Can you just leave my mail right here at the window?"
Said mailmare waved back. "Oh, sure thing, Twilight!" she replied, now heading her direction.
A quick and simple exchange of mail and smiles was made between them, and Derpy was off to another delivery.
And now, back to the quiet the unicorn so loved. Where'd she set that book? Under the sheets? On the windowsill, maybe? She could have sworn she set it--
Heavy rustling caught her ears, perking them up. She looked out the window and found a few leaves floating in the breeze - likely from the roof of the library.
"Is that another bir--"
~THUD!!~
Startled, she stepped back from the window, instinctually readying her magic. "What in the hay!?" she let out. She swore, if it was another one of Rainbow Dash's "amazing" stunts gone wrong again, she'd have to set some more permanent rules. Fortunately for the Pegasus, the cause of such noise made itself known by way of--
"Hiya, Twilight!"
"Gah!" The unicorn recoiled, ending up on the other side of the bed. Reaching her hooves up to steady herself against the bed, she massaged her temple. "...Ugh... Pinkie..." She glared at the intruder, who appeared to be hanging upside down from somewhere outside and above. "What in Equestria was that thud all about? What were you doing up there?"
Pinkie snorted hopped into the room, sitting on Twilight's bed. "Oh, you silly! The only thing I did on your roof was BAM!!" She stomped a hoof on the bed.
"Clearly."
Pinkie grinned. "Right after your branches saved me from BAMing even harder, of course."
Twilight's annoyance faded greatly, replaced with concern. "Wait, you fell?"
"Uh-huh!" Pinkie seemed far too cheery to be answering that question with any kind of "yes". Twilight was beginning to think that maybe she'd had a head injury as a foal. She made a mental note to never raise her kids on a rock farm.
"So..." Twilight tried to piece the picture together. "...you fell from Celestia-knows-how-high, but were somehow saved by the branches of the library, and still managed to land relatively hard on the roof...?"
Pinkie nodded. "That's not the whole story, but yeah."
It was times like these where Twilight really hated her own curiosity. "...What's the whole story?"
Taking in a huge breath of air, Pinkie prepared her mouth. "So," she started, "this morning I was trying to decide if I should use a pink, yellow, or blue balloon to give to you as a get-well gift and I chose pink first but then I was all "Meh, actually yellow" so I chose yellow and then I started pumping it up but I didn't know I accidentally over-inflated it and then when it was done I started heading over here but the balloon was so full that it CARRIED ME INTO THE AIR!! Then I was all like *gasp* and then I saw Derpy and she saw me and we said "hi" and I told her where Roseluck lives and then I realized that I hadn't written anything on the balloon yet, so I pulled out a pen and started writing on it, but it popped and then I fell allllll the way down here and landed in the tree branches, but I mostly just bounced off of them and landed on the roof!"
Twilight grimaced. "Ouch... Are you okay?"
"Yup!" Pinkie nodded, then gasped. "Oh! And I made this for you!" She pulled the glittery, yellow card and hoofed it over to her friend. "Just thought I'd help brighten your day with an extra-sunshiny get-well card!"
Twilight half expected it to blow up in her face when she opened it. To her surprise, as well as delight, only a small amount of glitter ended up on the floor. She smiled as she read, "Dear Twilight..." She paused and quirked an eyebrow, trying to take in the fact that Pinkie would actually start with "Dear Twilight". She shrugged, continuing. "Dear Twilight, I noticed you were feeling sick. Well, actually you told me, but you already know that! Anyway, I just just thought I'd say "hope you get well soon!" because being sick isn't fun at all, and it makes you feel all lonely and sad. Being sad isn't fun, and being sick isn't fun, either! So have a get-well card! It may not make you feel better, but it is very yellow! And I know you love the color yellow, because it's all sunny and stuff! And with that, I hope you have a brighter day! Love and hugs, Pinkie Pie."
By the time she'd finished reading it, she couldn't stop herself from smiling like she just found out she had won first place in a magic contest. She looked at her friend. "Oh, Pinkie... Thank you so much! It means so much that you're so concerned about me. Luckily, you've already had the Pony Pox and mine is almost gone, so I can do this."
"Do wha--oof!" Pinkie was startled slightly as she felt her unicorn friend give her a gentle hug. She hugged back quickly. "You're welcome, Twilight." She smiled and sighed, relishing in the feeling a good friend being appreciative of her.
Too bad she had a job that needed attending to. Ending the hug, she sighed again. "Well, I gotta head back to Sugarcube Corner now. I'm already super late for my shift, and there's no point in being even later..."
Twilight sighed, as well. "Okay. Well, have fun helping out the Cakes, and don't go falling on anymore houses from balloons at ridiculous heights."
Pinkie giggled. "Oh, that won't be a problem at all, so don't worry! I'll be fine! Super fine! Like, extra super fine!"
Twilight smirked and climbed back into her bed. "If you say so, Pinkie."
"I do, indeed!"
_
/ \
\ /
\ /
/\
|
\
/
\
And, well, she was fine...
...until she realized that Applejack was a bit under the weather, too.
The End
