How Friends May Fall

How Friends May Fall - Prologue

Two weeks had passed since the tragic accident in Sugarcube Corner. A terrible, unforgivable crime had been performed, unheard of for generations. Even Princess Celestia herself could not believe it when word of the incident had reached her ears. Yet, all ponies of Equestria eventually had to face the cold truth: For the first time in ages, murder had been committed.

The ceremony was about to begin when Twilight arrived. She was much later then she wanted to be, but it had been difficult to coerce Spike into staying at home. She didn’t believe her baby dragon could handle being confronted with death at his age, especially the death of a friend.

She scanned the chapel to see who had arrived to pay their respects. She witnessed Fluttershy and Scootaloo, who had been inconsolable after hearing the news, crying in the corner. Rarity, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle attempted to comfort them, but so far they had been unsuccessful. In another corner, she could see the devastated Mr. and Mrs. Cake, who were both fighting to keep back their tears. Many other ponies such as Zecora, Cheerilee, Trixie and even Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had also arrived.

The overall mood of the crowd was gloomy and depressing. Really the kind of feelings she had expected at a funeral.

“Twilight?”

A familiar voice spoke to her from behind. She turned around to face Applejack, who for the occasion had left her hat at home. The days had not been kind for the workhorse; she too had been devastated by the news, and had trouble sleeping in ever since. Her skin had grown pale, and her mane was messy and uncombed; more so then usual.

“Hey, Applejack…” said Twilight. “How are you holding out?”

“Not too bad, I guess…” replied Applejack with a sigh. “How about you?”

Twilight turned her head to look at the coffin in the center of the chapel. She didn’t know how to take it all. She had researched everything she could about losing a friend, but nothing had managed to soften the impact. She felt sad, but her urge to cry was blocked by sheer confusion. Confusion, emanating from a single question that had haunted her mind ever since hearing the news.

“…Why?”

“What was that, Twilight?”

“Oh! Nothing.” said Twilight, turning her head back to Applejack. Without realizing it, she had asked that same question to herself again, but this time out loud. “I’m… alright, I think.”

The two ponies remained silent for what seemed to be like an eternity, until finally Applejack spoke up.

“…Ah’ve been asking myself the same thing.”

“Asking yourself what?” asked Twilight.

“How all of this could’ve happened.” replied Applejack. “And why. It jus’ makes no sense. The Rainbow Ah know would’ve never…”

She halted her sentence, and looked at Scootaloo. The poor filly was still heartbroken over what had happened. She had always looked at Rainbow Dash as a role model, a perfect example of who she wanted to be. And now, that image as her role model had been completely shattered. Applejack could only imagine what the filly must’ve felt when she heard the news.

“Let’s… not talk about her, okay?” said Applejack to Twilight, still looking at  Scootaloo.

Twilight nodded, and continued to look across the room. During their conversation, a few more ponies had arrived. Snips and Snails had been perfectly groomed for a change. Lyra and Octavia had joined the band that played the music during the funeral, with Bon-bon just watching the band play from a distance. Berry Punch had, as usual, gone up to the drinks.

Many other ponies had also arrived, but somebody was missing… Somebody familiar.

“Applejack?” asked Twilight. “Where’s Big Macintosh? Isn’t he coming?”

“Um… Ah…”stuttered Applejack. “Ah… Ah don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know? Is he--”

“AH DON’T KNOW!”

Twilight was startled by Applejack’s sudden outburst. The orange pony shut her eyes, and began to sniffle. She tried to fight back the tears, yet some managed to get through and run down her cheek. Twilight slowly moved closer to Applejack, and placed her hoof on her shoulder.

“Applejack…” she said quietly. “Is… Something wrong with Big Macintosh?”

“Ah… don’t know.” replied Applejack with a shivering voice, as she wiped her tears away. “He went out to buck some apples a few days ago… But he hasn’t come home! Ah’ve looked everywhere Ah could, but there ain’t no sign on him anywhere, and… And… ”

Applejack couldn’t fight it anymore. Tears streamed down her face, and she began to sob uncontrollably. Although she tried to hide it with her hooves, Twilight could clearly see the sorrow and sadness her friend was experiencing. She had never seen her friend in this state before… It was enough to bring tears to her own eyes, as well.

“First Pinkie dies, then Rainbow Dash gets institutionalized, and now Big Macintosh is gone!” Applejack barely managed to bring the sentence out between her sobs. “Everypony’s leaving me, Twilight! Everypony!”

“It’s okay, Applejack…” said Twilight, giving Applejack a reassuring hug. “Big Macintosh is a strong colt, he can take care of himself… I’m sure he’s just fine.”

Twilight let Applejack rest her head on her shoulder for a minute, until she began to calm down. She took a few deep breaths, and managed to get her emotions under control again. Never before had she broken down like this; she was usually so strong. Yet now, she felt weak... And it made her feel awful. She raised her head from Twilight’s shoulder, and gave her a grateful nod.

“Ah’m sorry for breaking down like that, Twilight.” she said, this time without a shiver in her voice, yet still with a gloomy undertone. “It’s just been so much lately…”

“Everypony has its limits, Applejack.” said Twilight with a weak smile. “And you’ve been through even more then all of us. Don’t feel bad about it. We’ll all help you with looking for Big Macintosh in the morning.”

“…Thank you, Twilight.”

The music suddenly halted as the priest walked into the chapel, followed by four colts in black suits. The colts lifted up the coffin together, and slowly moved it outside, towards an open spot in a field just a few yards away. The priest turned to the ponies, and motioned them to follow.

The coffin was laid on a white platform, placed right in-between two other graves. It seemed to be an elevator of some sorts; A device to slowly carry the coffin into the hole that would soon be its grave.

As the ponies gathered in front of the coffin, the priest rasped his throat and began to speak.

“Today, we bid farewell to Pinkamina Diane Pie. A pony of cheer. A pony of laughter. And, most importantly, a valued friend of us all…”

Twilight didn’t listen to the speech. She was too absent-minded. On and on, the question just kept repeating itself in her mind. Why? Why? Why? It went on and on, and it slowly grew louder. She just couldn’t stand not knowing what could have caused this horrible accident, and why it happened in the first place. Some would call it curiosity, but she found it a necessity. After all, she didn’t want to lose another friend this way… She would never be able to live with it.

Suddenly, the music began to play again, and the elevator slowly descended into the grave. Ponies all around Twilight burst into tears, or began to visibly struggle with holding them back. She too felt sadness completely overthrowing her absent-mindness, and all too soon she couldn’t hold it back anymore. Like many ponies around her, she broke down into tears, being unable to think about anything other than the passing of her beloved friend.

Just thirty minutes later, the grave had been completely sealed off, and had been decorated with a beautiful gravestone. One by one, ponies passed by to bid their last goodbyes or lay down flowers at the grave before they went home. Yet, a small group of ponies did not leave, and lingered at the grave. None of them said a word; all of them were just staring at the grave in complete silence, only broken by the occasional sniffle or the sound of a tear hitting the ground.

They all just stood there for what seemed to be an eternity. Still, none of them could believe that this had actually happened. They all hoped it was just a bad dream, or all a big prank that had gone out of hand.

“Twilight?”

The silence was suddenly broken by a familiar voice. The ponies turned around and faced none other than Princess Celestia, who too had remained at the grave, albeit from a distance.

“Twilight, can I speak to you… In private?”

Twilight nodded to the princess, and moved right next to her. The princess teleported both of them to the other side of the chapel, where they could talk together in peace.

“I’ve been watching you during the ceremony, Twilight.” said the princess, with a serious look in her eyes. “I can clearly see that something’s troubling you. Do you want to talk to me about it?”

“As a matter of fact, I was going to talk to you right after the funeral, princess.” replied Twilight. “I want your permission to visit Sugarcube Corner tomorrow.”

“Are you sure that’s wise, Twilight?” asked the princess, as she narrowed her eyes. “Coming there again to soon… Not to mention that it’s still a crime scene. I don’t want you interfering with police work.”

“I won’t interfere, I promise! I just… I need to find what caused all this. I need to know why it all happened!”

With a sigh, Princess Celestia turned around. For a moment, she was lost in thought. She was conflicted as to whether she should allow her student to go. She was convinced it was a bad idea, but Twilight seemed so terribly conflicted herself with all her questions…

“…Do you really, really want to find out what happened?” asked Princess Celestia, turning her head just enough to see Twilight from the corner of her eye.

“Yes! I’ll do anything!” She replied. “Just tell me what I need to do, as long as I can discover how to stop this from ever happening again!”

“The only thing I ask of you is not to interfere with any police work.” said the princess, turning her head away again. “Other than that, you have my permission. But, remember… Some questions are better left unanswered.”

The princess began to charge up a spell, and took a last glance in Twilight’s direction.

“If you learn more then you are willing to know… Then for your own sake, just live with the questions.”

She then teleported Twilight right back to her friends.

Twilight shook her head. She wasn’t used to being teleported around by others. It felt weird. Yet, as she came to her senses, she was immediately stuck by worry as she witnessed Fluttershy being unable to keep her balance. She looked even more pale then before, and she seemed to have trouble remaining conscious.

“Oh my gosh! Fluttershy, are you okay??” shouted Twilight, as she galloped towards her.

“Don’t worry, Twilight.” said Rarity, supporting the Pegasus with her magic. “The poor dear is just exhausted, that’s all.”

With a weak smile, Fluttershy nodded at Twilight before losing consciousness. Rarity motioned for Applejack to stand near her, and she gently laid the Pegasus on their backs.

“She’s awfully pale, Rarity…” said Applejack with a worried expression. “Are you sure she’s okay?”

“She’s been having trouble sleeping ever since the news.” replied Rarity. “Plus, she’s been crying all day. She must be completely worn out and dehydrated.”

Applejack nodded, and turned her attention to Twilight.

“Twi, me and Rarity are gonna bring Fluttershy home. You take care of yourself, okay?”

“Right.” said Twilight. “See you girls tomorrow.”

Applejack and Rarity motioned for Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom to come. The two fillies hugged the calmed down Scootaloo, and bid her a good night before leaving with their big sisters. Seeing her all gloomy and alone, Twilight began to feel sorry for the tiny Pegasus. Nobody was going to pick her up. She was usually always near Rainbow Dash. Twilight didn’t even know if Scootaloo had any parents… She had never seen them, at least.

Twilight slowly walked to Scootaloo, but was halted by Mr. and Mrs. Cake.

“Don’t worry about her, dearie.” said Mrs. Cake to Twilight. Although she tried to sound a cheerful as always, Twilight could still clearly recognize the gloomy undertone in her voice. “We’ll take Scootaloo home. You just get yourself some rest.”

“Thank you, Mr. and Mr. s Cake.” said Twilight with a grateful nod.

She moved to the exit of the graveyard, and turned around to take a last look at the Cakes and Scootaloo. She was unable to make out what they were saying to eachother, but soon they managed to get Scootaloo to follow them to an exit on the other side of the graveyard.

“I hope Scootaloo’s alright…” thought Twilight, as she headed back towards the library. “She seems to be in the same state as Fluttershy…”

With a sigh, she opened the door of the library. She was greeted by the hooting of Owloysius and the snoring of Spike. She gave the owl some bird feed before going to bed herself. She wasn’t sleepy, especially with the chaos going on in her head, but she had to be wide awake the next day, both tp look for Big Macintosh with the rest of the ponies and to look for clues in Sugarcube Corner by herself.

With a sigh, she stares out of the window, into the clear Summer night.

“I’ll find out what happened.” she thought. “And I’ll make sure this never happens again…”

“…Even if it’s the last thing I’ll do.”