It was a glorious day. The bright, godly sun was shining as bright as the north star in a pitch black night sky, beaming its brilliant rays apon Equestria. It was a new spring, a dewy, fresh, smiling spring that made you bounce a little as you walked. You couldn't help yourself. The whole of the world was alive and new, uncurling its leaves after winter and presenting itself with a brand new face. It was the kind of day where you could expect foals to be dancing and playing in the streets, venders to be cheerily yelling advertisement for their products as they lined the streets, everyone being someone and doing something.
But no pony was on the lonely, dusty cobblestone streets. Venders carts sat empty and abandoned on the edges of the roads. Curtains were drawn, doors shut tight and locked, and shutters closed. Not a peeping sound was heard except a single birdcall or the desperate cry of a young one, feeding off the sadness of their parents and those around them. Today, Equestria was deep in mourning.
It had all happened about a week ago, when the citizens of Ponyville saw the princess of the night herself marching down the way, a somber look on her face and two grey unicorn royal guards, each on either side of her. The address of death had been read, loud and clear in her deep and roaring voice for the entire of the town to her, at their windows, doors, and on the streets, all ponies with the same look of impending doom. Many didn't understand how an immortal could die, even with the strain that years of magic puts on royal limbs.
Either way, Luna took her rightful position as leader of both night and day, sun and moon. Only three alicorns remained now, and as they walked through their towns on business the ponies now stared at them and watched them wearily, as if any second they might break down from magical strain and leave them another problem to worry about.
The entire pony nation was hit fairly, scratch that, very hard, but it wouldn't be hard to say that Twilight Sparkle may have been hit the hardest.
There had been no activity at the new princess's castle for a while now, and many speculations and accusations had been made about exactly what was occurring. Perhaps the death of her beloved mentor had been to much for her and she had gone into a still kind of numbness? Perhaps she too was sickly or dying and her dragon assistant was trying to cover it up from public eyes to avoid more panic? Many theories were tossed into the throng.
A mob of ponies had one day, in desperate need of guidance and confusion, gathered in front of Twilight's door and yelled angry and bitter words in an attempt to find comfort through the princess of friendship's reassurance. But alas, no one was able to contact her, the best that they had gotten being Spike's answering the door and simply replying with a, "The princess is busy."
And now Pinkie was determined to get more than that.
She had watched as Celestia's death was proclaimed, as Luna delivered the message, as the Cakes sat around their cafe in numbed silence. She had heard the twins crying and bawling over the tension in the air, the angry shouts of towns ponies as they tried for attention, the ringing of bells from Cloudsdale mourning ceremonies. And she was determined to finally do something to stop this. To bring back the Happiness in Ponyville. The joy in Equestria!
And she needed to start with Twilight.
So on that glorious day that in spirit felt quite tiresome and tragic, she went to seek the kindness of the element of magic. Her pink and dirt clotted hooves, filthy from days of trudging through the town to try and find an open vender or shop from which to buy much needed supplies, clinked on the familiar paths and towards the towering kingdom that she now knew as a second home. It loomed in front of her wide blue eyes, threatening and empty.
"Twilight?" Her normal, bubbly voice stood hard and cold in the rain as she knocked. She knew that there would probably be no answer, but she wasn't going to give up. She heard no response after knocking again, and then resorted to a different method. Sure, Pinkie wasn't the strongest pony ever. But she mostly thought- "Physics be damned!" And that was stuck in her head as she lined herself up to the door, drew herself back, and lashed out with a buck that even Applejack would have awed at. And the odds may and must have been in her favor, for the door's heavy lock flew off its place and the doors, in turn, burst open in a loud flurry.
The initial shock of such an impact against her hind legs overtook her for a moment, followed by the ear cracking sound of the lock breaking off and whizzing off, only inches away from hitting her ear. Once she had regained her bearings, she turned to put a brave face at the open doors and charged in, with every intention of leaving with Twilight at her heels.
So she ran in, her flattened pink hair beginning to regain some of its previous puffy curl, a long missed smile threading on her muzzle. The walls around her gleamed with seeming approval in their crystal surfaces. She knew in her heart she was doing the right thing, breaking Twilight out of her unreachable shell and allowing her to resume her duties in Equestria. She just hoped she could get her happy again. Because if one still sins over memories and events passed, how can one work as dutifully, or thoughtfully?
Pinkemena Diane Pie just wanted her friend back.
"Pinkie? What on earth are you doing here? How did you even get in? The doors were all locked, I made sure of that! Did I forget to nail one of the windows shut? I-"
"Spike, I broke down the door."
This statement appeared to anger the purple and green dragon standing defensively in Pinkie's way.
"Pinkie, that shouldn't have been possible. I nailed it in and double locked it!"
In reply to this, Pinkie only sighed and glared at him, her curly pink hair bouncing slightly as she shook her head.
"Spike, I really need to see Twilight… Equestria needs her! We're falling apart, and Luna is a great princess, but we can't live like this much longer! In desperate isolation, waiting, just waiting, for some pony to throw us back into the game! Nopony smiles anymore Spike, and aside from that, no one has enough good supplies to last them much longer! The venders are out of business, and-"
Spike sighed quietly and put a single claw tip to Pinkie's muzzle.
"I'd let you in Pinkie, believe me, I would, but strict orders from Twilight." The dragon said, lowering his head dismissively. Pinkie's only response to this was a delighted giggle, and a hoof placed on Spike's shoulder.
"You should know by now that I've come this far, and I'm not going back." And with that statement, she was past the dragon, her hooves only lightly touching the smooth and crystallized floor.
