Day 6: A Revelation of a Conclusion

“You want us to do WHAT?!”

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity were staring at Pinkie with annoyance in Sugarcube corner, the five of them grouped around one of the tables, Pinkie oblivious to their anger as she finished her request.

“What’s wrong with finding a way to clean Fluttershy’s animals better?” She asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“What’s wrong, is that you literally dragged us all out of very important events! You said that it was very important, and we all give up our time only to listen to you say that you want to organize a new way to clean animals?! I was busy training for a later race with Spitfire and Soarin!” Rainbow Dash snapped.

“You forced me to cancel a friendly lunch with Lyra Heartstrings!”

“You know that Big Mac can’t work on the whole farm by himself right?”

“There are at least five different orders that I have to hand in tomorrow!”

They stared directly at Pinkie again, who gulped as she realized their anger.

“Well, um, we can just do this now and not need to worry about it later? Please?” She pouted. “Pllleeeeeeeeaaaaaaasssssseeeee?”

There was a weird silence as Pinkie continued to bash her eyelashes at her friends. Unable to take the excessive flirting, Applejack spoke.

“….Aw shucks, fine. I suppose it would be good to settle this now and forget about it. I want to interact with those animals as little as possible, especially with that bunny.” Applejack admmited. The others sighed, and nodded their heads to this.

“Alright! Let’s go!” Pinkie cheered.

“You never can get angry at her, can you?” Twilight asked.

“None of us can, to be honest. Come on!”

They walked out of the door and trotted towards the forest, and soon they were at the stairs leading to the door of the cottage. The house was surprisingly quiet.

“That’s weird. Every time one of us had to go to this place it was usually surrounded by growling, howling, and squeaking animals…” Rarity exclaimed.

“Yeah…it seems a bit…too quiet.” Applejack agreed.

“Maybe they went to the woods to hunt for a snack!” Pinkie resolved.

“Maybe…ugh…I really hope that Fluttershy would come back sooner and fix the mess that we did…I really miss her.” Rainbow Dash sighed.

Twilight walked over to Rainbow Dash and patted her on the back.

“We all do Rainbow. Just let her take the time and she’s be better.”

And with that, they pushed open the door, only for them to open their mouths in shock as the scene revealed the surroundings to them.

The place was spotless. Every piece of animal hair or other related mess that had been littered all around the household was gone. As for the animals themselves, they were sitting on the floor nicely, contrasting greatly to their previous behavior with them.

“Wha..what? The animals…they.,,” Twilight spluttered.

“Pinkie? You did this?” Rarity asked, stunned.

“Well duh, of course not.” She happily replied, trying not to giggle.

“Wait…Pinkie…you don’t mean…”

Before Rainbow Dash could make the conclusion, Fluttershy jumped out from behind the couch, blowing a party blower as the animals cheered.

“Surprise! Woo hoo…” She faintly cheered.

“SURPRISE!” Pinkie followed, pulling Fluttershy into a tight hug.

“………………….”

Silent tears were slowly dropping onto the carpet. They came slowly, then the drops turned to drizzles as Rainbow Dash broke down.

“Flutt…Flutt…Flutt…Fluttershy…” She sobbed.

“That’s what I said too!” Pinkie mentioned, trying not to cry herself as she witnessed the first display of true happiness from somepony who had really needed one.

“I’m…I’m sorry!” Rainbow cried, rushing over to the Pegasus. “I didn’t know what I was doing, I didn’t know what to actually do…I couldn’t even bear to visit you when you were in the hospital because I couldn’t…”

“Rainbow Dash, you know that I already forgave you from the start.”

“But I was the one who abandoned you because I didn’t receive enough attention! I was the one who caused our friend’s lives in danger because I was so stupid!”

“You told me this already, its ok.” Fluttershy said, trying to reconcile her.

“But even though you forgive me, I can’t forgive myself! It’s like there’s a shadow around me, reminding me of what I did, of what I became!”

“I know how it feels like. The same shadow haunted me during the first day at the hospital, when I didn’t tell the truth to you yet. But we both did when you came back from that town. It’s over. There’s no reason for something in the past to haunt you and stop you in the present. I learned that during my stay…not just from the help of you, but all of us.” She motioned towards the rest of the group as she continued.

“Rainbow, you showed me that telling your own personal struggles to someone who is the cause of the case really does help, and that there are no consequences to telling the truth. From that lesson, I chose to follow a much more optimistic look into my condition, and to live the remainder of my life the best I can.

“Live life to the fullest…” Applejack muttered.

“It wasn’t only you who learned a lesson…and I understand it now too.” Rarity admitted. “I…I think I was the second worst pony to be affected by the news. Before, I always took anti-depression pills before I slept from the sheer stress of my work. And when the doctor told us…I couldn’t stop talking them. I had endless nightmares and empty visions, where I couldn’t find a purpose towards myself. When I visited you, I put on a mask of happiness…I’m sorry, Fluttershy. When I saw how happy you were, it pierced my heart even harder. How could the witness to a victim suffer harder than the victim herself? I felt pathetic, dumb. I even considered sucide…but Applejack was able to help me.” She expressed, smiling faintly to Applejack.

“Yeah…but I had put on a fake mask as well. You saw what I wrote, didn’t you sugarcube? I made myself into a strong shoulder to cry on, but I had no support for myself. However, even though I realized what Rarity said earlier than her…I still had nightmares of my own. But I was able to get rid of them for good itself of putting them aside thanks to Rarity. It’s strange I know, but I learned something also. Seeing Rarity’s breakdown gave me the experience to overcome my own. And I really owe her for that. Thanks.” She responded, causing Rarity to smile softly.

“………..I didn’t know that.”

“Twilight?” They turned to her. She was staring off into space from their individual realizations. “Did…did you…”

“I did! I also tried to stay calm and withdraw my emotions until now! I kept working day and night to find a cure even though the books kept saying that there was none! To be honest, the only reason I’m awake right now is due to the coffee…” She cried.

“Don’t worry Twilight, we all have our problems. None of us is perfect! That is what makes us special!” Pinkie remarked. A single tear was flowing out of her eye.

“Indeed we aren’t.” Fluttershy smiled, pointing to her eye. Pinkie stared and gasped before quickly raising a hoof to wipe it out, only to be stopped by Fluttershy.

“Oh…right. Heh.” Pinkie let out a soft chuckle as more tears ran down. “I guess I’m not that great as well.”

They all laughed. “No-pony is.” They laughed as they pulled each other into a group hug, their reassurance having an significant improvement.

“Well, I guess its time to start the party.” Fluttershy said, smiling as she saw most of the animals crying humbly. Even Angel was holding back a bit.

“You all really are the best friends any-pony could ask for.” Twilight admitted.

“That’s what makes us special!” Pinkie cheered. “Enough chitchat, time is candy! Let’s do this party right!”

“YEAH!”