Arc 2- 5 (Memoria)

Brisk Wind pushes open the simple double doors and marches into a long, rectangular room with nothing but unicorns sitting at oak desks, using their magic to write or move objects around. The room has a dozen rapidly spinning ceiling fans, each with their own sets of lights, to cool the room; and in the back is the seal of the EIB. It is in the shape of a circle with olive branches on either side, in the circle’s interior is a hexagon with a basic gem color coded to each Element of Harmony, and in the middle of the hexagon is an eye.

Brisk Wind closes her eyes and sniffs in the smell of ink and parchment and enjoys the symphony of quill pens scratching against said parchment. She then opens her eyes and smirks when she sees how hard her paper pushers are working and casually trots to her office, expecting to find Shining Armor’s end of the bargain sitting on her desk, wrapped in fancy wrapping paper with a golden bow. But what she finds instead, is her that imported desk is bare, save for the photo she keeps out. Brisk Wind frown and sits on her fluffy spinning chair and stares at the photo in silence. It’s an old one with her and a dozen pegasi sitting in front of a simple building that has a Cloudsdale Orphanage sign hanging behind them with the staff next to the group on either side.

“Still mad about how nopony took you in?” a stallion with a deep voice asks.

Brisk Wind glances up from the picture and sees a huge stallion unicorn, roughly the same age as her, with a tan coat and a dark blue mane and tail and a cutie mark of a key over an eye, standing in the doorway. He’s also wearing a stuffed saddle with an EIB badge hanging around his neck. She instantly gets the feeling of excitement from his presence, but his words also felt like a stab wound. It makes for a nasty swirl of emotions that makes Brisk Wind sick.

Brisk Wind pushes the picture down so she doesn’t have to see the ghostly faces. “Who wouldn’t be, Lock?”

“You should burn that picture so you aren’t constantly torturing yourself, but aside from that, we should hurry this up, Rye is very impatient.”

Brisk Wind frowns. “Your coltfriend can wait. Close the door.”

Lock steps inside and uses his magic to close and lock the door and then pulls curtains shut so no one can see inside the office through the door’s window. Brisk Wind stands up and watches the stallion approach her desk while he takes out some files from his saddle. Brisk Wind can’t help but stare at Lock’s solid muscles and how well groomed he is, even his tired eyes look amazing to her. Brisk Wind continues to stare at him and wishes that there was no one else outside so that she can fulfill some workplace fantasies she’s been having ever since she first laid eyes on him. Her mouth becomes dry and her heart rate increases while Lock approaches her, but in her state of ogling, she fails to realize that her wings are slowly expanding.

Lock looks at Brisk Wind and sighs when he sees the lustful look in her eyes and the way her wings have opened. “Director, we’ve been over this before. My barndoor doesn’t swing that way.”

Brisk Wind looks down at the folder to hide the blush taking over her face. “I wasn’t thinking about you. I was thinking about somepony else.”

“Who?”

“Jealous?”

“No.”

“Okay then. Drop the questions and show me what you got.”

Lock stares at Brisk Wind and she forces her wings down to her side, which is painfully strenuous to say the least. When her wings are down, Lock uses his magic to flip open the folder and turn it so Brisk Wind won’t have to look at it upside down. Brisk Wind smiles when she sees the picture of a mare, dead in an alley. She has been stomped to death and her blood is sprayed all over the brick wall and seeped all over the ground. Next to the gruesome picture is a profile of the nurse that injected Trixie with the toxin during her interrogation.

“Nurse Goldheart was fatally robbed in an alley today on her way to visit her parents in Canterlot by a drug addict.” Lock states, his tone implying that it was anything but that.

Brisk Wind tsks. “Poor, poor, Goldheart.” Then she looks at Lock hopefully. “Please tell me that her damage has been contained.”

“Her apartment was searched and everything she had against the EIB was removed.”

“Burned?”

“Shredded. Then burned.”

“Excellent.”

“What now?”

Brisk Wind disappears under her desk to open up a safe and puts the folder in the said safe. “The usual. Find who’s been talking to Captain Armor and take care of them. And do try to keep the fatalities to a minimum. It’s suspicious enough that a whistleblower suddenly died.”

“As much as I am flattered in your confidence of my abilities, I will still need help in this matter.”

“Get ahold of some of your friends to help you.”

Lock nods and is about to leave but Brisk Wind pokes her head out and tells him to wait. He stops and stares at her as she walks up to his side, giving him that longing, sensual smile while her wings expand a bit again. He rolls his eyes, but is silently grateful that pegasi are easy to read when it comes to the wanting feelings.

“Director, I told you that I don’t go that way,” grumbles Lock.

“I just need you to do a special favor for me,” says Brisk Wind in a sultry tone. “It won’t take long at all.”

“I’m not sleeping with you, Director.”

A flicker of disappointment crosses her face, but is quickly replaced with a small smile. “No, not that. But if you could check out a ‘Minty Sprinkles’ for me it will make me feel so much better.”

“EIB?”

“No, somepony else. She’s been hoof selected by Celestia herself to watch over the recently released Trixie Lulamoon, and I want to know everything there is about this newcomer. Got it?”

The two are quiet for a few seconds before Lock and nods his head and leaves without saying a word. When the door closes her wings expand to full length and Brisk Wind groans and sits back at her desk, slams her head on the table, and sadly says: “All the good stallions are either gay or have no faces.”

=**********=

Trixie hops out of Minty’s truck and eagerly follows her as she walks towards a blocky, two story building that has Fancypants’ cutie mark painted on the front door. The building is painted in a simple white with gold trim, and it has plenty of windows and a radio tower propped on the top. There is also a large sign posted on the top of the building that says: FANCY ENTERTAINMENT in an old western style font and border.

Minty leads Trixie inside and the unicorn instantly feels welcomed in the building. All the colors are warm, the seats in the waiting room actually look comfortable and there are up-to-date newspapers stacked neatly on the table. There is even some cello heavy music playing and Trixie stops to listen to it while Minty walks up to an earth pony mare who has a light orange coat and a yellow tail and mane with a scroll as a cutie mark. She’s sitting behind the front counter that has “RECEPTIONIST” etched on the front. Minty greets the receptionist and they have a talk for a minute or two before Minty pulls out her badge and asks for Fancypants.

oooOOOooo

After Pinkie Pie showed her badge the receptionist, whom she has learned is named Penny Chart, the receptionist instantly went to work to see if Fancypants was available.

Pinkie Pie smiles as she listens to Octavia’s crown jewel. When it comes to music she finds that she’s better at singing than writing music, while Octavia was born to write music. The music appears to be entering one of the high points, when things get really energetic. However, despite the music being “energetic” in terms of Canterlot/cultured pony taste, Pinkie Pie still finds the music boring. She more prefers the mind-numbingly loud and energetic party music with DJs and lots of bright lights and balloons. But, over time, she has grown quite fond of the country party music the Apples had.

===

“No, you’ve done enough already, Pinkie,” sniffled Applejack while gently stroking Big Mac’s mane. He was lying in a hospital bed, unconscious and covered in bandages and paper thin blankets. It was dark outside, too, and the room’s only light was a weak lamp next to the hospital bed and the full moon shining into the room, like Luna was personally watching over Applejack’s brother.

“AJ...” began Pinkie Pie sadly.

Applejack glared at Pinkie Pie, through her angry gaze, her eyes shined in the light from the tears and she sniffled while clenching her jaw. Pinkie Pie stopped herself from talking and looks down while nodding, then she turned around and leaves the hospital room.

“Yer gonna be okay, ya hear?” said Applejack softly.

Pinkie Pie looked over her shoulder and saw Applejack putting her stetson on top of Big Mac’s head and forcing herself to chuckle, but the gesture doesn’t wake him up, which only makes Applejack whimper and put her hooves on her brother.

Applejack took a deep breath, wiped her nose and cried softly. “Ya remember when ya bought me that hat for mah birthday?...”

Pinkie Pie felt a huge lump in her throat bully its way up and her eyes swell with tears. She sighed, looked down, and left the hospital room, she wasn’t welcomed to stay anyway.

===

“Ma’am, are you okay?” asks Penny Chart.

Pinkie Pie realizes that she had been crying a bit and she quickly wipes tears from her eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine. Is Fancypants available?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Okay, tell him that a ‘Minty Sprinkles’ and a ‘Trixie Lulamoon’ are here to see him.”

Penny Chart looks past Pinkie Pie and sees Trixie minding her own business. She cringes when she notices the how bruised Trixie is, but still goes to tell Fancypants the news.

Pinkie Pie momentarily looks over her shoulder to make sure Trixie is staying put, thankfully she is, and when the receptionist leaves to grab Fancypants, she scratches her head to destroy the annoying itch she’s getting from the wig. While she’s scratching her head she notices a flyer for a pony named “Monte Fountain”. She cocks her head as she studies the picture and is quick to realize that this pony is ripping off Trixie’s old look. Something Trixie will not take too kindly to.

“Wow, I finally get to meet Fancypants again, after all these years!” Trixie says, barely able to stand still.

Pinkie Pie pushes the flyer in the garbage can and smiles at Trixie. “So, how do you know Fancypants?”

“Oh, he saved my hat when I was just a filly, so I gave him some bits and he bought himself a sub sandwich. He said he would be famous one day and now look! He is!”

Pinkie Pie smiles and leans over the counter to see what’s taking the receptionist so long. She can hear the receptionist and Fancypants talking, and then there’s a third voice.

A very familiar voice, sounding like she had just finished crying.

Pinkie Pie’s eyes widen and she slides off while looking down, whispering, “Rarity?”

Pinkie Pie sees the receptionists leading Fancypants to the lobby with Fleur and Rarity by his side. Rarity’s purple eyeshadow has been ruined by her tears and is still sniffling, but other than that, she is still able to keep her gorgeous appearance. Pinkie Pie feels a lump go up in her throat and her eyes water up as she sees her friend-

===

“You got spike killed!” screamed Rarity while throwing one of her sewing machines at Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie Pie barely dodged it in time, but a part of her was tempted to stay there and let the device hit her in the head as Rarity had intended. Maybe they would’ve listened to her side if her skull cracked and she started bleeding all over the floor.

Rainbow Dash flew in front of Rarity and jabbed her hoof into her chest, threateningly. “Don’t you DARE throw ANYTHING at Pinkie!”

“Or you’ll do what!”

===

No. Not her friend, she refused to listen, just like Twilight, and just like Applejack when Big Mac was almost killed. Pinkie Pie’s lump and tears turn from sadness to rage and she has to look away lest she wants to break down in tears from the reminder of what she lost for trying to save a life. A part of her wonders if Rarity even cared that she “died”. Probably not since she was the scapegoat for the death of her future husband.

When Pinkie Pie turns around, she sees Trixie is now sitting on one of the chairs, eagerly flipping through a newspaper, and she suddenly remembers how Rarity was an emotional wreck for when Trixie changed her hair into some kind of green, unholy, rats nest of a mess. So Pinkie Pie wipes her eyes, takes breath of air, does what any other pony would do. She runs in front of Trixie, blocking her entire body from Rarity’s line of sight, which means she has to stand uncomfortably close to her. It will spare everyone from a nasty mare fight, and Pinkie Pie has already seen what two ticked off unicorns fighting each other can do.

Trixie looks up and leans back in her seat while staring at Pinkie Pie with a lot of concern and discomfort. “Um... Minty? What are you doing?”

“I just like the way you smell, Pixie Dust. You smell really nice.”

“I’m not-”

“You smell niceeeeeeee,” Pinkie Pie says, putting a lot of stress on the “-ice” part so it sounds like steam hissing, “Pixie Dust.”

Trixie looks side to side nervously and flashes an uneasy smile while her ears droop and she sinks into her seat, “Um, thanks... I guess.”

Pinkie Pie glances to her side when she hears the door open and sees Rarity leave with Fleur, and then she breathes a sigh of relief and walks away from Trixie when the door closes. She wipes fresh tears from her eyes and looks out the window to watch Rarity and Fleur disappear around the corner. The lump in her throat is still there, but it gradually dissolves and all it takes is another deep breath and a slow exhale to break it apart into nothing. She then smiles, scratches the annoying itch, and turns towards Trixie, who’s now looking creeped out by what just happened. She does a quick nod and heads towards Fancypants.

“That was close,” says Pinkie Pie to herself.

oooOOOooo

Trixie stares, wide eyed, at Minty as she goes to talk to Fancypants. She has no idea what possessed Minty to act that way, and she knows she doesn’t smell nice. But when doubt seeps in, Trixie sniffs herself and instantly scrunches her nose and scowls when she smells an odd stench. Whatever soap the guards used when they washed her made her smell like something other than a freshly bathed pony. It is truly indescribable.

Trixie is about to ask Minty why she acted so weird around her so suddenly, but that all flies out the window when her brain registers Fancypants’s presence. Her eyes get little sparkles in them and she can’t help but smile. The stallion has aged very well, granted he has small crows feet around his eyes and his mane and tail have small streaks of gray running through them, but if he just does a bit of touch-ups he’ll easily look twenty years younger. When Trixie sees his tuxedo and how well it’s taken care of, her jaw drops even further and her eyes grow bigger because his attire makes him all the more handsome. She also loves the way he’s not afraid to wear a purple bow tie and how that monocle makes him look more sophisticated.

Then Trixie cocks her head slightly. ‘Wait a second, a monocle? Does he even need a monocle?’

“Oh my goodness! What happened to you, Trixie!?” asks Fancypants horrifyingly.

“What...” says Trixie, sounding like a brain dead stoner.

Fancypants is next to her in the blink of an eye and inspecting her bruises and adjusting his monocle. Trixie tries explaining that it’s no big deal, but he won’t hear any of it. He nudges her off of her seat for a more thorough inspection. Trixie starts feeling more and more uncomfortable as he inspects her body with prods and leaning in closer to inspect bruises and scabs. The discomfort soon turns into agitation as the constant questions ring in her ears and the constant brushes and prods from his hoof bring back the horrible memory of what happened to her in Sunshine’s room.

Trixie closes her eyes and grits her teeth. “Stop, please.”

But closing her eyes only makes it worse. As soon as her eyes close she sees Sunshine’s room clearly, like she’s standing in it. Everything looks the same, the bed, the light bulb, even the floors and walls. Trixie hears Fancypants say something, but she can’t understand him since his voice has become faint. While Trixie strains her ears to hear better, she sees her shadow on the floor grow and pull itself out of the ground to form a wispy figure with red eyes.

The thing smiles and in Sunshine’s voice it says: “Wow, everypony thinks yer pretty, darlin’. Looks like I got mahself some competition, eh?”

Trixie’s eyes shoot open and she screams: “GO AWAY!”

Fancypants instantly stops and Minty makes a low, drawn out whistle.

Trixie breathes heavily as she looks around the room; everyone looks surprised by her outburst, and she feels herself trembling. She looks down and sees her hooves are trembling violently and some tear drops splatter on the thin carpet. She bites her lip and breathes through her nose while forcing herself to stop crying.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap,” Trixie says quietly a minute later. “I... I don’t know what came over me.”

“No, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have been so careless,” says Fancypants apologetically. “Why don’t we go into my office to discuss your rehabilitation and forget that this happened.”

Trixie nods and follows Fancypants with Minty close behind her. Before leaving the lobby Fancypants tells Penny Chart to hold all his calls and notes, and to let anyone coming to see him that he’ll be busy until further notice. The walk to his office was quick and when Trixie and Minty walk into a brightly lit office, Fancypants closes the door and motions them to have a seat. They sit without saying a word and Fancypants sits in a the chair behind his plain desk.

“Trixie, it has been a while,” says Fancypants.

“Yes it has,” says Trixie with a small smile.

“I just want to apologize for my-”

“Oh, that’s not necessary.”

“Yes it is. It was inappropriate what I did, but I was just so worried when I saw your condition.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Pants, she’s under good care so she won’t be getting any worse,” says Minty confidently.

“Just Fancypants, Miss...”

“Sprinkles, but you can call me Minty Sprinkles, or Minty. Whichever you prefer.”

“Ms. Sprinkles, I haven’t seen Trixie in such a long time, and it pains me to see her, or any pony, in such a state.”

Trixie sighs heavily and rolls her eyes, she feels like she’s being treated like she’s not in the room again and she doesn’t appreciate it. Not. One. Bit. Trixie lets the other two talk to each other about the technicalities while she scans the room. She’s fairly certain that Fancypants spends a lot of time outside of his office because it is as bland as an office can be. All Fancypants has is his desk, a locked filing cabinet, and a clock hanging on the wall. It’s not even a fancy clock, it’s just a simple black and white clock with lines instead of numbers to tell the time. Then Trixie’s gaze moves to Fancypants, and notices that the eye the monocle is over has a slight, grayish mist in his pupil.

“Excuse me, but what’s wrong with your eye?” Trixie asks while pointing at Fancypants’s eye.

Fancypants is silent for a moment, then he casually pulls off his monocle, breathes on it and cleans it with a rag tucked in one of his pockets. When he’s done cleaning, he puts the monocle back on and blinks a couple of times before giving Trixie a warm smile, saying: “Cataracts, my dear.”

“Cataracts?”

“An optical medical condition. Anyway, Ms. Sprinkles-”

“Aren’t you going to get it fixed?”

“I’ll be sure to have my managers take good care of her when she’s working.”

“Thanks, I would be there, but I can’t be everywhere at one,” says Minty with a grateful smile.

“Hello... Fancypants. Your eye,” says Trixie impatiently.

“It’ll get fixed when it’ll get fixed. No worries,” says Fancypants patiently. “Now, Ms. Sprinkles, I’m going to have to ask you to step outside for a moment so me and Trixie can get the last of the paperwork sorted out.”

Minty stares at Fancypants suspiciously. Trixie’s eyes dart between the both of them as they continue to stare at each other. She is about to say something, but Fancypants is the first to speak.

“Is there a problem, Ms. Sprinkles?”

“Trixie is my responsibility, and I don’t want her to be working in a field that-”

“I take care of all my employees, Ms. Sprinkles.”

“Let me finish. Thank you. I’ll now continue. Trixie is my responsibility, and she’s been through Tartarus and back in just the past two months, so I want to be very clear-” Minty looks at Trixie, and she looks back at her, then she looks at Fancypants again. “That what she’s been put through has put her on a hair trigger. If any of your employees has ever been accused of sexual harassment, I suggest you keep them away from Trixie, and if you don’t keep an eye on her she will wander off. Believe me, I almost lost her in a candy store.”

“What! No, you left me and I had to look for you!” Trixie says defensively with a slight whine.

“Celestia trusts you for this program, so please don’t do anything stupid.”

Fancypants chuckles. “Oh, Ms. Sprinkles, I didn’t get to where I was by being careless. You have nothing to worry about, I promise.”

“If you say so, but keep in mind I’ll be watching.”

“I thought you couldn’t be around when Trixie works.”

“There’s more than one way to watch somepony.”

Fancypants bites his lip and looks down as beads of nervous sweat roll down his head, trying to think of other ways he can be watched. Minty, on the other hand, smiles, looks at Trixie and says: “I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone.”

Trixie groans as her ears droop, and she blushes and face-hoof’s while Fancypants says something about being married. Minty giggles and walks out of the room, and when the door closes, Trixie still keeps her face covered, not wanting to look at Fancypants while her face is still red hot.

oooOOOooo

Pinkie Pie steps away from the doorway, presses her ear against the wall, and listens in to the conversation between Trixie and Fancypants.

“So, it’s been a while...” says Fancypants.

“Yes it has,” mumbles Trixie.

“You can stop hiding your face.”

“I’ll wait until I’m back to my normal colors.”

An awkward silence passes and Pinkie Pie presses her ear harder against the wall. She can hear uneasy shifting, and guesses that it was Trixie that did the shifting.

“Are you going to tell me what happened to you?” asks Fancypants suddenly.

“I’d rather not talk about it,” says Trixie quietly.

oooOOOooo

Fancypants nods and relaxes in his seat. “Fair enough, we barely knew each other from the beginning, anyway.”

Trixie looks up at Fancypants and smiles sheepishly. “Well I did give you the bits every week to buy yourself a sub sandwich. So we’re acquaintances to say the least.”

“Indeed.”

“Well...” Trixie says while looking around the room nervously. “You’re famous now, huh?”

“That I am, and you were too for a little bit.”

“Yeah, but I kinda got carried away and... well...” Trixie points at her face and forces herself to smile while chuckling nervously. “This is what happened.”

Fancypants sighs sadly. “I’m sorry what happened to you, Trixie. I wish I could’ve done something as a way to repay you for your kindness, but, if it makes you feel any better I admit that I got a little bit carried away with my celebrity status too.”

“You? You, of all ponies, let fame get into your head?”

“Going from nothing to everything in a few short weeks has quite an effect on ponies, but after meeting a beautiful mare I ‘snapped back’, I guess one would say. Seeing the way that mare and her friends partied and had a grand old time made me realize how suffocating I’ve been after my rise to fame.”

He adjusts his position in his seat before continuing with his monologue.

“Sure I had what I always wanted. Money. Fame. A beautiful wife to call my own. But I spent so long trying to fit into Canterlot society that I became a stick in the mud. A bore. I think it was that day when those mares from Ponyville arrived that I started to realize that money only rents happiness.”

Trixie frowns at the mention of “Ponyville”, but when Fancypants looks at her she’s quick to replace the frown with a smile. “Wealth comes in more than just bits, right Fancypants?”

“Precisely, my dear. Where did you hear that from?”

“From you, when I gave you some bits for saving my hat.”

Fancypants is silent for a moment before making a “hm” sound and mumbling  “Interesting” while pulling out a simple folder that has a few sheets of paper in it.

“Now then,” says Fancypants as he flips it open, “with the Special Talent Act your choices are severely limited. However, even without the said law your choices would still be limited since all you’ve ever done were magic shows.”

Trixie looks down, she’s not sure if her specialized, yet severely limited, experience in the working field is a good or bad thing.

Fancypants, seeing Trixie’s discomfort, smiles kindly and pushes the folder to her. “But, the good news is that I can get you a position with one of my branches as an Entry Level Employee.”

“What will I be doing, exactly?” asks Trixie. She looks down at the application for a position labeled “Invisible Pony” and rolls her eyes at that title, thinking: ‘Lovely.’

“Simple, you’ll be delivering production equipment and help the crew set them up, unless they say otherwise.”

“How long will the work days be?”

“Depends. I try to keep them at eight hours, but sometimes things happen where ponies work as long as twelve hour shifts. I compensate them accordingly.”

“How much?”

“Seven bits an hour, plus another three for every hour worked overtime.” Fancypants smiles and hands Trixie a quill pen. “That, and I also provide free lunches and everypony is paid on a weekly basis.”

Fancypants falls silent as Trixie quickly fills out the application; the only sound in the room being the pen scratching against the paper and the clock ticking. When Trixie is done filling out the application, she gently sets the pen down, puts the application back in the folder, and gives it Fancypants. After getting the folder back, he puts it in his file and stands up and extends his hoof for a shake.

“Thank you, Trixie,” he says happily, “I’ll have it all processed by the end of the night. Come here tomorrow at ten in the morning and I’ll introduce you to your field manager and team.”

Trixie shakes his hoof, smiling and once again being so filled with happiness that she can barely stand still and is giggling childishly. “Thank you, Fancypants. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

“Oh I think I have some idea. Now run along, Trixie, and be sure to get those bruises checked out.”

Trixie nods, says her farewells, and is about to leave the room, but she stops and turns around. “You promise to take care of that um cataract thingy in your eye?”

“Good day, Trixie.”

“Right. Good day, Fancypants.”

oooOOOooo

Pinkie Pie hears Trixie approaching the door so she quickly backs up and when Trixie walks out, she pretends to be admiring something splendid. Trixie looks at Pinkie Pie quizzically, and then stares at what she’s staring at. Then back at Pinkie Pie. Then the object again.

“Um... what are you looking at?” asks Trixie.

“This magnificent paint job,” says Pinkie Pie casually.

“Yeah, because they did such a great job painting the wall white.”

“They sure did.” Pinkie Pie looks at Trixie. “So, what did you two talk about?”

“Oh, um I start working at ten in the morning, tomorrow. I have to show up here so he can introduce me to the team.”

“I see... Hang on a sec.”  Pinkie Pie sticks her head inside and loudly says: “Hey Fancypants! When does Trixie work!?”

Fancypants swears and clutches his heart, and then he gives Pinkie Pie a dirty stare. “Trixie works tomorrow morning at ten.”

“Here?”

“Yes, and then she’ll be leaving with the team to do some work.”

“Okie dokie lokie. Remember what I said.”

“I will.”

“I’m serious.”

“Good day, Ms. Sprinkles.”

Fancypants then uses his magic to slam his door shut and Pinkie Pie jumps away just in time. If she reacted a split second later then she would’ve had a face full of door, but right as Pinkie Pie jumps away she feels a crick in her back return. It wasn’t too bad, just extremely uncomfortable. Pinkie Pie grunts and stretches out her back and sighs with relief when the crick disappears after hearing the satisfying pops. She then looks over her shoulder and sees Trixie looks grossed out again.

“Sorry about that, Trixie, but it would make for an uncomfortable ride if I didn’t do that,” says Pinkie Pie.

“What happened to your back, Minty?” asks Trixie

The two mares start walking down the hallway and Pinkie Pie’s mind races for a good idea, but most are ridiculous and unbelievable, all except for one.

“I fell when I was trying to fix something,” says Pinkie Pie, despite her best efforts, some sadness managed to creep into her tone.

“Oh, that sucks,” says Trixie while looking down.

“It’s no biggie. We gotta make one more quick stop and then I’ll take you to your apartment.”

Trixie nods and quietly follows Pinkie Pie down the hallway.

=**********=

“It doesn’t matter if it’s for national security!” says an angry mare with a country accent over a dial radio, “The fact o’ the matter is that the Royal Government has no right t’ take over farms! Do you city folk even realize how important farms are t’ us earth ponies? Farms are more than just property to us!”

“Ma’am, I’m going to have to ask you to-”

Octavia sighs and clicks off her radio and then runs her hoof through her messy mane. Normally she would keep her mane well kept, even if she was relaxing at home, like she’s trying to do now, but now is not the case. She’s been working around the clock to write a new symphony for the annual Gala at the request of Celestia, and all she has to show for it is a blank sheet of high quality paper and an unopened box of pens and ink.

Octavia sighs, closes her eyes, and lets her head fall on the aged table. Her brain is completely dead. Or on lockdown. Or maybe it died because it’s on lockdown. Whatever the case is, she’s worried that the most important event in her life could go to waste because her mind decided to stop working. Octavia lifts her head up and blows some of her dark mane out of her eyes, but it doesn’t do much except for shift slightly out of her vision.

“I need a drink.”

Octavia hops out of her seat and walks into her fine living room to grab a cool bottle of wine to encourage her gears to work. She purposefully drags her hooves across the thick, wavy carpet to get that soft feel under her hooves that she loves so much. Plus, she’s also secretly fascinated by the way her hooves leave dark streaks in the grayish carpet when she drags them across it. As she walks towards her wine cooler she figures she might as well put on some music to help her think as well. Alcohol and classical music has worked well in the past, so this shouldn’t be any different.

Octavia goes over to her phonograph set and pulls out a record of one of her idols, the late Braille Lulamoon. She pushes the large speak out of the way, carefully sets the record on the turntable, and with even more caution, adjusts the arm of the device. There is a brief crackling, but soon heavenly music fills Octavia’s apartment and she feels all of her troubles melt away. She smiles with newfound relief and continues to her objective. It doesn’t take her long to find her desired beverage, and after pulling it out she grabs a wine glass and pours herself a drink. She’s about to take a sip, but notices the box that Pinkie Pie mailed to her before her murder sitting in the back corner of the living room, collecting dust. As much as Octavia wants to open it and see what’s inside, she made a promise to never open it and to give it up when the time is right. And the attached note also made it very clear to keep the box sealed and to give it to an agent of the Royal Government by the name of Minty Sprinkles. Thankfully Pinkie Pie was kind enough to give a very detailed description of the said pony.

Then Octavia’s eyes tear up and she sniffles as she stares at the box, remembering the last phone call that she had with her sister. They talked for nearly four hours, trying to catch up on lost time, but her life was hideously boring compared to Pinkie Pie’s. Octavia sighs and looks at her glass of wine, wishing everything was back to normal. Ever since the Changeling attack on Canterlot, nothing has been the same, and as far as Octavia’s concerned, Queen Chrysalis had won. She wanted to steal the love from Equestria, and now it’s all going away. Even the Elements of Harmony are breaking apart, starting with the death of Laughter.

Octavia closes her eyes and tries to think of the good times on the rock farm, or good times in general, with her parents and Pinkie Pie, but all she gets is a reminder of how it ended.

===

Octavia and her father stood at the front of the funeral procession for Pinkie Pie’s funeral. Her father was wearing an old, dark suit and saddle with an umbrella attached to it to shield him and Octavia from the rain. Octavia is wearing a lavish, black dress and is staring at the pink casket with balloons carved on the side and the Equestrian flag that is being carried by a group of four Royal Guards. Watching the casket get lowered is a line of Royal Guards standing at attention with Shining Armor, wearing a cast over his leg and horn, standing in the middle with Twilight by his side. Even Celestia was there with her head bowed, but her sister was nowhere to be seen.

Everything was almost completely silent to Octavia, she barely heard the sobs, or the heavy rain droplets pattering on the casket or the umbrella. Some lightning flashes in the distance and her eyes automatically snapped to the bright flash of light it caused, but her gaze drifted back to the coffin when they started lowering it.

Octavia looked around and saw just about everyone was under an umbrella. Fluttershy, Big Mac and Applejack were sharing an umbrella that was attached to the saddle on the stallion’s back. Big Mac has his hoof wrapped around Fluttershy’s neck as she cried into his chest. Fluttershy was barely able to stand because of how hard she was crying and eventually she and Big Mac had to lie down and the yellow pegasus’s sobs turned into wails. Applejack didn’t make any attempt to get under the cover of the umbrella, though. She kept her head bowed and her eyes closed. Her lips were moving, though, and Octavia guessed that the farmer was saying a prayer of some kind.

Octavia felt a lump in her throat come up, and she took deep breath to try to break it down while her father gently put his hoof on her back.

“I’ve should’ve been there...” said Rainbow Dash quietly, her voice trembling.

Octavia looked to her side and saw Rainbow Dash with Soarin and Spitfire, all three are wearing their formal Wonderbolts uniform, watching the casket get lowered into the ground. Rainbow Dash’s tears and trembling became more severe as the creaking from the gears continued. Soarin put his wing over Rainbow Dash’s back and said something that Octavia couldn’t hear, but whatever it was, it made Rainbow Dash look at him with a mix of grief and rage.

“You don’t understand... I failed her,”  said Rainbow Dash before leaving the two pegasi’ side.

Octavia sniffled and tears swelled up in her eyes as the suffocating lump reappeared in her throat. She looked at where the casket was, but all she saw was the pulley network and the stallions turning the wheels to lower the casket further in the ground.

“Don’t touch me!” snapped Rainbow Dash.

Octavia glanced over her shoulder and saw Rainbow Dash flying away, leaving Twilight looking down at the grass. Then she noticed Rarity staring at the casket, but she didn’t know what she saw. Rarity looked like she didn’t know if she should be angry, sad, or content with what she was seeing. When Rarity noticed Octavia staring at her, she opened her mouth to speak, but closed it and moved somewhere else instead.

The stallions that lowered Pinkie Pie’s casket into the ground started pushing dirt into the grave and Octavia walked towards the edge and watched the damp dirt fall on the soaked flag, slowly covering the casket with the clumps. Octavia kept herself composed as best as she could, but even with all her willpower she was still shaking as she awkwardly pulled out an old photo of her and the family before she left from her dress pocket using her teeth. She took a deep breath and then dropped it inside the grave. She watched the picture land perfectly in the middle of the seal on the flag. It was covered by dirt a second later.

Octavia dropped to the ground and cried into her hooves, not even caring that she’ll get dirty or soaked. Her whole body shook, her eyes became red and puffy and her sobbing was momentarily blocked out by the rolling thunder. The rain stopped bashing her a couple of seconds later and she felt a hoof touch her shoulder. She looked up and saw her father looking down at her. At first it didn’t look like he was crying, but upon a closer observation, Octavia saw thin streams of tears running down his cheek. He laid down next to Octavia and hugged her tightly as she cried into his shoulder.

===

Octavia nurses her wine until it is nothing at all while staring at the only thing left of Pinkie Pie. When she finishes her wine she has a brief mental argument on whether or not she should have another glass. She chooses to leave her glass empty and get back to work. Octavia is about to head back to her workplace, but is stopped short by a sporadic knocking on the door that reminds her of a hooligan doing a knock-knock-ditch game. She carefully approaches the door and peeks through the peephole and sees a very colorful pony standing in front of the door with someone else behind her. The colorful pony is freakishly similar to who Pinkie Pie described as the one who would take the box.

The visitor knocks on the door again with even more enthusiasm and says: “Octavia, I know you’re home. This is Minty Sprinkles, Royal Government Agent.” She pulls out a badge from seemingly nowhere and holds it up to the hole.“You see that? Of course you do, you’re right in front of the door. Looking right at me. Open up please.”

Octavia opens the door a smidge and the colorful pony by the name of Minty smiles at her and the other pony she’s with is looking impatient, but when Octavia realizes who the other pony is her eyes widen and her jaw drops from surprise.

“Is that Trixie?” asks Octavia.

“Sure is,” says Minty. “Hey, Trixie, you got a fan.”

Trixie turns around, looking hopeful. “I do?”

“I’m not a fan, I just recognize you,” says Octavia.

Trixie’s ears droop and she looks down, mumbling: “Oh.”

“Octavia, I understand you got a package from the late Pinkie Pie shortly before her passing.”

“Murder,” growls Octavia.

Trixie shrinks behind Minty and visibly becomes more nervous at the mention of “Murder”, making Octavia eye her suspiciously, and Minty bites her lip and nods apologetically. Octavia also notices that the colorful mare has shifted in her spot uneasily and that there is a pain in her eyes.

Octavia is hesitant, but the visitor matches Pinkie Pie’s description with one hundred percent accuracy and had the identification to prove she is, indeed, Minty Sprinkles. She steps back as Minty and Trixie step inside the apartment. Octavia looks at the box nervously and back at Minty, then glares at Trixie. She’s transfixed on the soft music being played from her phonograph.

“Me and Pinkie Pie talked for quite some time before her murder,” says Minty as she walks around the room, marveling at the furniture and decor. “She had a lot of good things to say about you, Octavia, and she also said that she gave you a package.” Minty then points at the box and looks at Octavia. “Is that the package?”

“Well, um... Don’t touch that!” says Octavia angrily while marching towards Trixie.

Trixie instantly retracts her hoof from the phonograph and steps back, almost tripping over herself, as Octavia checks the device to make sure nothing is broken, or that none of the records are misplaced. After finding out that nothing is wrong, she sighs with relief and then glares at Trixie murderously, making the unicron’s ears droop and sulk next to Minty. Minty, on the other hand, inspects the box and smiles when she sees no signs of tampering, save for the part where the note was pulled off.

“Would you two like a drink?” asks Octavia, her tone being less than hospitable.

“I think we better go,” says Trixie uneasily.

“Oh, I would love one!” says Minty a little too enthusiastically.

She looks around and sees the confused looks on Trixie and Octavia’s face, and she shrugs and smiles innocently. “What? A mare as high up as you has to have some good taste. Do you have punch?”

Octavia arches an eyebrow. “No, I only have wine and cider.”

“Cider it is! C’mon, Trixie, have a seat.”

Minty ushers Trixie on a spot on one of Octavia’s couches, much to Trixie’s annoyance, and Octavia goes into her kitchen to grab extra glasses and some cider.

“This is some nice music you’re playing. Who’s the composer?” asks Minty.

“My mother.” “Braille Lulamoon,” says Trixie and Octavia in unison.

Both mares look at each other and Minty smiles and relaxes on the couch, positioning herself so that her back gets the most comforting experience possible.

Octavia carefully sets the cups on the tray, and after doing so, she says: “Your mother was very talented. It was tragic how she passed so soon. She had so much potential.”

“It was tragic,” says Trixie, her eyes narrowing at the harsh tone Octavia used on the matter.

“Well at least Braille left a nice legacy,” says Minty, then under her breath: “I really like this couch.”

Octavia pours cider into the glasses and carefully carries the tray out and sets it on the coffee table in front of them. Trixie uses her magic to grab her cup while Minty snatches hers and gulps it all down. She then smacks her lips and grins at Octavia, who is repulsed by the childish behavior.

“This is some good stuff. What is it?” asks Minty.

“Sweet Apple Acres Cider,” answers Octavia.

“Oh very cool, I’ll have to be sure to buy myself some time.”

“Indeed, you should.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, this is just out of curiosity, but what did you think of your sister?”

Trixie gingerly sips her cider as her eyes shift between the two earth ponies. Minty looks genuinely interested while Octavia looks like she just lost all of her vocabulary. Her mind has once again died on her. She doesn’t know what to say about Pinkie Pie. The most they’ve ever spoken was the few short days before her death, and even then, it was all over the phone.

Octavia sighs. “I wish I could tell you what I thought, but in all honesty, we drifted apart, and I couldn’t get in contact with her until recently. And even then, it wasn’t enough to determine her real character. But from what I heard, she was a good pony.”

Minty stares at Octavia and they fall silent, the only sound is the soft music being played from the phonograph. Which Octavia can’t help but hear that it has a tragic tone to it, like fate is trying to get into her head. Octavia also notices that Minty had forced herself to smile and is now sipping at the nothingness in her cup. Minty is also trembling a bit and eventually sets the cup back down and avoids eye contact with Octavia.

“Would you like more cider?” asks Octavia.

“No, no I’m fine,” replies Minty, her voice trembling slightly. “It’s just that, like you, I didn’t know Ms. Pie very well, and,” Minty smacks her lips together looks at the ceiling for a moment before bringing her gaze back to Octavia, “well, when I talked to her, she spoke very highly of you. She thought you were very accomplished and she also wondered if you -you know- got those birthday cards she had sent you.”

Octavia looks down at her carpet, caught off guard by the question. She remembers how she got those cards, but now regrets hiding them and never opening them because they weren’t up to par with the standards she had developed. She also didn’t want her new friends to see them since she’s seen first hand how they treat those who do not live up to their standards. But in spite of those things, she had grown so fond of the Canterlot lifestyle that she had tried to forget her roots, just so she can build a fantasy that she never lived the hard life on a rock farm. She had achieved a new, fantastic lifestyle in Canterlot and wanted to hold on to it in anyway she could.

“We spoke quite a bit about the arrangements... It’s like she knew she was going to die,” says Minty.

Trixie looks at Minty and then at Octavia, seeing the glare on the gray mare made her ears droop again and she shifts uneasily in her seat. Octavia knows that Trixie had something to do with what had happened, her not-so-subtle actions are betraying her with every second that passes. And she really doesn’t like that someone involved with her sister’s murder is being chauffeured by this government agent. However, Pinkie Pie did say that Minty is trustworthy, so maybe they have something planned. Hopefully something horrible.

“During one of our meets, before she mailed you the box, she wondered why you never answered your phone or returned her calls,” continues Minty. Octavia looks at Minty, feeling guilt over take her now, but Minty persists, ignoring the discomfort she’s putting Octavia in. “I don’t know if you couldn’t or wouldn’t get in contact with her,” Minty sighs heavily and blinks a couple of times, “but know this: she loved you, she couldn’t stress that enough before she died.”

“Did you try to save her at least?” asks Octavia, now completely overwhelmed with guilt and grief.

“It’s my job to keep ponies safe, to keep Equestria safe. I did what I had to do.”

Octavia looks down to hide her guilt and grief, but  she’s certain the others can see it plain as day. She wouldn’t be surprised if there was a rain cloud hanging above her head right now. But when the last part of Minty’s answer answer seeps in, she looks up, confused and expecting to see Minty and Trixie still on the couch. What she sees instead is Minty carefully balancing Pinkie Pie’s box on her back and Trixie holding the door open with her magic.

“What did you mean by you did what you had to do?” asks Octavia as she approaches Minty. The two sentences together didn’t make any sense to her. One on hand, it implies that she did everything she could to save her sister; but with the second one... It just doesn’t make any sense to her.

“I meant exactly what I said,” replies Minty while walking towards the door. Then she turns her head slightly and smiles, saying: “We’re grateful for the hospitality, the cider was good, that couch was awesome, but now we have to get going. Lot’s of work to do in such little time.”

Octavia still doesn’t understand what Minty meant, but she guesses that she won’t get any information out of her unless she straps her to a seat and interrogates her, but she knows that will be suicide, especially with the way things are going in Equestria right now. However, now that Octavia thinks about, she can’t help but wonder if Pinkie Pie was involved in some kind of government operation. Equestria is going to crap, she gets ridiculously specific instructions, has to hand over a mysterious box to an agent who never mentioned what department she’s part of, and to top it off: Pinkie Pie nearly talked her ear off before she died. It’s just like what Minty said: it’s like she knew she was going to die. However, there is still one thing that she wants to know,and she hopes to Celestia that Minty will at least be kind enough to give her a straight answer.

“Wait. Did she say anything to you before she died?” asks Octavia.

Trixie looks at Minty as she stares at Octavia. The colorful pony sighs heavily and asks Trixie to hold the box for a moment. After Trixie levitates the box off of Minty’s back, she takes another deep breath, blinks some tears out of her eyes, and then she approaches Octavia.

“She did. Two things actually,” says Minty softly. Minty then pulls Octavia in a tight embrace and sniffles. For Octavia, it feels very intimate the way she’s being hugged and can feel the agent’s hooves rub her back in a comforting manner; it feels like she doesn’t want to let go, and Octavia hesitantly hugs her back. Minty squeezes tears out as she shuts her eyes tight and whispers: “She also said not to worry, Octavia, it’ll all be sunshine and rainbows in the end.”

Minty reluctantly releases Octavia and smiles sadly while Octavia looks down at the ground, stunned. That phrase is something Pinkie Pie had always said after she got her cutie mark when things looked bleak. No other pony would say that. They would say something generic,  like: “It’ll be okay” or “Don’t give up” or “Look for the silver lining” or some other horribly generic, get-well-soon card quote thing.

Octavia’s eyes start to swell with tears, her lips quiver, and she gasps for air as a suffocating lump pushes into her throat. She looks up at say something, anything, to thank Minty for giving her the message, but she sees the door closing, leaving her alone in her apartment. Octavia curls up in the middle of the floor and cries into her hooves, her only companions now being her alcohol and music.

oooOOOooo

Pinkie Pie looks over her shoulder at Octavia’s door and wipes her nose while blinking tears out of her eyes. It’s eating away at her that she has to keep her fate a secret, especially when she was hugging her sister, but deep down she was also hoping that Octavia would at least recognize her voice. But after the conversation, it became painfully apparent she knows she didn’t, and that is just as painful to her as playing dead.

“You okay, Minty?” asks Trixie.

Pinkie Pie nods and looks at Trixie, forcing herself to smile. “I’m fine. Let’s get you to your new home.”

As much as it hurt for her, she knows it’s best that Octavia thinks she dead. For now.