"Have a nice day!" I cheer, waving to Derpy.
"You too, Pinkie," she answers, holding her bag of muffins in her hoof. What really gets me, though, is that smile on her face.It fills my heart with sunshine and goodness, even after she flew out the door.
Another happy pony. The second one this morning (after Lily popped in for some cupcakes) and there should be eighty-nine more over the rest of the day. But since Vinyl Scratch won't be here for another fourteen minutes and since her cupcakes are already ready, I'll make Mom's super special birthday card. I already have the paper and crayons on the counter.
I take the paper and fold it into two. I can't believe that it's Mom's birthday again. It's like it was only yesterday that I was making her super special birthday card for her last birthday. Time can be funny sometimes.
I then reach over and pick up a blue crayon and start to write the words "Happy Birthday Mom" on the front. But rather than doing it quick and freely, I try to do it slowly and carefully. Even though Mom knows all about who I am, I want to really show her the love and respect she deserves.
"What about when you left her?"
Who said that? It's that silly voice again, isn't it? Hey you, knock it off!
Getting back to the card, I continue writing the letter 't' in "Birthday". No silliness is gonna ruin my mood on this special day. I get to the 'h', then the 'd' and the 'a' and the 'y'. And then I finish it all off with 'Mom'.
I rest the crayon on the counter and look up to see my work. Almost all the letters have perfectly straight lines and perfectly straight circles, but that pesky little 't' is all wobbly. I take the crayon and redraw the line, concentrating on making it as good as possible. I then look up and see that it is straight, even if it is bolder and thicker than the other letters.
My attention goes to the bottom of the cover, which is still full of white nothingness. That's about to change. I take the light grey crayon and draw a nice circle and some ears on the top. I then use the dark grey one to make the outline of a mane bunched up in a bun. Since that's the only color her mane needs, I color it in right away. I put it down and grab the blue crayon again to color in her eyes. The yellow one is then used for her glasses and necklace. I reuse the light grey crayon to color in her whole face. And finally, a smile is drawn with the dark grey one. Done!
There she is. I haven't forgot what Mom looked like. But then again, how could I? I remember her pretty well from when I was growing up and I visit her once a year on Hearth's Warming Eve.
"It looks like somepony abandoned her."
You again, huh? Always making everything all sad and mean. Well, I'll have you know that I did not leave her in the dust! She let me leave to spread joy to all Equestria! And even now, I write letters to her and come to visit sometimes!
"Do you really think that's what she wanted? What the rest of your family wanted?"
Yes! The biggest thing they want is for me and my sisters to be happy.
"So you're saying you're not happy being with them?"
No...That's not what I meant. What I mean is that they felt working on a rock farm wouldn't have been good for me. They knew they themselves weren't making me unhappy, it was the lifestyle. Mom and Dad told me that I deserve to share my gift with the rest of the world.
But enough sad talk, I have a card to make! I pick up a pink crayon and draw my face next to Mom's. I spend the next twenty-three seconds coloring in everything from my mane to my smile, using magenta and blue to fill in my Pinkie little face.
I have to admit that the cover is simply adorable with our two faces scrunched up next to each other. But why stop there? It wouldn't be fair to leave out Maud or Marble or Limestone or Dad. Thankfully, my crayon box is full of different colors such as brown and purple. So that's what I'll do, I'll draw in Dad next to me. Using my mouth to grab the brown, I start to draw him.
I guess, now that I think about it, I haven't seen them in a long time. Hearth's Warming was over six months ago! I wonder if they miss me after all that time. Surely they must because they have to look at an empty chair and an empty bed and say "Where's Pinkie Pie?" only to then say "Oh yeah, she lives in Ponyville now."
"Didn't we go through this talk when Maud came to visit?"
Yes. It's always the same every time. I miss my family, hate myself for being so mean, and forget it all in an hour or so. How could I have been so selfish to have left them?
I finish up Dad and start to work on Maud below him.
"Why don't you just move back?"
Some days I wish I could. I remember one time when I accidentally made Fluttershy cry with that prank that was supposed to prank Rainbow Dash. I felt so awful that I wanted to leave and never come back. But then after a while, I found out that I would have left behind a lot of ponies who would have missed me a lot. Mr. and Mrs. Cake would have been really sad and knowing that I caused that terrible sadness would have made me even sadder. But it wouldn't have just been them. Pound and Pumpkin, Twilight, Rainbow Dash. Even Fluttershy would have been sad. After getting a little better, I went to Fluttershy and I apologized. She forgave me and we hugged and we had a sleepover and it was really fun.
As much as I love and miss my family on the rock farm, moving back in with them would only switch the Pie family with my family in Ponyville and my family in Ponyville with the Pie family. Nothing would get better. In fact, my folks would probably get sad that I would give up my dream just to be with them. And that would only make me more sad.
Maud is finished! I know she doesn't smile very much, but I want to give a good old smile. Even if she doesn't see it right away, I'm sure she'll love it once she comes back home. Next up is Limestone! I pick up the dark gray crayon and begin to color her in. It doesn't take long at all.
And finally there's Marble, who needs light gray. My lips start to curl up as I think of her.
Growing up, I always played games with her. Sure I played with Maud and Limestone, but she always played with me (there were times when Maud was too busy with rocks or when Limestone didn't want to). We played cards, we played checkers, we played hide-and-seek, and we played tag. She always won, but it was still fun.
"I wonder what she does now."
Oh right...she used to play with me. When my parents told me that I should leave, none of my sisters liked it at all (not even myself). But Marble's reaction just broke my heart. Her face was shriveled and wretched, way more than it should be. But then she started crying and she hugged me really tight, begging me not to go. It was so overwhelming that I started crying too.
Choosing to leave the rock farm was the hardest decision in my life. Each option had so many goodies and baddies stuck on that it took weeks for me to think over. Leaving Marble was definitely a baddie. A big one. Even after I chose to leave, those nastys ate at me like crazy. And they still do today.
Every year when I come back, Marble looks fine. We still play checkers, roll around in the snow, and talk like nopony's business. So I do know what's she like now! In that case, I have no idea what you're talking about, meanie-pants, but my Marble has gotten better!
"Do you know that?"
Of course I do.
Or at least, I like to think that. I moved away years ago and scars heal over time. Obviously she likes it when I write or when I visit but she is still happy living her day-to-day life.
"It's funny to hear you deny and deny over and over again, but that one takes the cake. You know she just hides her sadness and bad feelings when you see her. Deep down, she's mad at you for leaving her like that. She spends her nights staring at that empty bed you left behind, reminding her of the happiness you robbed her of. To her, you're nothing but a selfish jerk that ditched her family because it was too boring."
That's not true! I did not ditch her! Even if I don't live with her, I make sure that she's still a part of my life. Because she is. And Mom and Dad and Maud and Limestone. They all are!
Marble's face was already finished, but I was stopped by that terrible voice. Why does it have to stomp all over this special day? There's one step left: the note on the inside.
I open the cover to the blank page and I pick up the blue crayon. The best way to write is the same way to talk: all from the heart. And so I begin.
"Hi, Mom!
I hope you like my super special birthday card I made just for you! Even though we're far away, I always think about you and I want to use this super special birthday card to tell you how much I love you. Not just you, but everyone! That's why all your faces are on the cover!
Happy Happy Birthday!
Pinkie Pie"
I hear the door open. My eyes pop up to see Vinyl Scratch walking up to me. Her head is bobbing back and forth to music that I can kinda hear from her headphones. I reach down, pick up her bag of cupcakes from the bottom shelf of the counter, and hoof it over to her. She repays me with three bits and a smile. Mr. and Mrs. Cake get the bits and I get that toothy grin.
Forty-two minutes. That should be plenty of time to get the card to the post office. Snugged under my crayon box is a pink envelope with a stamp on it. I slip it out, open it, and slide the card right in. After that is the fun part, where I get to lick the thing that sticks it shut. It makes my tongue tickle. Finally, I flip it to the front and write the address of the rock farm. Since I write letters a lot, I remember it really well.
With my envelope in hoof, I bounce my way out of Sugarcube Corner. Lyra walks right in front of me.
"Hi," I say, smiling at her. She turns to me and smiles back.
"Good morning, Pinkie. How are you?"
"Great! And you?" I ask.
"I'm doing fine. Thanks for asking," she says, continuing to walk in her direction, "Have a nice day."
"Thanks! You too!"
I trot down the road, greeting ponies as they walk by. But through it all, I still can't help but think about my family and the rock farm. It's not that I try to be a downer and all, but sometimes my Thought Express can't help it.
Would I have truly have been happy to stay at the farm?
"You could have, you know."
I guess...maybe. But what about Mom and Dad? Would they have been happy if I couldn't have spread my gift?
Oh...
I could have thrown them parties everyday! Why didn't I think about that? What have I done?
I feel that smile on my face starting to hurt. It's getting really painful as I feel less in the mood to keep it up. But then again, do I deserve to smile at the fact that I made a dumb choice? I caused all this sadness and pain and confusion for nothing!
For the next several moments, I walk in silence, wallowing in this terrible pit of regret and guilt. To think that I have selfishly abandoned the one family that needed my gift the most makes me unworthy of my cutie mark.
But.
Wait a minute.
Even if I wasn't physically with them anymore, I was still with them in spirit. My letters and cards allow my joy and energy to be mailed to them. It's like they were mailing me in a tiny envelope all the way to the rock farm. And who knows? Maybe they learned to have fun of their own from me. They never talk about life when I'm away, but they could be playing around on their own.
In all the times where I felt all bumpy and bad for leaving them, I never thought about that before. Usually, those things ended with me forgetting about the problem in the first place, as if I was only putting it aside for later.
I feel something I haven't felt before while thinking about leaving my family. A big lumpy thing being pulled off me, allowing me to stand up again (not literally of course). And just in time, too, to reach the post office.
The front of the building has a blue box for dropping off letters and packages to be sent. I reach out my hoof with the envelope and slide it into the slot.
Remember, my Mom and family will be getting me from in there, so everything will be fine. As long as I keep that in mind, that silly voice can't hurt me. She hasn't so far.
As I walk away from the box, I think about that day when my parents first suggested me to move to Ponyville. It's clear why they did it and I guess I know why I chose to do it. Even as a filly, I could see the goodie that came with doing it. I could make new friends and throw more parties. I guess it makes sense why they were ready for me to do it too. They saw way out into the future and what it would bring for me if I moved away. And even if it took me a while to see out there, I could do it.
Thank you, Mom and Dad, Maud and Marble and Limestone. I love you all very much.