Joy isn't an emotion. Joy is a choice.
Rainbow Dash slowly walked down the street, rain pouring on her and soaking her jacket. Coming from Pinkie's funeral, and thinking of what happened. One question pondered her mind: How could I have saved her?
The memories flooded back to her, as she continued down the street, dim and colorless.
Rainbow woke up, hearing her alarm ring. She sat up, yawning and stretching, as she shut her alarm off. She looked around, seeing that her room was a mess to begin with. Immediately, she jumped out of her bed and looked in the piles of clothes on her floor. As she kept looking, one thought was pondering her mind: "WHERE IS IT?!" Soon, she found her new phone in her pant pocket. Smiling, she turned it on to see that someone left her a missed call. She quickly called them back, a smile on her face. Maybe it would be the Wonderbolts, asking her to join their Soccer team! Suddenly the phone picked up, a gruff male voice answering.
"Yes, Pie's residence?" He said. Rainbow suddenly had a face of confusion.
"Mr. Pie?" Rainbow asked. Why would he call her? There were a few coughs on the other side, and a large bunch of static before she heard the voice of Mr. Pie again.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news, Ms. Dash." More coughing.
"I'm afraid that my lovely daughter, Pinkie Pie...." He coughed, whincing at the same time.
"I'm afraid that she has died in her sleep." He said, as if he were crying. She heard quiet sobbing on the other side, as she smiled.
"Nice try, Mr. Pie! You almost had me there, that Pinkie had..." There was still quiet sobbing on the other side. Rainbow chuckled, while slightly frowning.
"Please Mr. Pie, this joke has gone for too long already. Can I talk to Pinkie?" The sobbing stopped, and she heard static. It ended, as the voice of Pinkie's dad began.
"I'm afraid I'm not joking, Ms. Dash. We're hosting her funeral at 3:00 PM today. Please attend..." He said before he hung up. Rainbow's pupils shrunk as she heard this. Pinkie was dead? No, it couldn't be... Tears welled up in her eyes, as she thought of that fact.
"She can't be..." Rainbow moaned to herself. The salty droplets fell from her eyes, and started to create a small puddle.
Rainbow looked to the body of Pinkamena Dianne Pie, lying limp on her old bed. Only a few people attended Pinkie's funeral- her best friends, her family, and... A person who seemed to be Mr. Pie's associate. He had long white hair, and wore a red robe. He also had two red lines on his face, that seemed to represent tears. AJ put a hand on Rainbow's shoulder.
"I'm sorry about your loss, Sugarcube. Especially two days before your birthday..." She said, causing tears to stroll down Rainbow Dash's cheeks. The man looked up, as his eyes opened. He put his hand on Mr. Pie's shoulder, and looked out the nearby window. Rain was pouring, everyone looking down.
"I need to go, Mr. Pie." The mysterious man said. He walked over to the door, and opened it to reveal a dark hallway. Mr. Pie looked to him.
"I'm sorry for your loss, Mr. Pie. She really was a great, energetic girl." He said, walking out of the room. Mr. Pie nodded, taking a flower from the nearby table. He slowly walked over to his long-gone daughter, and placed the flower on her chest. Rainbow's friends did the same, her being the last one. She placed a blue flower on Pinkies chest, as a tear drop rolled down her chin, and onto the flower. She regretted Pinkie's death the most, and nobody at the funeral could deny that.
Rainbow walked down the street, the grey, dim street, pondering one thought: How could I have saved her?
"It should've been me who died, not her..." Rainbow thought. She looked down, and crossed the street. When she was halfway across, a blinding light was getting brighter in front of her. She put her head up, seeing a semi-truck. It was coming at top speeds, honking it's horn. She closed her eyes, as she felt someone grab her. Then, she was in the air. She opened her eyes, revealing that the semi passed through, and she was on the other side of the street.
"You need to be more careful! You could've DIED doing a stunt like that!" A familiar voice shouted. Rainbow turned around, seeing the man from the funeral. Her eyes widened, as she stared at his face.
"Wait a second... Aren't you one of Pinkie's friends?" He asked her. She nodded slowly, putting her hood on.
"So, how do you know Pinkie then?" She asked very quietly. The man chuckled.
"I've been friends with her father since childhood. We were the best of buddies." He said, smiling. She nodded, as her eyes wallowed up with tears.
"Me and Pinkie were best buddies too..." She said, thinking of the times of their childhood. A single tear rolled down Rainbow's cheek as she thought about those times. The man looked down at her, noticing that she began to cry.
"You know, Pinkie was smiling in that bed." Rainbow looked up, seeing the man smirk.
"In the end, she chose joy. Not happiness, but joy." He said, looking back to Rainbow. She had a confused look on her face.
"Wait... Aren't happiness and joy the same things?" She asked him. He frowned, and closed his eyes.
"Long ago, I had a friend. He was really nice, and one of my best friends. But, every friendship has to end at some point." He said, opening his eyes. His frown deepened, but when she looked into his eyes, she didn't see sadness. She saw joy.
"He died in his sleep one night, many years ago. But ever since, I've learned to be joyful." Rainbow was still confused at this, not knowing what he meant by 'have had joy when his friend died'.
"You see, joy is a choice. Not an emotion. You can have joy whenever you want, as long as you choose to have it. Right now, it's a very sad time, but it's also a time for joy." He put a single hand on her shoulder, and smiled.
"Pinkie's in a better place, and we should both be joyful about it." He said. He soon let got, and turned around, walking across the street.
"Wait." Rainbow said. He turned around, seeing that tears were still in her eyes. But these tears were different.
"What's your name?" She asked. He smiled.
'Tears of joy already.' He thought. He turned to the way he was walking.
"Margo." He said. Then, he continued on the road. This was the first, and last time that they saw each other.
Rainbow opened her door to her house, seeing that it was extremely dark. Suddenly, lights turned on, revealing decorations everywhere.
"SURPRISE!!!" Shouted a flurry of voices. She looked around, seeing her friends. She had never been more joyful in all of her life.
Author's Note
In honor of Raiden Fireblade. We will all miss you... But I will choose to have joy. I've decided that it's time to have joy, instead of being sad. I hope this will help you, Foals Errand, and the many other friends he has lost.
