Happy Endings

"Don't cry, Dashie," a soft voice begs from the hospital bed beside me. "Smile for me."

I'm curled up on the floor, wiping the snot from my tearstained face. The room smells cold and metallic. Although my eyes are squeezed tightly shut at the moment, I know it doesn't look much different. So impersonal for a place that claims to care deeply about each and every patient.

I distract myself with the steady beeping of the machine hooked up to Pinkie-- something that has become a constant in my life. "I don't think I can."

"That's okay. I wouldn't be able to either," Pinkie replies calmly.

After a few moments she speaks up again. "You know what I think?"

"Not really," I say dryly. Pinkie snorts in quiet laughter.

There's a long silence. "Well? Don't leave me hanging, Pinks."

"I think that maybe we could have been happy in another life," she states at last.

I think about that for a moment. "I'm not so sure about that."

"Why?" I look up at my lover solemnly.

She's waiting patiently for my answer. "Because... we already were happy. I think we got our happy ending a long time ago, and this is just what comes after."

"Silly filly! Nothing comes after the end of a story," Pinkie remarks in the same teasing fashion she used to.

I smirk as I prepare my flawless comeback. "How do you know? You've never read that part before."

"If this is what becomes of a perfect fairytale," Pinkie starts slowly. "Tell me how it could be worse. Give me a bad ending."

"Well, maybe in another life..."