Sticks and Stones Can Break My Bones
Pinkie bounced through Sugarcube Corner, a smile on her face. She had nearly made it through another shift of running the most famous bakery in Ponyville,"Here you go Lyra: A baker's dozen of Strawberry cupcakes with cream cheese frosting!" The party pony announced with a bright smile, as she placed the box of treats on the counter in front of her.
"Thanks, Pinkie! You're the best!" Lyra replied, placing the money she owed on the table, then used her magic to lift the box from the counter and leave the store. Happy that she had another satisfied customer, Pinkie bounced into the kitchen, only to find Rainbow, once again, doing Pinkie's work for her.
"Rainbow...what are you doing now?" The earth pony asked, her ears drooping as she gave a disapproving look to her marefriend, who returned with a bright smile of joy.
"Just helping to take some of the workloads off your shoulders!" Rainbow exclaimed, before turning back to the mixing bowl in front of her, which was overflowing with some type of cake batter.
"Dashie...you know I appreciate everything you do for me, but you do realize that I'm not the only one working here right? I mean the Cake's do own this place!"
"It's fine Pinkie Pie! I got this!"
"That's what you said last time you tried to bake...the fire department was here for an hour..." Pinkie muttered, before leaving the kitchen to see who needed their orders filled. This scenario happened almost every day, and Pinkie was growing tired of it.
"Alright Rainbow!" Pinkie exclaimed as she barged into their bedroom, where the pegasus was laying on their bed, reading the newest Daring Do book.
"Um, yes Sweetheart?" Rainbow asked, putting the book down,"Is something wrong?"
"Yes! For the past few months, you have been treating me like I'm a...a baby! Like I can't do anything for myself! I know I can act immature sometimes but I'm a full grown mare and I would like to be treated like it!" Rainbow sat in shock for a moment, before she was finally able to say something.
"Pinkie, I am just trying to take care of my marefriend. I love you, and I don't want you to get hurt."
"I understand that, but do you have to do everything for me?!"
"I don't do everything for you!" Anger had begun to flow throughout the room, making the couple glare at each other as they spoke.
"Really!? What about the past few weeks at Sugarcube Corner?! You've been taking over my job as a baker! I mean, don't you have your own job at the Weather Factory?!" Pinkie yelled, throwing her hoof in an angry gesture at the pegasus.
"I um...might have...quit..." She whispered the last part, hoping Pinkie wouldn't hear her, unfortunately, she did.
"WHAT?! Why!?!" Pinkie screamed,"Do you think I need a babysitter!?" Rainbow didn't respond, and her marefriend fumed with anger,"I don't need you to always take care of me! I'm not a baby!" Pikie screamed before racing from the house, leaving a shocked and speechless pegasus.
Pinkie ran across town and into the Everfree Forest, hoping that she would find a nice quiet place to clear her head. Her anger and sadness had filled her so much, she refused to let herself speak or accommodate with the ponies that were still out and about. She finally slowed down to a walk as she approached a small pond, where she sat down in front of it. Releasing a sigh, she stared at her reflection in the ripples of the water, as tears formed on the brim of her eyes,"I know she means well...but I don't always need her to protect me." Pinkie told herself, as she allowed her tears to stream down her cheeks.
After mindlessly staring at her reflection in the small waves for nearly an hour that was so quiet, you could hear a leaf fall from the surrounding trees and land on the ground. Just as Pinkie had decided that it was time to go speak to Rainbow Dash, and maybe apologize, her plans were shot from her mind as a horrible smell floated through the air and into her nose,"Eww! What is that-" Her words were cut off with a gasp of her own, as three Timberwolves approached her,"You just have to show up when I try to show my independence!" Pinkie yelled at the forest creatures, only to get putrid growls in return,"Well uh, I can see you guys don't want me around...so I'll just be on my way now...bye!" She screamed before taking off in a random direction away from the predators, hoping she would stumble back upon Ponyville. Unknowing to her, however, she was heading in the opposite direction of town.
Pinkie ran for nearly ten minutes before daring to take a look back, only to find the Timberwolves easily keeping up with her. She released a gasp of fear as she continued to run, though she could feel her strength running out,"I hope Rainbow is looking for me...I hope she finds me..." She huffed, blinking away fresh tears,"But...what if she isn't even looking for me!? What if she got really mad at me because of that stupid fight!?" Pinkie exclaimed, her thoughts making it harder to fight the tears that were beginning to blur her vision,"What if she doesn't love me anymore," That sentence made her burst into tears, as she lost all clear sight, all she could see was a blurry mix of colors. She couldn't even see the upcoming cliff that was only twenty feet in front of the earth pony.
"Please! Somepony help me-" Pinkie began to yell after a couple moments of panting silence, only to be cut off by the piercing sound of her terrified screams, as she plunged from a cliff's edge, and began her horrifying decent toward an unknown ground. Fortunately for her, the Timberwolves were smart enough to stop at the road's end, but their sudden halt caused a few stray rocks and boulders to tumble down with the mortified mare.
When Pinkie landed, she let out a shriek of pain, she could feel several bones bend and snap, two of them being her back legs. She weakly looked up to a boulder had landed on top of her legs, she instantly began to cry in pain. She tried to sit up but only found that another part of her body that was messed up, was her spine,"Somepony! Help me!!" She screamed as loud as she could, hoping that she could signal some sort of help with the remaining, but dwindling, strength she had left.
Meanwhile, not too far off in the forest, Rarity and Applejack were walking around, concerned looks on their faces,"Do you think she's out here?" Rarity asked, looking at her wife with a sad gaze.
"Rainbow Dash said that Pinkie would either be here, Sugarcube Corner, or Twilight's Castle, and she wasn't in any of the other locations, she's gotta be here!" Applejack replied,"Besides, it's not like you're alone, you're safe with me, and you know that."
"I know I know, I just wish we could have all stayed in one big group..."
"Well we can cover more ground this way, and we all got our Pony Signals from when Fluttershy turned into a bat, so we can signal each other if we need help."
"I know that I just worry...I mean the moon rose over an hour ago!" Applejack only giggled as they continued to look around the woods.
"Help me! Somepony!" A familiar voice suddenly echoed through the trees.
"Do you think that was her?" Rarity exclaimed, her expression and tone changing to worry.
"It has to be! Come on!" Applejack replied, the two mares racing through the woods in the direction of the voice forest.
Tears rolled down Pinkie's cheeks as a large Timberwolf towered over the helpless party pony, whose mane was droopy and near flat, and face was stained with tears,"Please...don't hurt me..." Pinkie whimpered as she covered her face with her good hooves, preparing to face the monster's teeth when suddenly, a large boulder fell from the sky, crushing the wolf to twigs. Then Applejack and Rarity appeared in front of the rock, gasping at Pinkie's condition.
"Pinkie darling! How did this happen!?" Rarity exclaimed, rushing to the mare's side.
"I was running from Timberwolves...and I fell off that cliff up there...I don't know how long I've been here..."
"It's only been a few hours, which is still really bad for your legs...Rarity set off the signal to alert the others." Nodding, Rarity's horn ignited, and her pony signal blasted off into the night sky.
"The others will be here soon." Applejack nodded and approached the boulder.
"We gotta get this thing off of you, I'll be surprised if you ever walk again," Muttering that last part, AJ walked over and pushed on the rock, while Rarity caressed Pinkie's mane, hoping she could keep her calm and somewhat relaxed.
"Girl's did you find her!? Fluttershy and I thought we heard screaming and-" Twilight gasped when she saw the situation before her, but put her emotions aside, knowing her friend's needed her,"Okay, AJ let me help you lift that rock, when we do, I want Fluttershy and Rarity to gently pull Pinkie's legs out from under it." Getting nods of agreement from her orders, the ponies took their places, and after a few moments of teamwork, and a little magic, the two were able to lift the rock, and although they were gentle, Pinkie Pie still released painful cries, which were heard by a familiar rainbow pegasus.
"What happen- Pinkie!!" Rainbow exclaimed as she flew quickly down from the sky and to her marefriend's side,"What happened, Sweetie?!"
"Well...after I ran off...I ran into a few Timberwolves...I was crying as I ran because I didn't think you would look for me because I said I could take care of myself...I couldn't see and, I fell off the cliff..." Tears began to fall down Pinkie's cheeks again, she could no longer bring herself to face Rainbow Dash.
"Pinkie...I know you can take care of yourself, I always have. It's just...I like taking care of you, because you're mine, and I love you." Pinkie smiled and wrapped her good arms around Rainbow's neck.
"Thanks, I needed to hear that..." Pinkie smiled before falling unconscious in her marefriend's hooves.
"Pinkie? Pinkie! We gotta get her to the hospital!"
Pinkie Pie slowly regained consciousness, the first thing she heard was the beeping of a heart monitor, followed by concerned, and hushed, voices.
"How do you think she'll take the news?"
"Think she'll even wake up?"
"She will! She has too!" That last voice she recognized, it was Rainbow's. She wanted to speak, but she wasn't quite strong enough yet, she was still waking up. She suddenly heard hoofsteps approach her, and a hoof take ahold of one of her good ones,"Come on Pinkie...you're a strong mare, you can get through this." Rainbow whispered.
"So where did Twilight go?" Rarity asked, noticing that one of their friends were missing.
"She went to go tell Starlight what happened. She also told me she had an idea to make Pinkie feel better once she woke up." Fluttershy responded, shrugging.
"Guys! I think she's wakin' up!" Applejack exclaimed, causing everypony's attention to turn to their hospitalized friend.
"What's...the...news?" Pinkie whimpered, her eyes slowly opening, only for her to be momentarily blinded by the bright lights of the hospital room. Everypony bit their lips before Rarity used her magic to lift up Pinkie's blanket, to show both of her back legs that were completely wrapped in white bandages. Pinkie also had a back brace vest on her body that kept her straight from the stomach up.
"Pinkie...the doctor says that it's going to be nearly a year before you can walk again..." Rainbow said, trying to be as gentle as possible with her words. Pinkie's ears fell back against her head, and she teared up. It was in that moment she realized that because she was so ignorant, she would never be the same pony again,"You okay Pinks?" The pegasus asked, tilting her head in both worry and confusion.
"I...I am so sorry Dashie! I've been so stupid! I should have known that you don't think I'm a child! I know that you just have the best interest at heart for me, but I let my pride get in the way of that, and now I can't even walk, much less even sit up on my own!" Pinkie had gone into tears, and Rainbow was trying to find the right words to say.
"Pinkie, this whole thing was not your fault. You're right, I did do a lot of things that made sure you were always in my line of sight, and I regret doing that. However I meant what I said earlier, I don't like seeing you get hurt, but I do know that you are a grown mare and can take care of yourself. I just want to know that if you are in danger and need my help, I can be there to help you." Pinkie smiled, before reaching her hooves out to the pegasus, who giggled and leaned down so that Pinkie could wrap her hooves around her neck. The two then fell into a warm and passionate kiss.
"Um, hello? Earth to love birds?" Twilight's voice cut through the couple's moment with a laugh.
"What is it Twilight?" Rainbow said, clearly annoyed as she gave the alicorn a glare.
"Sorry to interrupt this beautiful moment, but I think I have something else here to lift Pinkie's spirits!"
"Oh, what is it!" Pinkie exclaimed, her bright smile returning.
"Well, when I told Starlight about what happened we both agreed that you didn't need to just sit in any old wheelchair!"
"Well, it was mostly Twilight's idea, but with a little magic, and a little science, we made you this!" Starlight said as she entered the room, pushing a custom pink wheelchair to the bedside,"This little joystick makes the wheelchair move forward, backward, left, or right. Depending on the way you push it." Starlight began.
"The blue seat is a really soft pillow for cushioning since you will be in it for a while," Twilight added,"And this little button releases my favorite part," Twilight turned to Rarity and Fluttershy, who was directly behind the mobile chair,"You might want to move..." The two mares stepped to the side, and Twilight pressed the button and confetti blasted out from the handles of the chair, making Pinkie's mouth drop as she gasped with joy,"That is so amazing! Thank you SO much Twilight and Starlight!!" Pinkie exclaimed, and the two mares giggled, before giving their friend a gentle hug.
"Thanks, alot girls, now confetti is gonna be all over our carpets, and I'm gonna have to clean it up!" Rainbow complained, rolling her eyes.
"But Dashie! I thought you loved taking care of me?" Pinkie whimpered, her puppy eyes wide. Rainbow's lip quivered before she busted out laughing, the other girls soon joining her.
Author's Note
This was meant to be a short fanfic by the way, but I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless!
This ships in the story are obvious but I shall list them anyway:
-PinkieDash
-RariJack
-TwiShy
The idea for this story actually came from a Simpsons episode,"Radio Bart". That episode takes place on Bart's birthday, where he got a radio toy from Homer, it was with that toy that Bart dropped the radio down the well and pretended to be "Tommy O' Toole," a kid who fell down the well. Let's just say by the end Bart actually wound up in the well with a rock on top of his leg. Yep, that was my inspiration for this story. XD
