“Bale’s Palsy”
To say Pinkie Pie wasn’t at her happiest would be an understatement. She was far from it. It would take much more than her favorite cupcakes and a cherry chimichanga to cheer her up. In fact, there is only one single thing in the whole world would cheer her up right now.
“Smiling is out of the question. At least for two weeks.” said Doctor Horse.
Pinkie didn’t like doctors. Doctors may cure diseases and help injured ponies, but they were way too serious and too harsh with words. She liked honesty as much as the next Applejack, but she also liked it to be sugar coated. Okay, a lot of sugar.
“B-But why!? Can’t you fix it!?” exclaimed Pinkie Pie. “You’re a doctor! You can fix any anything that’s wrong!”
“Ms. Pie, I assure you, we will do everything we can to treat this condition” explained Dr. Horse. “However, this is a rare affliction we’re dealing with. Proper diagnosis is needed to find the exact cause to that paralysis on your face.”
“I already told you! I slept on the left side of my face for too long and that’s why it’s all droopy!” said Pinkie loudly while pointing to her droopiness. She was right in the doctor’s face, as if the Doctor hadn’t already haven’t seen the state of her sagging half smile.
“Besides, you’ve already put me in that machine already!”
Dr. Horse put his hooves to his forehead, trying to ease his migraine. “Ms. Pie, for the third time, that is not a proper diagnosis. We can’t just hoof you a ‘cure’ to your facial numbness.”
“And also, that was a CAT scan. It was just to double check that you didn’t have a stroke” Concluded Dr. Horse.
“Oh…” Pinkie slumped back into the chair. “Well, what do we do? How do we ‘diagnose’ my face?”
“We will have to conduct a lot more lab tests and scans. This will take a while, probably on the span of several days. I will schedule all necessary examination dates throughout this week and next week.”
“What!?” shouted Pinkie Pie. “W-Why so many and so long!? I can’t go out looking like- like this!” She pointed to her face again. “It’s an emergency!”
“Ms. Pie, the tests and the waiting will not be that bad.” explained the doctor while trying to ease his migraine from the yelling mare. “Reason being is that your condition isn’t actually an emergency. Granted, you do look like a stroke victim.”
Pinkie gave a little pout crossed her hooves, a little offended at Dr. Horse’s remarks. Without a beat, the doctor continued.
“Bale’s Palsy is nothing but a mild inconvenience. It’s not anywhere near an emergency as a stroke or a brain aneurysm. I understand that you may have thought that it was serious, but rest assured, you’re not in a critical state. These tests can be set into appointments.”
Pinkie gave a hefty sigh. “Isn’t there anyway we can speed this up, Doctor? I mean-“She looked at the doctor with pleading eyes. “I need my smile back! How can I be the ‘Element of Laughter’ if I can’t smile? It’s super, super important to me!”
The doctor sighed as well, seeing that the distress mare never made things easy for him.
“I’ll try to schedule them as closely as I can, but other patients with much more serious injuries will always be top priority. I’m sorry, but please understand this, Ms. Pie.” Said the doctor, a little more reassuringly that usual. “I promise you we will get you fixed up. Trust us.”
Well, the doctor had a point. Pinkie Pie knew her condition wasn’t as serious as the flu or the Everfree fever, but it was still much more than a mild inconvenience to her.
Smiling was, in fact, her! If anything, a smile was not only a representation to the Element of Laughter, but Pinkie Pie herself! A smile from Pinkie Pie is what anypony needed to have a brighter day, and there was nothing more important to her than to see all her friends smile. If she couldn’t smile, how else is she going cheer up her friends? There was no point in Pinkie Pie if she couldn’t smile. There was no point.
She perished the thought before it stayed.
“Well, Okay. Fine. When do we start the first test?” said Pinkie Pie, giving into the Doctor’s requests.
“Good, I’m glad you understand, Ms. Pie.” Replied Doctor Horse. “Your first exam will be a set of Mri and possible a blood work if we have time. It’ll be some time this Wednesday….”
After the scheduling was done with Dr. Horse, Pinkie Pie walked to the front desk to receive a copy of her appointments and check herself out of the hospital. Despite the afternoon just starting, she felt like she had a very long day. To her surprise and glee, Mr. and Mrs. Cake were still waiting for her at the waiting room. Even though they looked tired and concerned, she waved at them and yelled out a greeting to the worried couple.Cup Cake was the first to perk up and rush over to Pinkie Pie.
The Cake couple had a huge scare that very morning. They were already up early in the day, prepping for their daily tasks and order; suddenly they heard a piercing scream up in the bathroom. Both the Cakes rushed up the stairs to Pinkie’s bathroom, only to find a bawling pink mare with a drooping left face.
At first glance, anypony would have mistaken her condition as a stroke. Pinkie looked at both the horrified Cakes, sobbing and hiccuping, and said “I-I can’t smile.” Carrot Cake couldn’t have hauled Pinkie to the hospital any faster.
Upon arrival to the hospital with Pinkie on his back, Carrot Cake immediately saw Nurse Redheart and asked her for immediate attention to Pinkie Pie. She had been taken on a gurney and into the ER, and Carrot Cake was left alone in the waiting room.
Cup Cake, due to her short stature, arrived a little later to her husband’s side. The couple leaned on each other, praying to Celestia that Pinkie will be okay. The Cakes closed down the shop, got Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake a 2nd Go-to babysitter, and sat in the waiting, hoping to hear good news.
Relief was evident in both Carrot Cake and Cup Cake, although Cup Cake opened the emotional floodgate as soon as she hugged Pinkie.
“Oh thank Celestia! A-are you alright, dear? We t-thought there was something seriously wrong happened to y-you!” said Cup Cake, sniffling between sentences.
Pinkie, of course, hugged her back, appreciating the kind gesture. Deep down, while she was still happy to see the Cakes, she felt a little guilty for worrying them and felt somewhat at fault. She didn’t mean to worry them or get sick on purpose, but somehow she ended up blaming a little on herself.
“I’m soooo sorry for worrying you guys, but I’m fine! See-“she gestured to her happy face, but remembered she couldn’t smiled. To her dismay, both the Cakes noticed her crooked smile, and their relief was washed away and replaced back with concern. There was an awkward silence that felt almost as long as the doctor’s visit, but not quite that long.
“Are you sure, Pinkie?” asked Carrot Cake, breaking the silence. “I thought the doctors would have fixed you right up, since you were about to walk out of the hospital.”
Cup Cake gasped sharply, and her face contorted to, what Pinkie would call, a “Scolding face” whenever the twins were getting into the flour bag or biting into a cupcake tray.
“Young Lady! You’re not trying to sneak out of here, are you?” said Cup Cake accusingly. “Your health is the most important thing! You can’t shirk away from doctors, especially when you’re sick! What if you got worse?” she paused for a mili-second and started pacing. “What would I tell your mother? Your father? Your sisters? Your friends? What if-“Pinkie Pie covered Cup Cake’s mouth before she started to spiral way out of control.
“I know it doesn’t look like I’m… well” said Pinkie Pie, a little sadly. “But I promise I’m okay! Doctor Horse scheduled appointments for me some time this week and next week.”
Cup Cake removed Pinkie’s hoof and let out a small sigh.
“What kind of tests? I thought they would have figured out what was wrong by now”
“Apparently, a lot.” said Pinkie. “It’s… complicated. Here, I got this schedule paper from the nurse.”
Pinkie dug in her hair and pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper. Carrot Cake took it out of her hoof and scanned through it with Cup Cake.
Both of their expressions were still hinted with concern, and Pinkie hated that.
“Bale’s Palsy?” said both the cakes at the same time.
“What’s that?” asked Cup Cake.
“It’s when half of your face doesn’t move at all.” said Pinkie. “Doc said there could be a lot of different things that could cause that. That’s why I have to take so many tests.”
“Oh dear, blood work and MRI?”
“Yup”
“CAT Scan too?”
“Mhm~ wha- hey! I thought I already did that!”
“What does RBC and WBC stand for, Carrot dear?”
“Not sure, sugarplum.”
While the couple read through Pinkie’s schedule, Pinkie was starting to feel a little anxious. Maybe it was because of the intimidating list of lab work she had to attend, or it was the fact that the Cakes weren’t entirely convinced that she was okay. She didn’t want to continue worrying them, and that made her uneasy.
Carrot Cake looked back to Pinkie Pie and gave her a small smile. He hoofed the piece of paper back to Pinkie Pie and cleared his throat, clearly about to say something important.
“Pinkie Pie, we know you’re going through a lot.” He looked at Cup Cake and she gave him a small nod. “And that’s why we’re giving you time off for two weeks. Of course, you’ll be paid for it.”
“Huh!? Wait-“ Pinkie started to panic a little. “You guys are piled with orders! There are so many ponies that come to Sugar Cube Corner every day! It’s also the busiest time of the season-“
This time, she was stopped by Cup Cake. “We know, dear. But as I said before, your health is the number one most important thing. Besides, you haven’t taken any of your vacation days since… we hired you.”
“B-But-But-“
“No buts, Ms. Pie” Carrot Cake Interjected. “You’re going to need the rest. If it does turn out to be something serious, we don’t want you getting any worse. So please, take the time off.”
Both the cakes look at Pinkie Pie pleadingly. They only wanted what was best for Pinkie Pie, and she knew that very well. She did accumulate quite a bit of vacation days for herself, maybe this was the time to use it. Maybe she could meet up with her friends and-
Her friends.
The sudden realization hit her like a freight train. She couldn’t possibly go out looking like this, let alone her bestest friends in the whole wide world see her in such a state! What if they get grossed out? Or not wanting to come near her? What if they didn’t want to be around her anymore?
What if they don’t want to be her friend?
Like a boat caught in a cyclone, her mind descended into a dark place. Rapidly.
What if they wouldn’t need her because she couldn’t cheer them up anymore? Her smile cheered up all her friends, and it gave everypony a brighter day. If she didn’t have her smile, no pony would have a smile. Everypony would be miserable because of her. All she ever needed to have her life worthwhile was a smile from everypony. That may never happen if her smile isn’t fixed. It will be fixed. But what if it doesn’t? The Element of Laughter who can’t smile? Will she always have a crooked face? Will she never have a full gleaming smile again? And what if-
“PINKIE PIE!” yelled Cup Cake, shaking her rather roughly.
Pinkie came back to the waking world. Not that she was asleep, but close to it. Thankfully, Cup Cake had stopped her before she went to a place where it was very difficult to come back from.
Pinkie was looking all around frantically, not only seeing the concerned faces of the Cakes but some of the nurses and bystanders as well.
“Are you alright!?” asked Carrot Cake loudly.
“Y-Yes? What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Pinkie asked sheepishly, still mildly at a daze from a sudden shout and shaking from Cup Cake.
“Honey your hair. It’s…“ Cup Cake said while pointing at Pinkies half-deflated mane.
“And, not to mention, the sudden burst of tears.” added Carrot Cake. “We know you love your job, but if it really bothers you that much…”
“No! No, I’m fine!” said Pinkie, forcing herself to perk back up. “Really, I’m fine! I just had a little… doozy! Yeah, I had a heck-of-a doozy!”
She wasn’t lying entirely. All the bystanders were suddenly looking around fanatically and looking for a place to hide.
“Well… Pinkie” Said Cup Cake. “That… was a doozy alright. We didn’t mean to upset you, we just wanted what’s best for you.”
“Aww, Mrs. Cake, it wasn’t you guys at all” Pinkie reassured. “I’m just tired I guess. Sorry for worrying you. It won’t happen again”
The cakes looked at each other with concern. It felt like something wasn’t right. Maybe there was more to her condition than just her face? Maybe they ought to urge one of the doctors to keep an eye on her for the night. Then again, the doctors knew best, and they did say she wasn’t in serious trouble.
“Alright, Pinkie” Said Carrot Cake, followed by a hefty sigh. “If you think you’re okay, then let’s go home.”
“You need your rest, as it said on the doctor’s note” Cup Cake added.
“I know, I’ll rest up tonight!”
“At least two weeks.”
“Can I help a little? I can still bake muffins!”
“No, young lady. You’re going to get better with some nice warm soup and tea.”
As the Cakes and the bouncy pink mare trotted out of the hospital, the rest of the staff and bystanders went back to what they were doing, most of them slowly coming out from under the tables and chairs.
Author's Note
I've rewritten this because the first few chapters were rushed. Also, "Bale's Palsy" is a play on word with the actual condition "Bell's Palsy".
