//-------------------------------------------------------// Love can be Pink -by Antonio Eclair- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1: Invitation //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1: Invitation Chapter 1: Invitation “You’re going to need to take these pills until we can determine whether or not the tumor is dangerous.” The doctor said handing me the little orange container, I didn’t really like taking pills but if they did me well then so be it. “Thanks doc, I’ll start taking them tomorrow.” I said putting the away in my saddlebag. “I’ll be sure to contact you as soon as we get the results, Bolt.” He said, I knew this was the time where my appointment ended so I stood up from the chair and headed towards the door. “Wait will this help with the headaches?” I asked just before leaving, ever since I found out I had the tumor they’ve been more frequent. “They should but if it doesn’t help, try an aspirin.” He told me just after he finished I left the clinic. I had recently moved into a new house in a new town, due to the fact that my old house only brought back bad memories. Sometimes I wish I would’ve died alongside my family but sadly I had to have been somewhere else. Sometimes I just think I should kill myself. Nopony will remember me or even bother to know what my name is. It sucked to be the socially isolated pony, even in a new town where Nopony but my doctor and her assistant know who I am. I found myself coming up to the market of the town; it was just past noon which meant I would soon be hungry. I have a habit of not eating breakfast and just waiting until launch to eat. I came up to a stand where an orange colored pony stood, she was wearing a cowboy hat and over all looked kind of cute, which for somepony like me, wasn’t something to common to say, “What can ah get’cha partner?” she asked me as soon as I stopped in front of her. “Um… I’ll just have five apples and one of those apple pies please.” I answered looking around at the many apple-based treats the mare had in stock but only settled for something small. “Comin’ right up! Say, I’ve never seen you round the town before.” She said as she started to put everything in a bag. “I’m new actually, only been in this town for a week.” I said turning back to look at her. “Well I hope you like the town; quite honestly it’s a really nice place to live in!” Her enthusiasm was incredible, not many ponies like her from where I come from. “Say, what’s your name partner?” She asked me as she handed me the bag. I proceeded to store it in my saddlebag before answering. “Fading Bolt, but ponies tend to call me Bolt or Fade. I don’t really mind how they call me.” I responded to the kind mare. “Well nice to meet you Bolt, the names Applejack.” She said extending out one of her hoofs to shake mine, I accepted the kind gesture and paid her right after that. “You look like a nice fella, Fade. Hope to see you around.” She said shortly after. “You too seem like a nice pony, Applejack.” I said before heading off towards my home for the rest of the day. “If ya ever need anything, don’t be shy to ask!” I heard her say from the stand. “Thanks!” This was strange, she barely knew my name and she was already showing signs of friendship. “I wonder if she’s like that with every customer.” I said to myself while I walked out of the market not really paying attention to any I felt a presence observing me as I walked, I stopped and turned around to see if my suspicions were right and as soon as I turned I was met with a pink-colored mare with a big smile. “Hello.” I said rather surprised by her. “Hi!” She responded. “May I help you?” I asked her as I examined her closely, she had a dark pink puffy mane and tail and three balloons for a cutie mark. “I just heard you were new and decided to come and meet you!” She said, her smile not leaving her face for a second. “I guess you overheard it in the market?” I suggested and she nodded in agreement. “Well that’s nice, I guess…” I replied not sure where this conversation was going. “Are you going to be busy tonight?” She asked, I was a bit surprised by the question to be honest. No mare has ever asked me something like that. “Um… No why?” I asked her a bit skeptical about whether she had really asked that. “Well for your party of course!” She answered smiling even more then she already was. “A party? What for?” I said now completely puzzled by the response. “Yeah! It’s your ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party!” She said, I don’t even know her name and she is already throwing me a party? Ponies here are all either really good ponies or just a bit crazy. “But I don’t even know your name.” I said trying not to sound ungrateful for her act. “My name is Pinkie Pie, what’s your name?” She asked looking at me straight in the eyes. “Fading Bolt…” I answered. “But they call you Bolt or Fade!” She added to my surprise. “So you did know my name?” I asked confused as to why she would even ask if she already knew, maybe so she wouldn’t sound like a creep but she either ways did do to her saying that last part. “My friend Applejack told me right after you left.” She said bouncing up and down in place, she seem like quite a hyper pony. “Oh… Well I have to head home now, I have some things to tend-“ “7:30” She said cutting me off mid-sentence. “What?” I asked with a dumbfounded look. “Your party. Show up at Sugarcube Corner at 7:30 and not a minute late!” She said bouncing once more. “Okay, I was wondering what you meant.” I said in a low voice. “Okie dokie lokie! See you tonight!” She said before bouncing away. “Yeah, see you tonight…Wait… WHERE IS SUGERCUBE CORNER?!?” ~ Take one every 5 hours. Do not take if you are under the effects of other medications. Do not take if you are currently pregnant or think you are pregnant. Ask your doctor if you think the medication is right for you. I found myself reading the instructions of the pills the doctor gave me, I felt a headache coming up as I finished reading the text. “Well he did say these could help ease the headaches.” I thought while I took one of the pills out of the container and tossed it into my mouth before continuing to read Take with water. “Oh carp!” I said before running off towards the sink in the kitchen and taking in some water. Once I was sure the pill had gone done and the water I had ingested had been enough I went back to the couch in the living room and laid down to rest while I ate one of the apples. “Everypony is so different here…” I thought as I took a bite out of the apple. “I mean who throws a party for someone that they only know their name and nothing more?” I continued to think about the two mares I had encountered today. I started to doubt whether I should even show up or not. I should since it’s a party dedicated to me and it would be extremely rude not too, but on the other hoof I shouldn’t and just apologize and blame it on my illness. “No… I’m going! What harm could it do?” I said before looking at the clock, it read 6:30. “I’ll take a nap before heading over to Sugarcube corner… wherever that is…” I said to myself before finishing the apple and resting my head on the couch and slowly drifting off to sleep. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2: Party //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2: Party Chapter 2: The Party Here I was standing outside Sugarcube Corner. It took me some time to find it since I had to walk around a good part of the town to find it and also with some help of the ponies I asked. I was about to knock on the door when it just swung open and standing inside was Pinkie herself looking at me with a big smile on her face. “Oh you’re here!” She announced cheerfully. “You’re five minutes late!” She added looking down at her watch. “You didn’t exactly tell where this place was.” I responded trying to not sound a bit angry. I had left at seven and it took longer than I had expected. “Oh yeah!” She said as she remembered I was new here and didn’t know many places. “Well either way come inside! The party has just started.” She said pulling me inside. The whole place was decorated with streamers and balloons of all sorts of colors and to my surprise a lot more ponies had attended then what I was expecting. “Well?” She asked me, I was a bit stunned by everything she had put together for somepony she barely knew. “I’ve got to hand it to you Pinkie; this is a lot more than what I was expecting.” I said looking at all the ponies which in return were all looking at me. Some with smiles, others with neutral expressions and some were talking to another pony as if silently judging me from my appearance. “EVERYPONY!” She yelled out to which everypony now turned to face her instead of me. “I’D LIKE ALL OF YOU TO MEET FADING BOLT! HE’S NEW HERE IN PONYVILLE SO BE NICE TO HIM.” Just what I didn’t want at the moment, a lot more of attention. “Hello!” “Hi!” “I really like your mane!” “Come with me, I want you to meet my friends.” Pinkie told me dragging me to one part of the room where five other mares were talking with each other. Amongst them was Applejack, that kind one from the apple stand. “Howdy, Bolt” Applejack greeted as she instantly recognized me, the other girls turned around to look at me all with smiles on their faces. “Nice to meet you darling, my name is Rarity and I’m the town fashionista. If you ever need any attire to be fixed or are simply looking for what the latest in fashion just stop by my boutique and I make sure to find something appropriate just for you.” Said a pristine white unicorn with a deep purple mane as she extended her hoof out to me, I reached out and shook it. “What brings you to Ponyville, Bolt??” Asked one of the other girls, she too was a unicorn but she was a lavender unicorn with two lighter highlights in her hair and tail. “Well…” I didn’t really want to tell anypony about why I was really here for so a little lie wouldn’t hurt. “I guess I just wanted a ‘new start’ to say the least.” “Hmm… Well you came to right place! If you ever need any books stop by the library and I’ll be there to help learn anything you want.” She told me, it would’ve been nice if she would’ve told me her name as well. “A new Pegasus in town, huh? Well I’m Rainbow Dash, the fastest flier in ALL of Equestria.” She posed as she said proclaimed her ability, I liked the fact that her name suited her mane in the rainbow fashion. “Umm… Hi…” Said the last one, a yellow Pegasus as well, she was a light yellow; almost tan with light pink hair and by the looks of it very shy as well. “What’s your name?” I asked her intrigued to know. “Fluttershy…” I just managed to hear her over all the noise there was at the shop but it seemed to suit her well, at least the shy part. After all of Pinkies friends had introduced themselves and I had done the same we spent the next hour or so speaking, the main subject being primarily me. I’d had to admit I was actually having a good time but even though I was socializing that didn’t stop me from being my usual cynical self. I don’t know if they noticed and if they did then they were just trying to act nice and not say anything. “So Bolt, what do you think about this town and the ponies so far?” Rainbow Dash asked at the same time Pinkie Pie turned over to look at me; her eyes told me she was expecting to hear something positive. “Well to be honest I--“I was cut off by a sound ache coming from my head. “Is something wrong Darling?” Rarity asked me with genuine worry in her voice. The others just looked at me with worried expressions. “Yeah don’t worry. I just need some fresh air; I’m going to step outside for a brief minute.” I said turning around and hurrying towards the door. “Would you like some company?” Rarity asked. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.” I said before rushing outside, the headache was becoming more and more painful. I took out one of the pills and was about to chug it down when I remembered I had to take them every five hours. “Carp…” I said searching around my little satchel I had brought with me to see if I had any aspirins. “Thank Celestia…” I said as I pulled two out and proceeded to take them. I took about another minute to get some fresh air and was slightly scared when I heard Pinkie’s voice come from behind me. “Are you okay, Fade?” She asked causing me to let out a yelp. “I’m alright. Just needed some air, that’s all.” I said turning around to head back inside. “What was that you ate?” She asked me. “It was um…” I said hesitant for a second. “Was it candy?” She asked again a smile on her face. “It was something like that.” I responded. “Can I have some?” She said cheerfully waiting to taste the delicacy I had ingested myself. “Sorry, all out.” I said stopping right beside her. “Bummer… I’ll just have some of the candy inside.” She said as she bounced around, I stopped her right on her tracks before she could go any further. “Wait, Pinkie I need to ask you something.” I said making sure she was facing me and that I had her full attention. “Because you’re my new friend silly!” She said smiling at me; this only managed to confuse me. “Do you do this kind of thing for everypony you meet? I needed to know so my mind could be at rest and not overthink the whole situation. “Well it depends, to someponys I’ll just greet and give them a little ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ cupcake and then to others I’ll throw them a party!” She said which actually surprised me. “Wait so you have preferences when it comes to meeting somepony new?” I asked her just to see if my suspicions were correct. “Well I tend to throw parties for ponies I know I’m going be SPBFF’s with!” She answered. “SPBFF?” I asked unaware of what the initialism stood for. “Super-Pony-Best-Friend-Forever.” She said finally bouncing away towards her group of friends I had been bonding with. “Friend…” I said thinking about the simple fact that she considering me one of her friends already, it also brought a small smile to my face. The rest of the night went off a lot better, I got to know a bit more about each pony, they told jokes, we sang and we even danced. That night was probably the best night I’ve had in a long time and was a good change from the dull world I came from. “You want to hang out tomorrow?” Pinkie asked me as I was just leaving towards my house. “I guess, depends if I finish everything I have to get done tomorrow.” I told her even though I wasn’t certain if I was really going to be able too. “Do you ‘Pinkie’ promise?” She asked me to which I simply agreed to. “Okie dokie lokie then! See you tomorrow Fade!” She said before bouncing back into the store. ~ My alarm went off at 8 exactly. I groaned a bit wanting to stay in bed for a few more minutes but I knew I had to get things done today. I got myself out of bed and into the shower. Another hard decision was what I was going to eat. After a few minutes I settled for a simple breakfast of a piece of the pie I had bought and a glass of milk. As I ate I started to recall al off yesterday’s events. Even though it was fun and I felt happy because I knew I had some friends I still managed to feel bad and unhappy with myself, like if I just couldn’t let myself enjoy those moments. I remembered I had to take the pills and after taking them I went out the door with a set route to go to the market and buy some groceries. ~ “Can I get a cucumber and a head of lettuce please?” I said to the pony attending the vegetable stand. “That’ll be 3 bits.” She said handing me the vegetables in a bag, I gave her the money, thanked her and left. “Let’s see what am I missing?” I said looking through my list. “Well this seems to have been the last thing; I guess it’s time to head back.” I said putting the list back in my bag and heading towards home. I passed by Applejack’s stand but she seemed to busy so I simply walked by, she didn’t seem to notice me either so I simply continued my route. When I returned home I found the mail mare standing in front of my door knocking, I walked up to her and gave her a light pat on the shoulder so she could turn around. “Hello.” I greeted the mare once she had turned. “Letter!” She exclaimed handing me the envelope, I took a quick look at it and noticed it was from the clinic “Well thank you…” I thanked her while I took a look at the letter, it was from the clinic. “You’re welcome!” She said before leaving. Now is when fear kicked in, I had in my hand a letter from my doctor that could possibly tell him whether the tumor was dangerous or not. If I could have it removed or not. I rushed inside my house as fast as possible and took a seat on the couch. My heart was racing as I started to open the letter; I took out the contents and quickly started reading. Dear Bolt. I am sending this letter to inform you that the results are ready, much quicker than expected and, that it would be great if you could come in as soon as possible to talk about the necessary precautions. Doctor Whooves. I felt terrible after reading it. That last part indicated that they had in fact found something bad and that I was going to need more medications or even surgery. I didn’t want any of that, I wanted to live normally again. I wanted to do so much more but this illness might prevent me from doing so. I sank into my little world of sorrow and pity once more, I thought about last night but it didn’t help. I decided to leave for the clinic as soon as I left the groceries at home. I set them away quickly and as soon as I knew it I was headed towards the clinic to face the news. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 3: News and heartbrake //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 3: News and heartbrake Chapter 3: News and heartbreak Pinkie Pie was just coming up to Fade’s house when she saw him in rush towards some place unknown. “Hey! He Pinkie promised to hang out!” She said as she tried to catch up to him. She instead settled with following him to wherever it was he was headed. She followed him for a good five minutes before he finally reached his destination and to Pinkie surprise it happened to be a clinic; she instantly remembered that last night at the party he started to feel bad. “Oh no, I hope he is alright.” She thought, she decided to wait outside for him to make sure he was alright. ~ “Hello.” I said to the doctor’s assistant. “Bolt! I see you got the letter.” She said with a faint smile, I guess she had read it or knew something I was just about to figure out. “Indeed. Is the doctor here?” I asked her. “He in fact is, he didn’t want to leave early in case you decided to come right away.” She answered only giving me more indications that the news was in fact very important. “Can I go in?” I asked her starting to get rather nervous. “Go ahead.” She told me, I slowly started to trot over to the doctor’s office. “Bolt, you came.” He said looking up from his desk as I walked into the room. “Well judging by the letter it seemed too important to wait another day.” I said sitting down in a chair in front of him. “Yes, the news is indeed of great importance. First things first, did you start taking the pills I gave you?” He asked me. “Yes, I started taking them yesterday actually.” I answered him; I’ve been caring them around with me since yesterday. “Have they worked? Have they cured some of the basic pain?” He said getting a quill and paper ready to write down everything I said. “Only for a short period, but at least there are working.” It was true, the effects only seemed to last two hours at max and it was far too little time. “That’s not good…” He said as he wrote it down in the paper. “Doctor, can we cut the chase and just tell me what wrong?” I was already impatient; I just wanted him to say what it was. “Well, Bolt. You see we ran the test and well…” He said trailing off for a moment “And…” “And the tumor is in fact dangerous, even more than we thought.” He said to which I instantly shattered. “Is there any way to get rid of it?” I asked with the little bit of hope that was left in me. “Well… We can perform a surgery to extract it.” He said to which some of my hope was returned to me. “Okay when can the surgery take place?” I wasn’t going to look any further; if the operation was an option then it was the definite option. “No so quick. There is more bad news.” I had stopped rolling down the hill apparently. “What do you mean?” I asked becoming overwhelmed by the situation once more. “There is a survival rate if you decide to undergo the procedure.” My heart started to break bit by bit as he kept telling me all this. “W-what is that rate?” I asked hesitant as to whether I wanted to know or not. “Forty percent you live…” He said. “How much time do I have to think about it?” I asked, might as well know. “I would say about a month, please do think about it Bolt.” He suggested, concerned on my safety. “Well if that is all, I would really like to go home.” I said standing up. “Yes that is all I needed to inform. When you’ve made up your mind please come and talk to me.” “Don’t worry doc, I will.” I told him before exiting the room. I felt sad, angry, and nervous for some reason. I had a lot going through my mind right now. As soon as I stepped out of the clinic I had to prevent myself from crying right there, instead I flew as fast as I could towards my house where I could let all this rage out without disturbing anypony. ~ As soon as I reached my house, I entered slamming the door behind me. I started throwing stuff around; I picked the stuff up only to be thrown again. I was in fact very upset, very discontent with my life. Suddenly I heard a loud knocking at my door. I went to open it and see who it was. “What do you wan-“ It just happened to be Pinkie Pie who seemed rather upset as well, she barged into my living room without even asking. “You broke your promise!” She yelled as she went to look me straight in the eyes. “Promise? What promise? And why did you walk in without asking?” I said rather angry at the fact that she had started yelling and accusing me of things I didn't say. “Last night you said we would be hanging out, and earlier today when I was coming you were leaving at full speed towards the clinic! Why were you there in the first place and why was it more important than keeping your promise?!?” She said getting closer to me. “First things first, I didn’t promise anything. I clearly said that I would hang out with you if I wasn’t busy and if you saw me running off to the clinic then it clearly means I was busy!” I said not pushing her back. “And another thing why do you care what I was doing in the clinic and why were you even following me?” I asked her. “Because friends look out for their friends and the least you could do is apologize for breaking your promise!” She yelled back. “Apologize!?! I have nothing to apologize for! Much less if it’s a silly promise that I stated I wasn’t going to be able to keep!” It seemed so childish that she was taking this seriously and that she was spying on me. “SILLY!?! ‘Pinkie’ promises aren’t silly they are to be taken seriously, even more if they are made between two SPBFF!” She freaked out at my words. “Stop calling me that! I’m not your SPBFF!” I stated, maybe just a bit too harsh as her expression changed after I told her that. “W-what do you mean you’re not my SPBFF?” She said almost crying. “I only went to the damn party because I didn’t want to admit that I thought it was a stupid idea, you don’t even know me Pinkie and I’m not your friend and I’ll never be your friend and I don’t want to be your friend.” I scowled at her, she had an upset look on her face. “But…But…” She muttered. “But nothing Pinkie! Nobody has ever managed to be my friend and you are no exception.” I said before she got up and headed towards the door. “I’m…sorry…” She said before walking away. I felt strange. I felt guilty for saying all those things, I felt guilty for yelling at her. I felt worse because there is something I like about her. I felt horrible because she was one of the few exceptions. I sat in my wrecked living room thinking. Not about anything in particular but about everything. Maybe I should have the surgery, maybe I should apologize to Pinkie, maybe I should kill myself… //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 4: Apology //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 4: Apology Chapter 4: Apology Two days passed. Twenty-eight days left to make my decision, but, I can’t seem to be able to focus on anything since my dispute with Pinkie. I was too hard on her, all she wanted to do was become my friend and I managed to mess that up. I felt like a fool for letting that happen. I want to apologize but will she be willing to hear it? I doubted she would, but yet again I don’t know her so there is a chance she might listen; I don’t even care if she accepts it or not but as long as I say it I know it will count. Maybe even one day she’ll forgive me. Why do I even care in the first place? Because she looks just like ‘her’ and you feel bad because you know she wouldn’t had wanted this. I kept thinking to myself. Fight against myself even in disputes over Pinkie but I settled with apologizing, after all, it’s the right thing to do. But how should I apologize? Maybe she doesn’t even want to see mea after what I said to her. I was in quite a dilemma and being hungry didn’t quite help. I had managed to eat the little food I had bought the day of the fight so I had to go out either ways. I thought about all my possibilities until it came down to either talking to her directly or sending her a letter. I ended up choosing the obvious option and opted to go and visit her, as far as I knew, she also lived in that store so I guess that’s where I will be headed too first. Let’s just hope I can manage to even get her to listen. ~ As I entered Sugarcube corner I noticed a lady standing behind the counter smiling at me, sadly I couldn’t even fake a smile right now. “Hello, what can I help you with?” She asked me. “Is Pinkie Pie around here?” I answered with another question, her smile disappearing. “She is, but I don’t think she really wants to talk to anypony.” She said turning to look at the ceiling where just barely some weeping noises could be heard. “Why would that be?” I asked even though I already knew why. “I don’t know, she hasn’t said anything about what’s wrong. She just started like this a few days ago.” She said turning back to look at me. “Think I could go up to her room and see if I can cheer her up?” I said with hopes of getting a positive answer. “Sure go ahead, although I wouldn’t get my hopes up.” She said showing me to the stairs. “I sure hope I can help.” I said before starting to walk upstairs. “Good luck then, her room it the one at the end of the hallway to the right.” She said as I continued trotting. I followed the source of the noise until I was standing outside her room. My heart was beating faster than ever before and I started to become nervous of what I was even going to say. I knocked on her door and waited a few seconds. No answer from the other side. “Pinkie?” I called out walking into the room; I quickly caught sight of her laying in her bed, crying into her pillow. I walked over next to her. She didn’t look at me though. “Pinkie… Can I talk to you, please?” I asked but she didn’t respond. “I want to apologize about the other day…” No response either. “I really want to say I’m sorry… It’s just that I’m not used to some much kindness and especially from one pony.” She shifted around with her back no facing me, it was obvious she wasn’t going to talk to me, but that doesn’t mean I should stop with my apology. “To be honest… The reason I’m this way, the reason I said all those nasty things is because I haven’t had an easy life.” I said sitting at the edge of her bed. “I’ve always been isolated from social affairs because I’ve never felt safe. I’ve always seen friendships as something harmful.” I said, her being the first pony I was going to confess everything about me. “You see Pinkie, when I was little my parents gave me to my uncaring aunt. She would just give me food but she wouldn’t play with me, she didn’t care for me and she didn’t even know I was still in school…” I said, memories of my childhood coming back to me. “One day when I was in high school she died, not knowing what to do I decided to look for my parents and after a month of searching I found them…” I said pausing a second. “When I found them, they weren’t exactly in the condition I was expecting. Turns out by the time I visited them they were in their deathbeds in the hospital.” I looked over to see if she was by any chance paying attention. She was still crying but she seemed to actually be listening. “Well just before they died they told me that they wished they hadn’t left me with my aunt and how they were sorry for doing so… Their only gift to me was enough money to go to college.” I said sighing a bit. “Well I did as they wanted and went and finished college, at this point everypony I had known had died so I resided on not establishing any friendships in school and dedicating all my time to studying, the only other pony I did talk to was my roommate but I haven’t seen him since. Well eventually I graduated, but at the ceremony I simply went, grabbed my diploma and left since there was no reason to stay for the whole event if nobody was there to see me finish something in life.” I turned around once again to check and to my favor, she had one ear perked up, interested in listening. “But one day while walking around in Manehattan I found someone, a certain pegasus…” This is where is started to get difficult. “For some strange reason I felt the need to get to know her, so I walked up to her and established a simple conversation and after a while I asked her if she wanted to go grab launch at one of the nearby cafés and well everything from there is the basic story. We become friends, we start hanging out more and eventually we start dating.” I didn’t turn to face her but I felt her turn around which was a good thing. “It was truly the best moment in my life until I became ill… It started with a lot of headaches but one day I landed in the hospital since I had suffered from a seizure which after the doctor ran some tests it turned out to be a tumor…” I heard a low gasp come from behind. “I stayed at the hospital for almost 3 months. Surprise, my girlfriend went to visit me daily for as long as she could and sometimes on the weekends she would stay all day by my side.” I felt a tear roll down my cheek as I remembered everything she did for me. “The doctor eventually told me I was going to have surgery to get it removed and we were both excited but at the same time scared that something may happen. Finally when that day came around we were nervous about the possibilities, well mainly her but I told her that everything was going to be just fine…” All the emotions that this certain memory brings back are hard to control. “I told her that if something happened to me… She should just move on and not hold on to the past…” I said pausing again to take a deep breath. “If only I would’ve known…” “What happened?” I heard Pinkie asked me, seeing as she was at least speaking I should turn around and face her. “After the operation I fell into a coma, it only lasted a month but none of the medical staff knew how long I would be out and as I told Surprise, she obeyed what I had told her and left within a few days leaving me nothing but a note in case I ever woke up…” “What did the note say?” It was good to see that she was intrigued by this. “It said that if I ever woke up that she would be waiting for me in Fillydelphia, she couldn’t assure me that she would be single but that she still wanted me to go to her…” I said looking down at the bed before continuing. “Was she their?” “No… she never even made it…When I was released from the hospital and on my way to pack my stuff to go to Fillydelphia one of her friends found me and told me that…” I said stopping trying to contain myself from crying. “Are you okay?” She asked me. “She told me she had an accident while on her way there and that she didn’t survive.” I started crying, Pinkie weeping lightly. “She had been the only exception, she was the only good pony I ever met and she like all the others was met with the terrible faith of death. So ever since then I haven’t befriended anyone, I haven’t bothered too either; I simply decided to live the rest of my life alone and to one day eventually die the same way.” “How can you even think like that?” She asked me, our eyes met as she asked me that. “It’s just the way my life was written.” I answered bluntly. “But that’s sad; Nopony should ever have to even think about something like that.” She said starting to cry again. “I don’t like it either Pinkie, ever since then nopony has cared for me and I haven’t found someone to care about, somepony that matters.” I said standing up. “But you don’t have too, you can easily change that. There are a lot of good ponies here in Ponyville that can be your friends.” She suggested while I went towards the door. “There is only one pony I wanted as my best friend but I was too stupid and messed that up.” I said as once again we both looked into each other’s eyes, she instantly knew who I was referring too and started to cry again. “Fade…” She muttered. “I don’t expect you to forgive me but I hope you know me now.” I told her before leaving. She didn’t follow me but I wasn’t expecting her to do it either way. I headed back to my house, maybe now I could get a bit of sleep but I still felt bad because I was able to see how bad of an emotional state I put her in. “Twenty-seven days left.” I said to myself as a reminder before drifting off to sleep. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 5: Unexpected //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 5: Unexpected Chapter 5: Unexpected It’s been a nearly a week since I went to apologize to Pinkie. Life hasn’t been bad but it hasn’t been great either. My daily activities were the same: Wake up, have breakfast, go for a walk around Ponyville, come home, have dinner and sleep. It was a cycle that I couldn’t break out of; my life had been reduced to this boring routine. Today was no different. I was walking around Ponyville when I decided to sit down on one of the benches for a quick break. Suddenly I remembered I still hadn’t made my mind up about the surgery but it didn’t really matter if I had it or not. If I had the operation and survived there was no point to prolong my lifespan if I was going to spend the rest of it alone. It didn’t matter much either if I died. I would just be buried and that’s the end of it. I lifted my head and saw that across from where I was there was a hardware store. Only one thing crossed my mind for what I could find useful from a hardware store, rope. ~ “Hi Twilight!” Pinkie said as Twilight opened the front door of the library. “Hello Pinkie, what can I help you with?” She asked her pink friend. “I was wondering if you’ve seen Fade. I can’t find him anywhere.” She told Twilight. “Isn’t he at his house?” Twilight responded. “Nope, that was the first place I went to.” Pinkie said. “In that case I have no idea where he could be, maybe you should just go to his house again maybe he went out.” Twilight suggested to the pink mare. “I sure hope so; I’ve looked all over Ponyville for him. Thanks for the help Twilight.” Pinkie said with some concern in her tone. “No problem Pinkie, take care.” Pinkie trotted off to Fade’s house again with the hope of finding him. She really need to talk to him about his apology and other strange feelings she was having. ~ I finished tying the rope around a spot on the roof of my living room, I made sure to leave a big enough spot for my head. I was having hard time writing down a letter to explain why I did, mainly because I knew I had to mention Pinkie in it. I settled with a simple ‘I’m Sorry Pinkie’ written across the whole piece of paper. I set the quill down and climbed onto the center table where I had tied the rope; I placed my head on the end and said one last goodbye to this world. “Fade, are you in there?” I heard a voice coming from the outside which startled me but I opted to remain silent until whoever it was left. “Fade please; I need to talk to you.” I recognized the voice, it was Pinkie Pie but what was she doing here. I remained silent. I didn’t know what to do right now. “If you don’t want to talk to me that’s fine, I totally get it but I just wanted you to know that I accept your apology.” She said as I just stood there on the other side, I wasn’t expecting her to say that. “Well… I guess that’s all I have to say… I’ll see you later…” She said before I heard her to starting to walk away. If I need some sort of sign to stay alive, this was it right here. I sprang off the table and ran to the door so I could catch her before she left. I swung the door opened and saw Pinkie walking away. “PINKIE!” I shouted in hopes of getting her attention. Her head turned around and a smile soon appeared when she saw it was me calling her. She ran back up to me and stop just inches away from me. We just stood there looking at each other for a minute in silence. “Pinkie… Do you really forgive me?” I asked her, trying to contain the little joy I felt. “I do.” She answered. “But how? I was really mean to you…” I said not believing her. “You were, but it was something that you said that made me realize something.” She said cheerfully. “What do you mean?” I said rather puzzled. “You said you hadn’t met anypony that matters to you.” She said smiling. “Oh yeah…” I didn’t want her to remind me but I’ll see where she’s going with this. “And you went and apologized to me all the way to my room.” She added. “Go on…” I was only getting more confused. “So… That means that I matter to you!” She said leaning into my face. “Huh?” “I matter to you because if I didn’t then you wouldn’t have gone and apologized and much less tell me about yourself also when you were leaving and said that there was only one pony you wanted as a best friend, that’s when I knew you really cared about me.” I finally caught up and I wasn’t going to deny it, I had indeed started to take a liking for her. “You got me Pinkie, and I’m glad you did and I’m glad that you forgave me too.” I said engulfing her in a hug which she gladly returned. “I think you like me.” She said out of the blue making me break the hug and blush a bit. “What are you talking about?” I said trying to not sound nervous. “I can tell by my pinkie sense” She said getting closer to me. “Pinkie what?” I said before all of the sudden she kissed me on the lips. I was so blown away by how amazing it felt that I couldn’t even speak. “Well did you like it?” She asked me. I couldn’t say anything and simply smiled and nodded in agreement. “Perfect! Well I have to go so I guess I’ll stop by later if I can.” She told me before bouncing away. “Wait!” I said coming back to my senses; Pinkie stopped right in her tracks and turned over to look at me. “Can I tag along with you? I mean if it’s ok with you.” I asked her, my interest in her had just gone through the roofs. “Do you really want to hang out?!” She asked happily about my offer. “Yeah, I’d love to accompany you, plus I kind of owe it to you.” I said catching up with her. “Okie dokie lokie! First let’s go to the park!” She said, I felt so happy right now I even felt like forgetting of all my worries. //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 6: Bad News //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 6: Bad News Chapter 6: Bad News Pinkie cheerfully hopped her way towards Fade’s house; she hummed to herself in joy as his house came into view. “Fade you in there?” She called out as she knocked on the front door. There was no answer. “Come on! You promised to go and deliver some orders with me!” She said knocking on the door harder this time. “Excuse me, miss.” She heard a voice coming from behind her; she turned around to be greeted by an old pony. “Are you looking for the lad that lives here?” He asked her. “Yeah! Do you know where he is?” She asked the old pony, her eyes filling with excitement. “He was rushed to hospital earlier; he passed out as soon as he stepped out of his house.” He responded. “WHAT?!?” Pinkie screamed in surprise and fear. “He seemed really pale by the time the ambulance arrived.” The pony added, Pinkie only worried more from what he just said. “Oh gosh, thank you mister!” She thanked him before rushing off to the Ponyville Hospital to see just what had happened. “How are you feeling, Bolt?” The doctor asked him, he was barely awake due to all the medicine they gave him. “I’ve been better…” He answered. “Well the results won’t be in for another day or so, just try and relax for now.” The doctor advised Fade. “Don’t worry I will… Wait before you leave-“ He said before thinking about if it was a good idea for them to tell Pinkie about him. “What is it?” The doctor asked, he was just about to exit. “Never mind, forget it.” He said after thinking about it. “Ok then, you just go ahead and rest and I’ll be back later.” He told him before exiting the room, leaving him alone to think. He began think about the choice of having the operation, it hurt his stomach to just think of the possibilities and most importantly… Pinkie Pie. His thinking was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the door to his room opening, to his surprise it was Pinkie, she had an upset expression on her face. “If you need anything just call me.” The nurse offered before closing the door leaving both of them in an awkward silence and both of them just stared at each other. “How are you doing?” Pinkie asked while taking a seat next to his bed. “I’m good, I fainted but it was because my blood pressure was low and I fainted. That’s all.” He lied to her hoping she would buy it but by the look on her face it hadn’t worked. “Don’t lie; I know for a fact that that’s not what happened. The nurse told me.” Fade suddenly felt a lot more stressed out. Of all the ponies he knew, Pinkie was the last person he wanted to know about his health condition. “Wow… I guess now you know…” He sighed. He couldn’t lie, he was mad with the nurse but he was also relieved to know that somebody knew. “Why hadn’t you told me about this?” She sounded like she was going to cry. “For the same reason I didn’t want you to be my friend.” Fade said almost whispering but due to them being the only ones, Pinkie heard it just fine. “What do you mean?” She said rather confused. “I didn’t want to get close to you because I didn’t want to put such a load of knowing I might die on your back.” He said looking at her with a stern look on his face. “Is it that bad?” She sounded like she would burst any second. “Yes it is, there is chance that if I have and operation I’ll live but-“ “No buts! You’re having that operation and that’s the end of it!” She interrupted him, encouraging him. “But the chances of me living are too low, Pinkie. I want to but what if I die? What if something goes wrong, what then?” He reaffirmed her but it didn’t seem to work. “There has to be another way than! There just has to!” She said finally exploding into a bunch of tears; Fade couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Tell me why you care so much that I live?” He asked. In his whole life only one other pony had cried like this over him. “Because…Because…” She said through stifled cries. “Because what?” He said pushing her to spill the answer. “BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, THAT’S WHY!!” She shouted as she quickly lifted her head to face Fade who was shocked at the revelation. “I know I’ve only known you for two weeks but I can already tell you’re a really nice guy if you just let somepony into your life. I know I can help you change and I know I make you happy.” She added. Fade just remained silent as she went on saying all these nice things until she once again rested her head against his bed. “Pinkie…” He said while passing one of his hoofs across her fluffy mane. She looked up at him how was looking down at her with a smile. “Do you really mean all that?” He asked her to which she just bobbed her head to signify a yes. “I’ll have the operation.” He added to which Pinkie instantly smiled, she completely cheered up as soon as she heard the great news. “Do you really mean it?!?” She asked just to make sure. “Yeah, If it's that important to you but just know that there is one consequence about it.” He said seriously, he knew it was a risk but he figured that if Pinkie did really like him that much, it was worth it. “I understand.” She replied in a serious tone as well. They both just sat there looking into each other for a moment smiling before without them knowing they started to lean into each other. Their lips were just an inch away from touching- “Miss, visiting time is over for today.” The nurse said barging in all of a sudden, scaring the both of them at the same time. “I guess I’ll um, see you tomorrow.” It was obvious both of them were at a loss for words “Yeah I’ll see you then.” Fade said waving at Pinkie as she exited the room. He was really happy for what had just happened but wished the nurse hadn’t interrupted. “Oh well…” He said thinking about the kiss he almost had. “Guess It can wait…” He said sighing a bit. 2 days later Pinkie was thrilled to finally be able to see Fade out of the hospital since now they could do so many things, she even spend the day before making a list of all the fun things they could do together. “This is going to be so much fun! We can go to the lake and swim or go to the cinema and watch a movie or bake cupcakes at Sugarcube corner or-“ Pinkie started rambling as she walked alongside Fade who interrupted her. “Whoa hold on. Before we do anything I have to tell that I have like 2 weeks left.” He said positioning himself in front of her. “Two weeks? Two weeks for what?” She said sounding slightly disappointed. “That’s the time I have left to tell my doctor if I’ll proceed with the operation.” He answered. “Can you tell him now?” She questioned. “I could or we could spend the next few days doing a whole bunch of fun things.” He said smiling at her. “Well that sounds fantastic!” She burst with joy once again. “So what’cha wanna do first?” She asked. “Well I guess I could use something to eat…” He thought out loud hoping that Pinkie would catch on to him. “Oh I know! Let’s go to Sugarcube Corner to bake some cookies!” She suggested jumping up and down. “Alright then, let’s go!” Fade said as they walked towards Sugarcube Corner, side by side smiling about being in each other’s company.