Baking Badby Tank the DragonChaptersPrologueCh1: Life ChangingCh2: The meetingCh3: SupportPrologueIt was the early hours of the morning. Pinkie Pie was in the best party ever with everypony in Ponyville, which she knew all of their names. She was hanging around her friends, just sitting around talking as they had grown tired of dancing to the beats from the DJ-Pon3, Vinyl Scratch. Well, Pinkie could still dance, but it wasn’t much fun without her best friends. “Oh Pinkie, you always throw the most elegant parties.” Rarity said, sipping some punch. “Thank you” Pinkie said before immediately turning to her good friend Twilight, “Elegant means fun, right?” Twilight thought about it for a moment, “I think so…” Pinkie smiled and looked at her friends. She was, of course, talking with Rarity and Twilight Sparkle. She hasn’t really hung out with Rarity enough, other than a few shopping trip. She was thinking about changing that. Maybe she could help at theCarousel Boutique. Twilight on the other hoof, was her best friend, even if they don’t understand each other. Well, it was mostly Twi that didn’t understand her. Rainbow Dash was back on the dance floor, chatting with the Wonderbolts. Pinkie had invited them just for her friend. It’s been a dream of hers for quite some time and Pinkie was going to be as supportive as possible. Applejack and Fluttershy have been talking to each other for quite some time. Pinkie wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but they broke out laughing every once in a while. Everything was going smoothly. Then again, it was a Pinkie Pie party. Everypony was dancing, laughing, and just having a good time. That’s when the beat stopped and everypony cheered for another dance song. The DJ started to change the records. “Awwww yeah! This next one goes out to our favorite party starter.” She dropped the needle down onto the vinyl, “Pinkie, this one goes out to you!” It was silent for a moment. Then there was the sound of two baby ponies blasted out the speakers. That’s when Pinkie opened her eyes. She was in her bed, looking at the ceiling. She rubbed her eyes and some sweat from her forehead. The 2 baby cakes had woken her up. She toke a glance at the clock. 7:37, same time as yesterday. And every day before that. She rubbed her eyes again and walked over the mirror. Pinkie knew she had bed head, but had to check. Flat hair. Yep, it was bed head. She quickly messed it up to the cotton-candy mane everypony knew before half-sleepwalking down the hall. She arrived at the nursery to find Ms. Cake already changing the baby pegasus Pound Cake. Ms. Cake yawned “Morning Pinkie.” “Morning Ms. Cake. Is it 7:40 already?” She nodded as Pinkie picked up Pumpkin Cake, “I know it’s the same time every day, but it feels earlier every time.” Ms. Cake chuckled, “Yeah, but it worth it to have these bundles of joy around.” Pinked smiled, changing the unicorn for the morning. “Yeah, I do enjoy having them around… Can you pass the…” Pinkie broke out into a cough. When she stopped, she finished the sentence “ The baby powder?” Ms. Cake tossed the powder to Pinkie. “Dear, you should really get that cough checked. It’s been 2 weeks.” “I have an appointment this afternoon.” She turned back to find Pumpkin Cake trying to levitate herself away. Pinkie calmly placed one hoof on top of the baby and lightly pushed her back to the table. This had become a daily routine for Pinkie. She would wake up at 7:37 exactly to the sound of the young ponies needing a change. After changing them with Ms. Cake, she would go down stairs for whatever Mr. Cake decided to make. Today, it was pancakes. “So Pinkie, the Ms. tells me you have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon?” “Yes-siree-bob. I’m finally going this cough checked.” “Really? Well Pinkie, why don’t you take the day off?” Pinkie smiled on the inside, the Cakes were always so nice to her. “Oh, no-no-no-no-no. I couldn’t do that. There’s so much to do. I’ll just take 1/2 a day. Or maybe 3/4 of a day. 2/3 of a day? Maybe it’s more like…” Pinkie coughed again, a little bit worse than the one earlier this morning. “Pinkie, just try to take it easy, ok?” Pinkie started to walk away from the table,“Ok.” The Cakes looked at the half eaten breakfast. "Pinkie, dear," Ms. Cake began, "Don't you think you should eat a bit more than that?" "Oh no, I fine." Pinkie grabbed her first deliveries of the day. "You sure?" "Yes-siree-bob." She began skipping out the door. “See you all later.” Ch1: Life Changing“My name is Pinkie Pie, Hello!” Pinkie sang as she skipped through town. “And I am here to say, How ya doing?” “I’m going to make you smile and I will brighten up your dayaaay” “Hi Pinkie!” Pinkie stopped and looked where the voice came from. It was her good friend. “Hey Twi. How are you?” “Well, I’m good, but Spike is still tired.” Twilight looked behind her to the young dragon sleeping on her back. “Spike, wake up.” “No, 5 more minutes…” Twilight sighed, “So where are off to today?” Pinkie’s smile grew, “It’s Octavia’s birthday today, and her roommate ordered a cello cake for her.” “Well that was nice of her.” “Yeah. Wanna see the cake?!” “Umm, Sure…” Pinkie smiled. She stood on her hind legs and opened the box with the front two. Inside was a small, cake cello with a bow made of cake across the strings. “Doesn’t it look delicious? It’s a chocolate cake with a vanilla icing. Vinyl told me it was her favorite. Oh, are you going to her party tonight?” “I have to check my schedule, but I think I could make it.” “That’s great.” Pinkie closed the box, “I’ve got to get going, I’ll see you tonight at the…” Pinkie’s cough started up again and fell back onto her front hooves. Twilight caught the cake with magic as Pinkie dropped it, “Pinkie, are you ok?” Pinkie stopped coughing and looked back up at her friend. “Huh?” “I asked if you were feeling ok.” “Oh, yes. I’m, umm, okey-dokey-lokey!” Pinkie tried her hardest to put on a smile. However, she wasn’t good with fake smiles and Twilight knew that. She knew that Pinkie was worried. “You sure?” “Yes. Would I say I was fine if I wasn’t?” Twilight was about to answer when Pinkie grabbed the cake and started to walk away, “I got to get going, running late.” “Oh, ok then.” Twilight watched Pinkie skip around the corner. “Spike, what’s next on the list? Spike rubbed his eyes and read the checklist, “We need to mail a book back to Canterlot.” Pinkie watched as Twilight walked toward the post office. Pinkie knew she wasn’t feeling ok. In fact, she had a feeling that the doctor was going to tell her that it was something worse than just cough. But she didn’t think Twilight needed to worry about her. Sure, it would make a great letter of friendship to the princess, but it wasn’t her friends’ problem. It was her’s. She wanted her friends to have fun with her because they were having fun, not to make her feel better. When Twilight was out of sight, Pinkie turned around and walked to Vinyl Scratch’s. Sometime later, Pinkie was sitting in the doctor’s office. The doctor was looking over her charts and Pinkie found it to be booooor-ing. She found herself studying the periodic table on the wall. She was surprised to find that, despite having every element, the elements of harmony was not of the chart. “Excuse me. I don’t see laughter on the table over there. Where is it?” The doctor looked at the periodic table then back at Pinkie, “Did you even hear a word I said?” Pinkie stares at him and he sighs. “I said you have tuberculosis, Ms. Pie.” “Tu-ber-cu-what?” “Tuberculosis, and a very odd case of it, too.” “Doesn’t it spread, like, in the air or by touching, ‘cause I live with a family and…” The doctor cut her off, “Normally yes, but yours isn’t. I don’t know how, but your amount of partying and the amount of sugar you consume has sent your tuberculosis into an overdrive like state.” “Is that bad?” “Well, yes and no. You see, you won’t be able to spread it to other ponies, so that’s the good news. The bad news is that there’s a higher chance of it claiming your life.” “How high?” Pinkie knew she wasn’t going to like the answer, but she had to ask. “Pinkie, there’s an 80% chance of you dying in 8 months. Now, there’s a slim chance that treatment could increase you’re survival rate. But it would only boost it to about 40%. It’s just a few pills a day for 6 or 7 months, depending on how well your body responds to it. Do you understand what I just said to you?” “Well, sorta.” Pinkie scratched her mane. “I thought I heard of this ‘tuba-culosis’ before, and it didn’t sound anything like this. It spreads quickly in the air, and only had 50% death rate not the 80%…” The doctor cut her off again, “Nonononono, see, the same disease affects different species differently. Dragons have a higher chance of spreading it the other dragons, while griffons have a better response to treatment. Normal ponies have a mortality rate of about 35%-45%, however, your sweet intake has increased it to 80%.” Pinkie stated to rub her hooves on her temples. “While you’re here, can we test you for diabetes?” “All ready checked, I can’t get it.” Pinkie looked back up at the doctor. “You said it can’t spread, right?” The doctor nodded. “Then you can PLEASE not tell any other pony? I don’t want them pretending to be happy around me to make me feel better for the next few months.” “Well, if you want, doctor-patient-confidentiality says I can’t tell anypony. But I wouldn’t recommend it, having ponies to support you could make treatment an easier transition if they know and understand.” “Tell nopony. I don’t want them to worry about me so I can make them laugh and smile without them feeling obligated to do so.” “I understand.” “Pinkie promise.” The doctor sighed then mumbled, “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” He then toke out a pad of paper and began writing, “Get these filled immediately, and I will see you back in a month.” “Ok doc, thanks…” Pinkie grabbed the prescriptions from the doctor and started to walk out. “Pinkie,” She stopped at the door. “Try to tell at least one pony you can trust about this…” Pinkie looked at him for a moment, then nodded and walked out to the hallway. As she walked out of the hospital, only one thing was on her mind. Who is a pony I can trust to keep this big of a secret? Ch2: The meetingPinkie was sitting at an outside table at her favorite restaurant. She remembered this place. Back when Twilight had an extra ticket, they bugged her for it here. Well, Rainbow and Rarity did. Then they went back later that night to apologize. The memory brought a smile to her face. Well, every memory of her and her friends brought a smile to her face. However, this was serious. She was staring at a piece of paper, waiting for the milkshake and sandwich she had ordered. She was trying to do two things: Find a pony she could tell about her situation and write down a bucket list. 8 months. The doctor had given her 8 months to live. And she wasn’t going to waste it. Throw dream party with everypony. Make everypony smile. Well, those two have always been what she’s been trying to do. She crossed them out and started over. Visit Manehattan 2. She stopped right there. She was Pinkie Pie. If she starts sightseeing, everypony would know something was up. What could she do? She crossed it out and rested her head on her hoof. “Ma’am,” Pinkie looked up to see a unicorn with her order. “Your order is here.” Pinkie put her paper away as her food was placed in front of her. She wasn’t very hungry, but she had to eat something. She ate slow, thinking about what the doctor had told her right before she left. Who was a pony she could tell for support? She thought about her friends. Which one should she tell? Twilight? No, she’d probably guilt her into telling her friends. Rainbow Dash? When was she ever compassionate to anypony? Fluttershy? Maybe. She’d be supportive, though she might try to be ‘Doctor Fluttershy’ again. Rarity? They haven’t really hung out together, other than a few shopping trips, so that might be weird. Applejack? Again, maybe. She is the loyalist of ponies, so she would keep the secret if asked. Pinkie Pie? Wait, that was herself. Although it would be possible… “Pinkie!” Pinkie jumped in her seat. She put on a smile when she saw it was her best friend, Twilight. “Hey Twi!” “Pinkie, are you ok?” Pinkie just smiled. She knew Twilight knew something was wrong. After all, she was just caught deep in thought about it. “I’ve never been better.” “You sure?” Pinkie nodded. “O-kay then… Pinkie, I need you to come by my house in half an hour. Got something that we need to talk about.” Pinkie gave a confused look, but was nervous on the inside. Did Twilight somehow know about her tuberculosis? If she did, Pinkie was going to have a word with the doctor about the importance of keeping Pinkie Promises. “What about, Twi?” “I got a letter from the princess of utmost importance.” The doctor was safe, for now. “We’ll talk about it more when we’re all at my house. I have to tell the others.” Twilight began to run off to tell some other pony. “Okay, see you in a bit.” Pinkie relaxed when she saw Twilight turn the corner. It was going to be hard keeping it a secret, and she was already off to a bad start. But it was going to be worth it to have everypony treating her the same, not having to smile, but wanting to smile. She took a sip of her milkshake. What was she going to do with her last months? “Excuse me, miss…” Pinkie looked up. There was a lady with a cart of desserts. “Can I offer you some dessert?” Pinkie wasn’t even hungry for the sandwich and she was almost done with her milkshake. “Oh, no thank you. Can I just get a box for this?” She pointed at the half-eaten sandwich. “You sure? We got Ice cream, carrot cake, pound cake, cup cakes…” That’s when it hit Pinkie. The Cakes. What will the Cakes do without her? She helps out in the shop, with the babies, and is a major costumer of their shop, parties and all. She can just see the family falling into financial problems up to the point where they lose their business. Their home. She couldn’t let that happen. She won’t let that happen. She… “Miss?” Pinkie looked back at the dessert lady. “Anything look good?” “Oh, none for me. Just a box or bag or something.” She nodded and went on her way. Pinkie went back to thinking. How can she make sure the Cakes were going to be okay when, well, the end of Pinkie Pie came around? She didn’t want to tell them about her situation. After all, she sees them the most. She lives with them. She just couldn’t leave them with nothing either. She took the final sip of her milkshake and pulled the list back out. Make sure the Cakes have enough bits. She folded the list and put it away. This was her bucket list. And she had 8 months to make it happen. She was going to do anything possible to make it happen. But what? She couldn’t work extra hours at the bakery, the Cakes pay her. So she would be taking money from them to give to them later? None of her friends were hiring. What could she do? “Ma’am, your box.” The waiter handed her a small box for her sandwich. “And your bill.” Pinkie looked at it. A milkshake and sandwich, 7 bits. Seemed about right. She placed her sandwich in the box and 8 bits on the table. She’ll think about it later. Right now, she had to get to Twilight’s. “Good evening, girls.” Twilight began. “Now, I know we all want to get to the party an hour from now, so I’ll jump right to the point. I have received a letter from Princess Celestia a new threat to Equestria. It’s a new type of, umm, drug…” The ponies all looked at each other, confused. Except for Rarity, she just rose her hoof, “Excuse me, Twilight darling. Is this about that new ‘Phoenix’ thing spreading around, is it?” “Well, umm…” Twilight used her magic to bring the letter to her, “Uh, yes. Yes it is. How do you know about it?” “Please, I design clothes for all the celebrities. I heard about it before the princess did.” She turned to the other 4 ponies, “Did you know, that it’s actually called Phoenix because it makes ponies’ minds feel reborn?” Twilight looked at the letter in disbelief, “Uh, Rarity, the princess has written down ‘it is unknown what the name means or what it is made from…’” “Gemstones bonded together with hydroiodic acid and potassium hydroxide.” “Really?” Rarity nodded. “Wow, um, Spike take a letter, please. Dear Princess Celestia, Please don’t send an expert on Phoenix, as it turns out we already have one. Your fateful student, Twilight Sparkle.” Spike finished the letter and went over to the window to send it. “Rarity, do you want to take over?” Twilight and Rarity switched places. Spike came back over to listen and hopped on Twilight’s back. It’s his favorite spot to sit, as it makes him feel taller. “Alright girls, here’s what I know about it… Twi, could you be a dear and write this down on that chalkboard over there?” Twilight nodded then walked up next to Rarity, chalkboard magically moving right behind them. Rarity continued, “About a month ago, somepony in Canterlot found out by accident how to mix 2 gems together using hydroiodic acid and potassium hydroxide. Now, it is unknown how this happened, nor why his friend decided to smoke it at the time because he and his friend were, um, out of it, at the time. Anyways, that’s when their 3rd friend, who was clean, came into the room and saw he’s 2 friends making almost no sense. And that’s when he saw the opportunity and the 3 of them got cooking up another batch the next day.” Rainbow dash looked completely bored and as always, wanted to jump to the part that featured her, “Yeah yeah, but what does this have to do with us? It’s in Canterlot, right?” Twilight spoke back up, handing the chalk to Rarity, “Well that’s the thing. It spread to Ponyville this week. And the princess as suspicion to believe that there is a lab over here as well. Growing demand for it and all.” Rarity circled the word ‘lab’ and continued, “Now, a lab does not have to have lab equipment, although, it would make more sense if it did. Any place with chemistry equipment would be most common. But just to be safe, we should also look for places that have kitchen and some types of cleaning equipment as well. It would be less common that they would use these to cook Phoenix in, it would still have the same results.” “Also, be on the lookout for anypony that seems to have large, unexplainable amounts of bits. According to Princess Celestia, a pound of Phoenix goes for about 20,000 to 50,000 bits, depending on the gems used.” “Did you hear that Applejack,” Rainbow said as she nudged Applejack, “If you start cooking some, maybe you can replace all the old and broken things on the farm!” Applejack glared at Rainbow. Twilight held up a small bag with her magic. Inside was a gem that was two colors swirled together. “Now this is what Phoenix looks like, just so you know what to look for.” Pinkie didn’t hear much after that, as she when back to thinking. 20,000 to 50,000 bits. A pound. If Pinkie could just start making some Phoenix, she could leave the Cakes with… No no no. She couldn’t start thinking like that. She was going to make money for the Cakes, but not this dirty, drug money. She was going to get them clean… something money. Could she? Well, she would be gone in 8 months. And it seems to be the fastest way to make bits. She could leave them a good sized bag of bits when she goes. But the risks. They seemed too great. First of all, where could she cook it? Wait, could she even cook it? “Any questions?” This was her chance to see if it was even possible. She rose her hoof high, “Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!” “Yes Pinkie?” Her hoof went down immediately, “Who should we look for? Like, which ponies can make it?” “Good question Pinkie. I can’t believe we forgot that,” Rarity went over to the chalkboard and wrote it down, “It usually takes two ponies, but one unicorn could easily do the same task. Any more question?” Nopony raised their hoof. “Ok. Twilight, shall we go to the party?” Twilight nodded and lead everypony out. Pinkie grabbed the box with her sandwich. She now knew who she was going to tell and how she was going to get the bits. After all, Rainbow Dash had given her both answers. Neither pony was going to like this idea, but if she words it right, they would both have all the bits they will ever need. Ch3: SupportPinkie sat at the kitchen table of the bakery. It was around lunch time, and even though she hasn’t even felt hungry in the last few days, she was trying to eat the rest of yesterday’s sandwich. The pony at the pharmacy recommended that even though she won’t be hungry, she should try to eat at regular times. This would be easy as the Cakes and her had a regular schedule of meals throughout the day. She had picked up her pills yesterday and had taken them right after breakfast. She barely ate anything then and the Cakes were worrying about her. The fact that she rushed to the kitchen for a glass of water right after she finished probably didn’t help. She rubbed her face with her hoof and stared at her half-eaten half-sandwich, wondering what she should do. “Hello, Pinkie” Pinkie looked up from her sandwich. It was Mr. Cake. She hasn’t seen him since he went shopping after breakfast. He had just returned with bags of cake supplies. “Hello Mr. Cake. It’s been a slow day today.” “I know, I had time to run a few errands today.” He placed his bags on the counter. “How was the doctor’s yesterday?” “Oh, it was alright. Nothing too serious.” Pinkie hoped that she wasn’t giving anything away by her facial expression. “Well that’s good. Any idea when that cough will go away?” 8 months. “No idea, guess we’ll have to wait and see.” “Ok. Just try to take it easy. Some rest might help the cough go away.” “I will.” Mr. Cake walked into the kitchen. Pinkie sighed and finished her sandwich. She started to leave the bakery. After all, she had a pony to see. Twilight and Rarity were staring at a map on the back of the chalkboard. They had been placing some pushpins on it since 11 AM. They had finally finished, “Ok Rarity. So here is where Ponyvile PD has found our Phoenix at.” “Really, this many? Based on the stories the celebrities had told me, these Ponyvile ponies are doing a sloppy job of keeping it hidden.” Twilight turned to her friend and partner on the job, “Well, not really. See, all the green ones are just ponies having possession of it. It’s the red ones we need to look for. They’re the ones that are Phoenix labs.” Rarity was studding the map when something caught her eye, “Twilight, what are the 3 blue ones?” Twilight looked around for a blue pushpin, “Oh, those? They’re chemistry supplies stores. I decided to mark them on the map for reference. Why?” Rarity used magic to guide a stick to the top of the map, “Look here in northern Ponyvile. There are 3 red pins all within walking distance of this blue pin here.” Twilight pulled a binder out and flipped through it. “Out of the 3 spots, only 1 pony has been arrested. And the supply store shows no breaking in reports.” “Store owners, such as myself, keep records of purchases and sales.” Twilight smiled and said excitedly, “We got our first lead!” Pinkie approached the barn of Sweet Apple Acres. She was looking for Applejack, but all she found was Big Macintosh preparing to plow the field. “Excuse me, Big Mac…” Big Mac turned and faced the pink protagonist, “Is Applejack around?” Big Mac stared at her, thinking about where he last saw AJ. After a moment, he pointed “South apple field.” Pinkie thanked him and went off searching. She must have been lost for what seems like an hour, but she finally tracked down Applejack. Along the way, she had time to think. Did she really want to do this? Would Applejack even agree to help? What could stop her from calling the police on her if she tries it on her own later? Should she even try to do it? “Hey there Pinkie Pie, you’re just in time to help me buck some of these here apples.” Applejack said half jokingly “Hi Applejack.” “What ’ca doing here?” Applejack said very friendly. Just start small, tell her about the situation. “Let see, um, Applejack, can you keep a secret?” “Well, of course ah can. What’s on your mind?” A lot, “Well, I had a doctor’s appointment yesterday…” Applejack looked worried, “And?” This was going to be harder than she thought, “And it wasn’t good news, and the doctor told me to at least tell one pony for support, and…” Pinkie took a deep breath and then sighed, “I have tuberculosis…” That was a bombshell being dropped on Applejack, “What?” She backed up a bit. “That contagious disease?” “It’s not contagious… Somehow. I only paid attention to half of what the doctor said. But he gave me some pills to take to help treat it.” “They have pills for it now?” Pinkie nodded as she pulled a pill bottle from her mane and showed it. “It’s amazing what advancements in medicine we have.” Pinkie nodded and put the bottle back in her mane, “So how are yah taking the news?” A tear started to form in her eye, but she didn’t cry, “I’m worried. I’m worried about dying; about the bills, the cakes… What will happen to the kids when I’m gone?” Applejack moved closer to her friend. “Which is the second reason I came to you…” Applejack just stared with confusion, “I… I don’t follow you…” Pinkie wiped her tear away and calmed herself down a little, “I want to leave as much bits as I can for their future.” “I don’t blame yah. A family with two kids is getting expensive to raise. They need all the bits they can get.” Applejack thought for a second, “What does that have to do with me?” “I know that Sweet Apple Acres is not making as much as it use to, and I also want to help your family out…” Pinkie stopped. Was she really about to ask this of her good friend, close to best friend. She was tied with the other four and the cakes, but still, close to best friend. “I’m… Going to start cooking Phoenix… And I would like your help…” Applejack looked at her friend, then chuckled, “That’s a good one, Pinkie…” Pinkie stared back, not showing any signs of joking. “…You’re… You’re kidding, right?” There was a silence between the two. “Pinkie?” “I know you need the money, and this is the fastest way of making it…” Applejack cut her off, “Are you crazy!” She looked around and lowered her voice, “Are you crazy? We were told just yesterday to help with the locating of the ones that are already cooking it.” “That’s where I got the idea…” Pinkie explained. “Get off of my property.” “W-what?” Pinkie looked at AJ, dumbfounded. “But, I know you need the bits…” “Please leave, Pinkie.” “The barn is falling apart, the plow needs a new blade…” “Get, go.” Applejack started pushing her away as pinkie’s hoofs dragged across the ground, trying to stay “But the fence is broken from those con artists, both the CMC’s clubhouse and Applebloom’s room have a big hole in the roof...” “Get off of my farm!” Pinkie stopped talking, “I can’t believe you would even think about doing that for a few bits…” Pinkie’s face dropped as she realized what she’s been saying. “Pinkie, look… I won’t tell Twi because of your current situation, but this is the last I want to hear about it, ok?” Pinkie nodded and walked away slowly. Had she been pushing that subject to hard? Should she have waited? “What was that about?” Big Mac asked his sister as she watched Pinkie walk away. “It was nothing. You know, Pinkie Pie just being Pinkie Pie. Come on, we still got to get the west field.”
PrologueIt was the early hours of the morning. Pinkie Pie was in the best party ever with everypony in Ponyville, which she knew all of their names. She was hanging around her friends, just sitting around talking as they had grown tired of dancing to the beats from the DJ-Pon3, Vinyl Scratch. Well, Pinkie could still dance, but it wasn’t much fun without her best friends. “Oh Pinkie, you always throw the most elegant parties.” Rarity said, sipping some punch. “Thank you” Pinkie said before immediately turning to her good friend Twilight, “Elegant means fun, right?” Twilight thought about it for a moment, “I think so…” Pinkie smiled and looked at her friends. She was, of course, talking with Rarity and Twilight Sparkle. She hasn’t really hung out with Rarity enough, other than a few shopping trip. She was thinking about changing that. Maybe she could help at theCarousel Boutique. Twilight on the other hoof, was her best friend, even if they don’t understand each other. Well, it was mostly Twi that didn’t understand her. Rainbow Dash was back on the dance floor, chatting with the Wonderbolts. Pinkie had invited them just for her friend. It’s been a dream of hers for quite some time and Pinkie was going to be as supportive as possible. Applejack and Fluttershy have been talking to each other for quite some time. Pinkie wasn’t sure what they were talking about, but they broke out laughing every once in a while. Everything was going smoothly. Then again, it was a Pinkie Pie party. Everypony was dancing, laughing, and just having a good time. That’s when the beat stopped and everypony cheered for another dance song. The DJ started to change the records. “Awwww yeah! This next one goes out to our favorite party starter.” She dropped the needle down onto the vinyl, “Pinkie, this one goes out to you!” It was silent for a moment. Then there was the sound of two baby ponies blasted out the speakers. That’s when Pinkie opened her eyes. She was in her bed, looking at the ceiling. She rubbed her eyes and some sweat from her forehead. The 2 baby cakes had woken her up. She toke a glance at the clock. 7:37, same time as yesterday. And every day before that. She rubbed her eyes again and walked over the mirror. Pinkie knew she had bed head, but had to check. Flat hair. Yep, it was bed head. She quickly messed it up to the cotton-candy mane everypony knew before half-sleepwalking down the hall. She arrived at the nursery to find Ms. Cake already changing the baby pegasus Pound Cake. Ms. Cake yawned “Morning Pinkie.” “Morning Ms. Cake. Is it 7:40 already?” She nodded as Pinkie picked up Pumpkin Cake, “I know it’s the same time every day, but it feels earlier every time.” Ms. Cake chuckled, “Yeah, but it worth it to have these bundles of joy around.” Pinked smiled, changing the unicorn for the morning. “Yeah, I do enjoy having them around… Can you pass the…” Pinkie broke out into a cough. When she stopped, she finished the sentence “ The baby powder?” Ms. Cake tossed the powder to Pinkie. “Dear, you should really get that cough checked. It’s been 2 weeks.” “I have an appointment this afternoon.” She turned back to find Pumpkin Cake trying to levitate herself away. Pinkie calmly placed one hoof on top of the baby and lightly pushed her back to the table. This had become a daily routine for Pinkie. She would wake up at 7:37 exactly to the sound of the young ponies needing a change. After changing them with Ms. Cake, she would go down stairs for whatever Mr. Cake decided to make. Today, it was pancakes. “So Pinkie, the Ms. tells me you have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon?” “Yes-siree-bob. I’m finally going this cough checked.” “Really? Well Pinkie, why don’t you take the day off?” Pinkie smiled on the inside, the Cakes were always so nice to her. “Oh, no-no-no-no-no. I couldn’t do that. There’s so much to do. I’ll just take 1/2 a day. Or maybe 3/4 of a day. 2/3 of a day? Maybe it’s more like…” Pinkie coughed again, a little bit worse than the one earlier this morning. “Pinkie, just try to take it easy, ok?” Pinkie started to walk away from the table,“Ok.” The Cakes looked at the half eaten breakfast. "Pinkie, dear," Ms. Cake began, "Don't you think you should eat a bit more than that?" "Oh no, I fine." Pinkie grabbed her first deliveries of the day. "You sure?" "Yes-siree-bob." She began skipping out the door. “See you all later.”
Ch1: Life Changing“My name is Pinkie Pie, Hello!” Pinkie sang as she skipped through town. “And I am here to say, How ya doing?” “I’m going to make you smile and I will brighten up your dayaaay” “Hi Pinkie!” Pinkie stopped and looked where the voice came from. It was her good friend. “Hey Twi. How are you?” “Well, I’m good, but Spike is still tired.” Twilight looked behind her to the young dragon sleeping on her back. “Spike, wake up.” “No, 5 more minutes…” Twilight sighed, “So where are off to today?” Pinkie’s smile grew, “It’s Octavia’s birthday today, and her roommate ordered a cello cake for her.” “Well that was nice of her.” “Yeah. Wanna see the cake?!” “Umm, Sure…” Pinkie smiled. She stood on her hind legs and opened the box with the front two. Inside was a small, cake cello with a bow made of cake across the strings. “Doesn’t it look delicious? It’s a chocolate cake with a vanilla icing. Vinyl told me it was her favorite. Oh, are you going to her party tonight?” “I have to check my schedule, but I think I could make it.” “That’s great.” Pinkie closed the box, “I’ve got to get going, I’ll see you tonight at the…” Pinkie’s cough started up again and fell back onto her front hooves. Twilight caught the cake with magic as Pinkie dropped it, “Pinkie, are you ok?” Pinkie stopped coughing and looked back up at her friend. “Huh?” “I asked if you were feeling ok.” “Oh, yes. I’m, umm, okey-dokey-lokey!” Pinkie tried her hardest to put on a smile. However, she wasn’t good with fake smiles and Twilight knew that. She knew that Pinkie was worried. “You sure?” “Yes. Would I say I was fine if I wasn’t?” Twilight was about to answer when Pinkie grabbed the cake and started to walk away, “I got to get going, running late.” “Oh, ok then.” Twilight watched Pinkie skip around the corner. “Spike, what’s next on the list? Spike rubbed his eyes and read the checklist, “We need to mail a book back to Canterlot.” Pinkie watched as Twilight walked toward the post office. Pinkie knew she wasn’t feeling ok. In fact, she had a feeling that the doctor was going to tell her that it was something worse than just cough. But she didn’t think Twilight needed to worry about her. Sure, it would make a great letter of friendship to the princess, but it wasn’t her friends’ problem. It was her’s. She wanted her friends to have fun with her because they were having fun, not to make her feel better. When Twilight was out of sight, Pinkie turned around and walked to Vinyl Scratch’s. Sometime later, Pinkie was sitting in the doctor’s office. The doctor was looking over her charts and Pinkie found it to be booooor-ing. She found herself studying the periodic table on the wall. She was surprised to find that, despite having every element, the elements of harmony was not of the chart. “Excuse me. I don’t see laughter on the table over there. Where is it?” The doctor looked at the periodic table then back at Pinkie, “Did you even hear a word I said?” Pinkie stares at him and he sighs. “I said you have tuberculosis, Ms. Pie.” “Tu-ber-cu-what?” “Tuberculosis, and a very odd case of it, too.” “Doesn’t it spread, like, in the air or by touching, ‘cause I live with a family and…” The doctor cut her off, “Normally yes, but yours isn’t. I don’t know how, but your amount of partying and the amount of sugar you consume has sent your tuberculosis into an overdrive like state.” “Is that bad?” “Well, yes and no. You see, you won’t be able to spread it to other ponies, so that’s the good news. The bad news is that there’s a higher chance of it claiming your life.” “How high?” Pinkie knew she wasn’t going to like the answer, but she had to ask. “Pinkie, there’s an 80% chance of you dying in 8 months. Now, there’s a slim chance that treatment could increase you’re survival rate. But it would only boost it to about 40%. It’s just a few pills a day for 6 or 7 months, depending on how well your body responds to it. Do you understand what I just said to you?” “Well, sorta.” Pinkie scratched her mane. “I thought I heard of this ‘tuba-culosis’ before, and it didn’t sound anything like this. It spreads quickly in the air, and only had 50% death rate not the 80%…” The doctor cut her off again, “Nonononono, see, the same disease affects different species differently. Dragons have a higher chance of spreading it the other dragons, while griffons have a better response to treatment. Normal ponies have a mortality rate of about 35%-45%, however, your sweet intake has increased it to 80%.” Pinkie stated to rub her hooves on her temples. “While you’re here, can we test you for diabetes?” “All ready checked, I can’t get it.” Pinkie looked back up at the doctor. “You said it can’t spread, right?” The doctor nodded. “Then you can PLEASE not tell any other pony? I don’t want them pretending to be happy around me to make me feel better for the next few months.” “Well, if you want, doctor-patient-confidentiality says I can’t tell anypony. But I wouldn’t recommend it, having ponies to support you could make treatment an easier transition if they know and understand.” “Tell nopony. I don’t want them to worry about me so I can make them laugh and smile without them feeling obligated to do so.” “I understand.” “Pinkie promise.” The doctor sighed then mumbled, “Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” He then toke out a pad of paper and began writing, “Get these filled immediately, and I will see you back in a month.” “Ok doc, thanks…” Pinkie grabbed the prescriptions from the doctor and started to walk out. “Pinkie,” She stopped at the door. “Try to tell at least one pony you can trust about this…” Pinkie looked at him for a moment, then nodded and walked out to the hallway. As she walked out of the hospital, only one thing was on her mind. Who is a pony I can trust to keep this big of a secret?
Ch2: The meetingPinkie was sitting at an outside table at her favorite restaurant. She remembered this place. Back when Twilight had an extra ticket, they bugged her for it here. Well, Rainbow and Rarity did. Then they went back later that night to apologize. The memory brought a smile to her face. Well, every memory of her and her friends brought a smile to her face. However, this was serious. She was staring at a piece of paper, waiting for the milkshake and sandwich she had ordered. She was trying to do two things: Find a pony she could tell about her situation and write down a bucket list. 8 months. The doctor had given her 8 months to live. And she wasn’t going to waste it. Throw dream party with everypony. Make everypony smile. Well, those two have always been what she’s been trying to do. She crossed them out and started over. Visit Manehattan 2. She stopped right there. She was Pinkie Pie. If she starts sightseeing, everypony would know something was up. What could she do? She crossed it out and rested her head on her hoof. “Ma’am,” Pinkie looked up to see a unicorn with her order. “Your order is here.” Pinkie put her paper away as her food was placed in front of her. She wasn’t very hungry, but she had to eat something. She ate slow, thinking about what the doctor had told her right before she left. Who was a pony she could tell for support? She thought about her friends. Which one should she tell? Twilight? No, she’d probably guilt her into telling her friends. Rainbow Dash? When was she ever compassionate to anypony? Fluttershy? Maybe. She’d be supportive, though she might try to be ‘Doctor Fluttershy’ again. Rarity? They haven’t really hung out together, other than a few shopping trips, so that might be weird. Applejack? Again, maybe. She is the loyalist of ponies, so she would keep the secret if asked. Pinkie Pie? Wait, that was herself. Although it would be possible… “Pinkie!” Pinkie jumped in her seat. She put on a smile when she saw it was her best friend, Twilight. “Hey Twi!” “Pinkie, are you ok?” Pinkie just smiled. She knew Twilight knew something was wrong. After all, she was just caught deep in thought about it. “I’ve never been better.” “You sure?” Pinkie nodded. “O-kay then… Pinkie, I need you to come by my house in half an hour. Got something that we need to talk about.” Pinkie gave a confused look, but was nervous on the inside. Did Twilight somehow know about her tuberculosis? If she did, Pinkie was going to have a word with the doctor about the importance of keeping Pinkie Promises. “What about, Twi?” “I got a letter from the princess of utmost importance.” The doctor was safe, for now. “We’ll talk about it more when we’re all at my house. I have to tell the others.” Twilight began to run off to tell some other pony. “Okay, see you in a bit.” Pinkie relaxed when she saw Twilight turn the corner. It was going to be hard keeping it a secret, and she was already off to a bad start. But it was going to be worth it to have everypony treating her the same, not having to smile, but wanting to smile. She took a sip of her milkshake. What was she going to do with her last months? “Excuse me, miss…” Pinkie looked up. There was a lady with a cart of desserts. “Can I offer you some dessert?” Pinkie wasn’t even hungry for the sandwich and she was almost done with her milkshake. “Oh, no thank you. Can I just get a box for this?” She pointed at the half-eaten sandwich. “You sure? We got Ice cream, carrot cake, pound cake, cup cakes…” That’s when it hit Pinkie. The Cakes. What will the Cakes do without her? She helps out in the shop, with the babies, and is a major costumer of their shop, parties and all. She can just see the family falling into financial problems up to the point where they lose their business. Their home. She couldn’t let that happen. She won’t let that happen. She… “Miss?” Pinkie looked back at the dessert lady. “Anything look good?” “Oh, none for me. Just a box or bag or something.” She nodded and went on her way. Pinkie went back to thinking. How can she make sure the Cakes were going to be okay when, well, the end of Pinkie Pie came around? She didn’t want to tell them about her situation. After all, she sees them the most. She lives with them. She just couldn’t leave them with nothing either. She took the final sip of her milkshake and pulled the list back out. Make sure the Cakes have enough bits. She folded the list and put it away. This was her bucket list. And she had 8 months to make it happen. She was going to do anything possible to make it happen. But what? She couldn’t work extra hours at the bakery, the Cakes pay her. So she would be taking money from them to give to them later? None of her friends were hiring. What could she do? “Ma’am, your box.” The waiter handed her a small box for her sandwich. “And your bill.” Pinkie looked at it. A milkshake and sandwich, 7 bits. Seemed about right. She placed her sandwich in the box and 8 bits on the table. She’ll think about it later. Right now, she had to get to Twilight’s. “Good evening, girls.” Twilight began. “Now, I know we all want to get to the party an hour from now, so I’ll jump right to the point. I have received a letter from Princess Celestia a new threat to Equestria. It’s a new type of, umm, drug…” The ponies all looked at each other, confused. Except for Rarity, she just rose her hoof, “Excuse me, Twilight darling. Is this about that new ‘Phoenix’ thing spreading around, is it?” “Well, umm…” Twilight used her magic to bring the letter to her, “Uh, yes. Yes it is. How do you know about it?” “Please, I design clothes for all the celebrities. I heard about it before the princess did.” She turned to the other 4 ponies, “Did you know, that it’s actually called Phoenix because it makes ponies’ minds feel reborn?” Twilight looked at the letter in disbelief, “Uh, Rarity, the princess has written down ‘it is unknown what the name means or what it is made from…’” “Gemstones bonded together with hydroiodic acid and potassium hydroxide.” “Really?” Rarity nodded. “Wow, um, Spike take a letter, please. Dear Princess Celestia, Please don’t send an expert on Phoenix, as it turns out we already have one. Your fateful student, Twilight Sparkle.” Spike finished the letter and went over to the window to send it. “Rarity, do you want to take over?” Twilight and Rarity switched places. Spike came back over to listen and hopped on Twilight’s back. It’s his favorite spot to sit, as it makes him feel taller. “Alright girls, here’s what I know about it… Twi, could you be a dear and write this down on that chalkboard over there?” Twilight nodded then walked up next to Rarity, chalkboard magically moving right behind them. Rarity continued, “About a month ago, somepony in Canterlot found out by accident how to mix 2 gems together using hydroiodic acid and potassium hydroxide. Now, it is unknown how this happened, nor why his friend decided to smoke it at the time because he and his friend were, um, out of it, at the time. Anyways, that’s when their 3rd friend, who was clean, came into the room and saw he’s 2 friends making almost no sense. And that’s when he saw the opportunity and the 3 of them got cooking up another batch the next day.” Rainbow dash looked completely bored and as always, wanted to jump to the part that featured her, “Yeah yeah, but what does this have to do with us? It’s in Canterlot, right?” Twilight spoke back up, handing the chalk to Rarity, “Well that’s the thing. It spread to Ponyville this week. And the princess as suspicion to believe that there is a lab over here as well. Growing demand for it and all.” Rarity circled the word ‘lab’ and continued, “Now, a lab does not have to have lab equipment, although, it would make more sense if it did. Any place with chemistry equipment would be most common. But just to be safe, we should also look for places that have kitchen and some types of cleaning equipment as well. It would be less common that they would use these to cook Phoenix in, it would still have the same results.” “Also, be on the lookout for anypony that seems to have large, unexplainable amounts of bits. According to Princess Celestia, a pound of Phoenix goes for about 20,000 to 50,000 bits, depending on the gems used.” “Did you hear that Applejack,” Rainbow said as she nudged Applejack, “If you start cooking some, maybe you can replace all the old and broken things on the farm!” Applejack glared at Rainbow. Twilight held up a small bag with her magic. Inside was a gem that was two colors swirled together. “Now this is what Phoenix looks like, just so you know what to look for.” Pinkie didn’t hear much after that, as she when back to thinking. 20,000 to 50,000 bits. A pound. If Pinkie could just start making some Phoenix, she could leave the Cakes with… No no no. She couldn’t start thinking like that. She was going to make money for the Cakes, but not this dirty, drug money. She was going to get them clean… something money. Could she? Well, she would be gone in 8 months. And it seems to be the fastest way to make bits. She could leave them a good sized bag of bits when she goes. But the risks. They seemed too great. First of all, where could she cook it? Wait, could she even cook it? “Any questions?” This was her chance to see if it was even possible. She rose her hoof high, “Ooh! Ooh! Pick me!” “Yes Pinkie?” Her hoof went down immediately, “Who should we look for? Like, which ponies can make it?” “Good question Pinkie. I can’t believe we forgot that,” Rarity went over to the chalkboard and wrote it down, “It usually takes two ponies, but one unicorn could easily do the same task. Any more question?” Nopony raised their hoof. “Ok. Twilight, shall we go to the party?” Twilight nodded and lead everypony out. Pinkie grabbed the box with her sandwich. She now knew who she was going to tell and how she was going to get the bits. After all, Rainbow Dash had given her both answers. Neither pony was going to like this idea, but if she words it right, they would both have all the bits they will ever need.
Ch3: SupportPinkie sat at the kitchen table of the bakery. It was around lunch time, and even though she hasn’t even felt hungry in the last few days, she was trying to eat the rest of yesterday’s sandwich. The pony at the pharmacy recommended that even though she won’t be hungry, she should try to eat at regular times. This would be easy as the Cakes and her had a regular schedule of meals throughout the day. She had picked up her pills yesterday and had taken them right after breakfast. She barely ate anything then and the Cakes were worrying about her. The fact that she rushed to the kitchen for a glass of water right after she finished probably didn’t help. She rubbed her face with her hoof and stared at her half-eaten half-sandwich, wondering what she should do. “Hello, Pinkie” Pinkie looked up from her sandwich. It was Mr. Cake. She hasn’t seen him since he went shopping after breakfast. He had just returned with bags of cake supplies. “Hello Mr. Cake. It’s been a slow day today.” “I know, I had time to run a few errands today.” He placed his bags on the counter. “How was the doctor’s yesterday?” “Oh, it was alright. Nothing too serious.” Pinkie hoped that she wasn’t giving anything away by her facial expression. “Well that’s good. Any idea when that cough will go away?” 8 months. “No idea, guess we’ll have to wait and see.” “Ok. Just try to take it easy. Some rest might help the cough go away.” “I will.” Mr. Cake walked into the kitchen. Pinkie sighed and finished her sandwich. She started to leave the bakery. After all, she had a pony to see. Twilight and Rarity were staring at a map on the back of the chalkboard. They had been placing some pushpins on it since 11 AM. They had finally finished, “Ok Rarity. So here is where Ponyvile PD has found our Phoenix at.” “Really, this many? Based on the stories the celebrities had told me, these Ponyvile ponies are doing a sloppy job of keeping it hidden.” Twilight turned to her friend and partner on the job, “Well, not really. See, all the green ones are just ponies having possession of it. It’s the red ones we need to look for. They’re the ones that are Phoenix labs.” Rarity was studding the map when something caught her eye, “Twilight, what are the 3 blue ones?” Twilight looked around for a blue pushpin, “Oh, those? They’re chemistry supplies stores. I decided to mark them on the map for reference. Why?” Rarity used magic to guide a stick to the top of the map, “Look here in northern Ponyvile. There are 3 red pins all within walking distance of this blue pin here.” Twilight pulled a binder out and flipped through it. “Out of the 3 spots, only 1 pony has been arrested. And the supply store shows no breaking in reports.” “Store owners, such as myself, keep records of purchases and sales.” Twilight smiled and said excitedly, “We got our first lead!” Pinkie approached the barn of Sweet Apple Acres. She was looking for Applejack, but all she found was Big Macintosh preparing to plow the field. “Excuse me, Big Mac…” Big Mac turned and faced the pink protagonist, “Is Applejack around?” Big Mac stared at her, thinking about where he last saw AJ. After a moment, he pointed “South apple field.” Pinkie thanked him and went off searching. She must have been lost for what seems like an hour, but she finally tracked down Applejack. Along the way, she had time to think. Did she really want to do this? Would Applejack even agree to help? What could stop her from calling the police on her if she tries it on her own later? Should she even try to do it? “Hey there Pinkie Pie, you’re just in time to help me buck some of these here apples.” Applejack said half jokingly “Hi Applejack.” “What ’ca doing here?” Applejack said very friendly. Just start small, tell her about the situation. “Let see, um, Applejack, can you keep a secret?” “Well, of course ah can. What’s on your mind?” A lot, “Well, I had a doctor’s appointment yesterday…” Applejack looked worried, “And?” This was going to be harder than she thought, “And it wasn’t good news, and the doctor told me to at least tell one pony for support, and…” Pinkie took a deep breath and then sighed, “I have tuberculosis…” That was a bombshell being dropped on Applejack, “What?” She backed up a bit. “That contagious disease?” “It’s not contagious… Somehow. I only paid attention to half of what the doctor said. But he gave me some pills to take to help treat it.” “They have pills for it now?” Pinkie nodded as she pulled a pill bottle from her mane and showed it. “It’s amazing what advancements in medicine we have.” Pinkie nodded and put the bottle back in her mane, “So how are yah taking the news?” A tear started to form in her eye, but she didn’t cry, “I’m worried. I’m worried about dying; about the bills, the cakes… What will happen to the kids when I’m gone?” Applejack moved closer to her friend. “Which is the second reason I came to you…” Applejack just stared with confusion, “I… I don’t follow you…” Pinkie wiped her tear away and calmed herself down a little, “I want to leave as much bits as I can for their future.” “I don’t blame yah. A family with two kids is getting expensive to raise. They need all the bits they can get.” Applejack thought for a second, “What does that have to do with me?” “I know that Sweet Apple Acres is not making as much as it use to, and I also want to help your family out…” Pinkie stopped. Was she really about to ask this of her good friend, close to best friend. She was tied with the other four and the cakes, but still, close to best friend. “I’m… Going to start cooking Phoenix… And I would like your help…” Applejack looked at her friend, then chuckled, “That’s a good one, Pinkie…” Pinkie stared back, not showing any signs of joking. “…You’re… You’re kidding, right?” There was a silence between the two. “Pinkie?” “I know you need the money, and this is the fastest way of making it…” Applejack cut her off, “Are you crazy!” She looked around and lowered her voice, “Are you crazy? We were told just yesterday to help with the locating of the ones that are already cooking it.” “That’s where I got the idea…” Pinkie explained. “Get off of my property.” “W-what?” Pinkie looked at AJ, dumbfounded. “But, I know you need the bits…” “Please leave, Pinkie.” “The barn is falling apart, the plow needs a new blade…” “Get, go.” Applejack started pushing her away as pinkie’s hoofs dragged across the ground, trying to stay “But the fence is broken from those con artists, both the CMC’s clubhouse and Applebloom’s room have a big hole in the roof...” “Get off of my farm!” Pinkie stopped talking, “I can’t believe you would even think about doing that for a few bits…” Pinkie’s face dropped as she realized what she’s been saying. “Pinkie, look… I won’t tell Twi because of your current situation, but this is the last I want to hear about it, ok?” Pinkie nodded and walked away slowly. Had she been pushing that subject to hard? Should she have waited? “What was that about?” Big Mac asked his sister as she watched Pinkie walk away. “It was nothing. You know, Pinkie Pie just being Pinkie Pie. Come on, we still got to get the west field.”
