The Search For The Missing Breakdown
Fluttershy whistled a jaunty tune as she floated along on the breeze. It was a beautiful day in a beautiful world, and she was on her way to see a beautiful girl. Everything around her seemed to be cheering her on, from the songs of the birds to the drifting of the clouds, and it seemed like every pony in Ponyville was having the best day of their lives. All of Equestria was brimming with love.
The chime that rang out as she pushed open the door to the Sugarcube Corner seemed almost in tune with her little melody. She was so caught up in it that she didn’t even open her eyes, which made it startle her that much more when she finally looked up at the counter and met the eyes of Mrs. Cake.
Fluttershy just barely managed to catch the basket of veggies that she had flung into the air in her shock, but the effort landed her on the floor, sprawled out on her back. She groaned as Mrs. Cake leaned over the counter and looked worriedly down at her.
“Fluttershy?” The concern in her voice was clear. “Are you all right, dear?”
Fluttershy nodded and squeaked out an inaudible reply. Then she finally realized where she was and pushed herself up off the ground, meeting Mrs. Cake eye to eye at the counter. “Sorry,” she said meekly. “Um, where’s Pinkie?”
“Well, I was hoping you could tell me that!” Mrs. Cake said. “She never showed up today. We just assumed she had stayed at your house and something came up.”
Fluttershy gasped. “Oh no! I left before she woke up, I had no idea.” A deep frown etched itself onto her face. “Oh, I hope she’s doing alright.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t get too awful worried,” Mrs. Cake assured her. “She’s a sturdy girl. Here.” She lifted up a bag from behind the counter and pushed it over to Fluttershy. “There’s an extra cupcake in there for both of ya. Hopefully that’ll help cheer her up.”
Fluttershy picked up the bag and nodded enthusiastically. “Thank you so much, Mrs. Cake. I’m um, really sorry that I can’t stay longer, but I should really…”
“Of course!” Mrs. Cake shooed her away. “Go, go, be with her.”
Fluttershy nodded and thanked her the entire way out, and then ducked back inside a moment later for one final thanks. When Mrs. Cake threatened to lock her out, she finally set off for home, flying through the air at what was, for her, a brisk pace. The wind lapped at her mane as she hustled along, growing more and more nervous by the second.
She practically ran through the door when she got home. She dropped all the groceries on the floor right there to look for Pinkie, although she didn’t have to look far. Pinkie was in the living room, sitting upside down on a sofa, her long straight hair in a pile on the floor below her. She was kicking her hooves in the air absentmindedly, and didn’t seem to hear Fluttershy come in.
Fluttershy walked up to her nervously. “Pinkie?” Her voice was so soft and cautious that it barely reached Pinkie’s ears.
Pinkie’s head snapped towards Fluttershy and a massive, toothy smile slipped onto her face. “Flutterbutter!” She stuck her front legs out for a hug, despite it not being possible to hug her while she was upside down.
“Hey,” Fluttershy said as she laid down. She decided to sit on the floor so she could be face to face with Pinkie. “Are you alright?”
“Of course I’m alright, silly!” Pinkie gave Fluttershy a light bop on the shoulder. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Fluttershy made a worried noise. “Well, you didn’t show up at the bakery today.”
“Oh, that.” Pinkie’s front legs fell to the floor, landing with two heavy thunks. “I didn’t feel like it.”
“Why not?”
“Iunno,” Pinkie said. “I wanted to stay here.”
“Pinkie, you understand why I’m worried, right?” Fluttershy asked. “Hearing that you disappeared without telling anypony, and then finding you like… Well…” Fluttershy reached out and gently stroked Pinkie’s mane.
“I get it,” Pinkie replied, “I just don’t know what to tell you. I feel fine, I just didn’t feel like goin to work today. Maybe my mane wanted a day off too.”
“Maybe…” Fluttershy leaned forward and gave Pinkie a soft kiss on the nose. “Well, I’ll be here either way.”
Pinkie smiled again before giving Fluttershy an unexpected boop on the nose. “Love ya.”
Fluttershy smiled back. “I love you too.”
Pinkie patted the sofa next to her. “Try this! It’s fun.”
“Have you been doing this all day?” Fluttershy asked.
“Not all day,” Pinkie said. “I had to get up and eat lunch at some point.”
“Pinkie.”
“C’mon, I do other stuff every day,” Pinkie pleaded.
“Fresh air is good for you,” Fluttershy told her. “It’ll help you work through whatever’s on your mind.”
“But I’m fine!” Pinkie huffed and pouted. “My stupid mane is just confused or something.”
“I just don’t want to take any chances. I’m worried about you.”
“Hmph.” Pinkie crossed her legs in front of her chest defiantly. It only lasted a moment, though, and before long she sighed and tumbled lazily off the sofa. Then she rolled onto her belly and put her chin on her hooves as she met Fluttershy’s eyes. “It’s really that important to you?”
“You’re important to me,” Fluttershy said.
“Can I have your cupcake?”
Fluttershy laughed and gave Pinkie a soft kiss. “You know it was already yours.”
Pinkie was refreshed and bouncing along as the couple took a walk through Ponyville. Her long mane blew in the wind as she skipped in circles around Fluttershy, who was smiling and walking along at a comfortable pace. Pinkie never really stopped moving, but she had figured out how to work off her energy on walks without rushing Fluttershy along.
Every so often another pony would cross their path, and they would immediately be assaulted by Pinkie. Loud greetings, tight hugs and enthusiastic chatter flooded over them all. Fluttershy would stand nearby and watch with a polite smile until, eventually, the pony would find a way to escape and they’d continue their walk.
“I think I kinda like having my mane like this,” Pinkie said at one point. “It gets all bouncy in the wind, and I bet it’s cute too.”
“It is cute,” Fluttershy agreed, “but I’m biased.”
“Yeah, but you’ve still got the most important opinion.” Pinkie had started hopping backwards so she could look at Fluttershy, her huge grin bobbing in and out of Fluttershy’s vision. “I don’t care what, like, Rarity thinks if you like it. Everypony else is just a nice bonus.”
“That’s a lot of power you’ve given me.”
Pinkie giggled. “I’m in big trouble if you turn evil.”
“Better be nice to me, then,” Fluttershy told her.
Pinkie laughed and skipped ahead a bit before circling back around and sidling up next to Fluttershy. “Thanks for dragging me out here,” she said. Fluttershy nuzzled her lovingly in response.
Pinkie was about to start running around again, but a thud from behind them caught her attention. Both ponies turned around to find Rainbow Dash, a cloud of dust rising around her from where she just landed and a worried look on her face.
“Dashie!” Pinkie was on her in an instant, wrapping around her like a constrictor and hugging the air out of her lungs. “Hi! What are you doin here? How are you? Did you bring me something? I love you!”
“I- wha-” Rainbow Dash looked helplessly between Pinkie and Fluttershy, but Fluttershy could only shrug. “Hi, Pinkie,” she finally decided on. “I dropped down to check on you.”
Pinkie groaned and rolled her eyes. “Really, my mane goes flat for one day and the whole town shuts down! I’m fine.”
“Okay…” Rainbow Dash tried to pry Pinkie’s vice grip hug off of her, but Pinkie wouldn’t let her. “So there’s nothing wrong?”
“Nope!” Pinkie said, following it up with an aggressive nuzzle.
“Well, you’re definitely not sad,” Rainbow Dash said as she tried in vain to lean away from Pinkie. “I’m not really sure what you are.”
“I’m Pinkie!” She pulled herself off of Rainbow Dash for a moment, only to immediately grab her again and pull her to the ground, pinning her affectionately.
Rainbow Dash coughed as Pinkie tried to squeeze the breath out of her. “Uh, Pinkie—” Another cough as Pinkie gave her another squeeze. “I actually kinda had somewhere to be.”
“Awww.” Pinkie gave her one final bone-cracking hug before letting go and rolling back to her hooves. “Well I’m glad you stopped by!”
As Pinkie was walking away, Rainbow Dash caught Fluttershy’s eyes and silently mouthed “take her to Twilight” to her. Then she awkwardly waved, rubbed her sore back, and shouted “bye!” as she soared into the sky.
“Well that was fun,” Pinkie said as she joined back up with Fluttershy.
“Yeah…”
Pinkie tilted her head. “What’s up?”
“I, uh…” Fluttershy thought about what to say. “Rainbow Dash thought you were acting weird.”
“Huh?” Pinkie Pie looked around, as though she’d be able to find Rainbow Dash hiding in a corner somewhere. “When did she say that?”
“Right before she left,” Fluttershy said. “She told me to take you to Twilight.”
Pinkie frowned. “What, does she think I’m under a spell? It’s just a mane!”
“Shouldn’t we make absolutely sure, though?” Fluttershy asked.
Pinkie sighed. “I guess. I dunno.”
“Let’s just go to the castle,” Fluttershy suggested. “We can keep talking on the way, and if you’re feeling better when we get there we can go in.”
“Twiiiiiiliiiiiight!”
Pinkie’s yell echoed through the empty halls of the castle, returning to them as a hollow din before fading away and leaving only the sharp clacks of Pinkie’s bouncing strides. Fluttershy followed closely behind, trying very hard not to make any noises of her own.
“I still don’t like coming in here unannounced,” Fluttershy whispered.
“It’s a castle,” Pinkie said, “and we practically work here. We’re allowed inside.”
“I know we can,” Fluttershy told her. “I just feel weird actually doing it.”
“Well, blame me then,” Pinkie said. Then, without warning she let out another ear-shattering “Twilight!”
Fluttershy barely covered her ears in time. “Maybe she’s not home?”
“Nah, I bet she’s here,” Pinkie said, “and if she thinks she can hide from me she’s wrong!”
“Why would I hide from you?” Twilight came around a corner, rubbing her temple with a pained look on her face. “It’s not like I’d be able to find a place I wouldn’t hear you calling for me.”
“That’s why I do it!” Pinkie skipped over to Twilight and tackled her to the ground before she could react.
Twilight gasped to recover the breath that had been knocked out of her. “H-hi, Pinkie,” she groaned, “and uh, hi Fluttershy. What’s going on?” Twilight had to push back against Pinkie’s nuzzling to even be able to speak.
“Good question,” Fluttershy said.
Pinkie groaned as loudly as she could. “Dashie thinks I’m being weird and wants you to fix me.”
“Fi—” Twilight winced as Pinkie squeezed her again. “Fix you?”
“She didn’t say that,” Fluttershy told her. “We’re just covering all our bases.”
“I see…” Twilight horn lit up and pried Pinkie away from her, leaving her flailing in midair nearby. “The mane was a little worrying.”
“It’s cute!” Pinkie yelled.
Fluttershy frowned. “Pinkie…”
Twilight started walking through the halls, carrying Pinkie along behind her. “Something can be cute and worrying. You don’t seem to be hurt, but better safe than sorry, right?”
Pinkie huffed and pouted for the rest of the walk.
It didn’t take long for them to reach their destination. Twilight propped open the door and levitated Pinkie into her bedroom, beckoning a hesitant Fluttershy in after them.
“Is this really the best place?” Fluttershy asked as the door clicked behind them.
“Well we don’t exactly have an infirmary,” Twilight said as she dug out tools.
Twilight’s room was filled with an organized sort of madness. Piles of books and papers littered the floor, half-finished notes were scattered on her desk, and her bed was just neat enough for her to say she had made it, although it quickly became unmade when she plopped Pinkie down on it and she immediately took to rolling around in the sheets.
“I’m not sick!” Pinkie said, her voice muffled through the blankets over her head.
“I don’t think you are,” Twilight told her, “but don’t you think it’ll put Fluttershy at ease to know for sure?”
There was a beat of quiet before Pinkie reluctantly tossed the sheets away and sat up. She was still pouting, her legs crossed in front of her chest and a frown on her face, but she sat relatively still.
“Thank you, Pinkie,” Fluttershy said.
“We’ll start with just a normal checkup,” Twilight said, “although the hospital would be better suited for it.” With a shrug, she lifted a stethoscope and tried placing it to Pinkie’s chest.
Pinkie never was very good at sitting still, though, and Twilight’s bed was very bouncy. Even with her grumpy pouting, she was jumping up and down in place too much for Twilight to be able to do much of anything.
Twilight sighed. “Pinkie, can’t you settle down for just a few minutes?”
“No!” Pinkie stuck her nose into the air indignantly.
Twilight grumbled something under her breath. “Fluttershy, is there anything you can do to help here?”
“I can’t make her calm down,” Fluttershy said. “I never really need to.”
“Cuz Fluttershy gets me,” Pinkie added. Then she fell over onto her side and rolled back into a sheet. “Even if she thinks I’m sick.”
“What exactly do you two want from me here?” Twilight asked them.
“Just tell Fluttershy I’m not sick or under a spell!” Pinkie pointed at Fluttershy for emphasis.
“Well,” Twilight said with a growing frustration, “I can’t tell if you’re sick, but you’re definitely not under a spell. I would have spotted that from the start.”
“Ha!” Pinkie rolled over enthusiastically and fell off the bed, falling with a thump on her back. Instead of getting up, she just gestured wildly at the ceiling. “I told you I was fine!”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Twilight grumbled. Then she caught herself, sighed and shook her head. “No, I’m sorry Pinkie, that was cruel. I think I just need a minute.” With that, she got up and excused herself from the room, closing the door behind her.
Pinkie scoffed and tugged a sheet over her head. “Whatever.”
Fluttershy frowned and got down on the floor. “Pinkie, please, just tell me what’s wrong.”
“They’re what’s wrong!” Pinkie snapped, waving towards the door. “Twilight, Rainbow Dash, every single pony who just walks away when they get sick of me.”
Fluttershy rubbed Pinkie’s side through the sheet. “They’re not sick of you,” she said. “They’re just worried because you’ve been acting strangely, and so they got a little overwhelmed.”
“I’m not acting weird, though! What did I do today that I’ve never done with you?”
Fluttershy thought for a moment. “Well, you got pretty grumpy with Twilight, but…”
“Exactly!” Pinkie ripped the sheets away from herself. “I only got grumpy cuz she was carrying me around and treating me like a kid. She was talking to you like you were my mom or something!”
“She was just worried about you.”
“None of them had any reason to be worried, though!” Pinkie growled in frustration. “I was perfectly happy every time until they decided they were done with me.”
“Pinkie, they were—”
“Overwhelmed!” Pinkie rolled over and buried her face in her legs. “Do you have any idea how much it hurts when all your friends just leave any time you’re actually yourself?”
Fluttershy frowned and wrapped a leg around Pinkie to hold her close. “I don’t.”
“Being with you was supposed to help,” Pinkie said. “You can handle it. You can let me get it out of my system. But instead it just showed me how much I bottle up.”
Fluttershy gave her a silent, reassuring squeeze.
“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had,” Pinkie continued. “But you’re the only friend I’ve ever had, because nopony else is actually friends with me. You saw it today, the real me comes out and they run away.”
“They are your friends,” Fluttershy told her. “They’ll listen. You just need to tell them.”
Pinkie hummed sadly and leaned against Fluttershy.
“Thank you for telling me what’s wrong,” Fluttershy said. “If you want, I can help you talk to them. Trust me, Pinkie, none of them want you to feel this way.”
“It doesn’t matter what they want,” Pinkie mumbled. “They still can’t stand being around me.”
“They can work on it, though,” Fluttershy told her. “They’ll get there. You’re worth it.”
“I guess.”
Fluttershy didn’t have anything more to say, so instead she just pulled Pinkie close and sat with her, and Pinkie relaxed in her embrace.
“Do you feel any better?” Fluttershy asked after a few minutes.
“No,” Pinkie said.
“Do you think you’ll feel better later?”
“...Maybe.”
“Do you want to go to my house until you do?”
Pinkie looked over at Fluttershy and nodded, and Fluttershy gave her a loving kiss on the nose.
“...Can we stop and get more cupcakes on the way?” Pinkie asked meekly.
Fluttershy giggled. “Of course.”
