Changing Octaves

by Twinkletail

Rating: everyone
Tags: Sad, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Pinkie Pie, Octavia, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe
Length: 21465

Octavia has a reunion with her long-lost sister, but not under the circumstances she'd have liked.

Pinkie and her sister Octavia meet up for the first time in years in a most unexpected place, and Pinkie learns that things at home have changed quite a bit. Based on the theory that the cello player at the Gala is a grown-up version of Pinkie's sister from Cutie Mark Chronicles.

------

Originally posted on Equestria Daily back in May 2011. I had big plans for this one, but they fizzled out. However, I did just find my old notes for it, and plan on finishing it eventually have finished it!

Published 2012-11-04 07:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2013-07-26 04:32:15 UTC

Chapter 1

"From the top, everypony," Frederic said, turning the page in his arrangement book. The other members of the orchestra did the same. The next piece, a gentle concerto, was a personal favorite of Octavia's. She had specifically requested this piece be on their playlist once she'd heard that they would be playing at the Grand Galloping Gala, and as soon as she'd finished freaking out over that news. In all her time playing cello, she'd never expected to hit this pinnacle in her career. The announcement had come at the perfect time, too, as it helped her take her mind away from the troubles her family had been facing. Surely, tonight's performance in front of Princess Celestia and tons of nobles would result in recognition for her and the rest of the orchestra. With recognition would come jobs. Jobs would bring money, and that was exactly what she needed right now. Octavia raised her bow to her cello as Frederic gave the signal that they were about to begin playing. The piece began, and she tried her hardest not to smile. She wanted to smile so badly, but this was a high-society party, and dignity was a necessity. Her pink eyes scanned the room as she played, and she was delighted to see the upper-class ponies enjoying the piece. Her eyes returned to her sheet music, and while her outward appearance was stoic, inside she was beaming. Nothing could possibly ruin this night for her.

"Ooh! The shiny dance floor!!"

If Octavia weren't so disciplined, she would have dropped her cello right then and there. She knew that voice...that energy...but there was no way SHE was at a high-class party like this.

"The pretty party ponies!!"

That voice definitely sounded like her...but this party was invite-only, and the chances of her being invited to the Grand Galloping Gala were astronomically low. She closed her eyes and continued playing.

"OOOH, the fancy band!!"

Octavia kept her eyes tightly shut. She knew this part of the piece well, so it wouldn't be a problem. She refused to open her eyes, because she knew that no one else squealed like that, and she needed her fear to remain unconfirmed.

"Shiny!! Pretty!! FANCY!!! Nnnnnn......GOTTA DANCE!!!!"

Despite her best attempts to prevent it, Octavia's eyes shot open and turned to where the voice was coming from. Her heart sank as she finally had visual confirmation of her fears.

It was her sister. She hadn't seen Pinkamena (or Pinkie, as she'd started to call herself) since she moved to Ponyville, and she wasn't quite sure whether or not that was a good thing. She was her sister, and she loved her, but Pinkie had a tendency to make things more...difficult. Ever since that first party she'd thrown, she had gotten more and more out of hand, to the point where it was consistently disruptive to have her around. She was always wanting to throw more parties, and while the family would indulge her a bit, but it got to the point where it was just too much for them to keep up. Even though they had changed from the boring, no-fun ponies that they used to be, the level of partying that Pinkie desired was beyond their capabilities. Octavia hoped that maybe she had calmed down a bit since leaving home, but based on what she'd heard already, that was pretty unlikely. She was surprised that Pinkie hadn't burst into song already.

"I'M AT THE GRAND GALLOPING GALA!! I'M AT THE GRAND GALLOPING GALA!!"

Right on cue, Octavia thought. She silently hoped that Pinkie would bounce out of the room without even noticing her. Playing at the Gala was easily the biggest moment of her life so far, and Pinkie's...Pinkieness...wasn't going to ruin it for her.

"I'M AT THE GRAND GALLOPING GALAAAAA! IT'S ALL I EVER DREAMED!"

Octavia's eyes went wide as she saw Pinkie approach her and the orchestra. She winced as Pinkie terrified Sousa and Baroque, the tuba and harp players. The pink earth pony darted behind her and Frederic...and then darted away, still singing. Octavia was baffled; did she not recognize her? She breathed a sigh of relief, then returned to her playing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the other party guests staring disdainfully at her energetic sister. Pinkie snapped out of her song, noticing everyone looking at her with disapproval, and she seemed to almost deflate. Octavia couldn't help but feel a little bad for her, but she had a job to do, and the piece had to continue.

The orchestra had been playing for a good long while, and the majority of the room seemed to be enjoying it. There was still a good half hour or so until the orchestra would be invited in for a private performance for Princess Celestia, though, and Octavia was beginning to get antsy. The performance for Celestia was the moment she was really looking forward to, and it seemed like it was still ages away. To make things worse, she couldn't get her mind off of Pinkie. After she had realized that the party guests were not enjoying her behavior, the pink earth pony had sat at a table the whole time, looking bored and generally sad. Pinkie was Octavia's estranged sister, but she was her sister nonetheless, and even if she could be a bit annoying, she still cared for her. The gray earth pony decided that after the piece they were playing was done, she would ask for a break until the performance for Celestia so she could talk to her sister for the first time in a good long while. The piece ended with a flourish, eliciting an appreciative round of hoof stamping. Octavia started to put her bow down, when she noticed Pinkie whispering something to Frederic. Before she knew it, Pinkie was right behind her. The gray pony waited with anticipation to see what the first words her sister spoke to her in ages would be.

"Could you guys play the Pony Pokey next?" Pinkie whispered. "My sisters and I used to LOVE that song!" Pinkie gave her a wink, and before Octavia could even respond, the pink pony had bolted over to Sousa and Baroque to make the same request. Octavia couldn't believe it. She didn't even acknowledge her. Did she really not remember her? Pinkie was always a bit bizarre, but it seemed unlike her to completely forget her own sister.

"Is that pony kidding?" Frederic asked Octavia, knocking her out of her train of thought.

"Well, we WERE told to take any and all requests..." Octavia said, still distracted. The other orchestra members rolled their eyes, then prepared their instruments.

~~~~~~~~~~

Octavia and the orchestra stood there, dumbfounded. It had all happened so fast. After they had finished playing the Pony Pokey, Pinkie had burst onto the stage, carrying a DJ turntable (where she got it from, nopony knew) and taken over. Before they knew what had happened, a cake had been hurled across the room, a prince had been embarrassed, statues and pillars had fallen over, and the entire room had been stampeded by a hoard of terrified critters. Now everything was in shambles, and word had it that Princess Celestia had left as well. Octavia could feel her chances at fame and fortune slipping through her hooves, and her fears were only confirmed as the pony who had hired them for the evening approached them.

"I'm really sorry, everypony," the disoriented pony said, "But due to the cost of the upcoming repairs to the castle, the gala fund doesn't have enough bits to pay you..."

The other orchestra members complained loudly once they were alone, but Octavia remained eerily quiet. She placed her cello gently on the ground, then started walking away from the group.

"Octavia?" Baroque asked, noticing her first. "Where are you going?"

"I'll catch up with you all later," she responded quietly. "I have something to take care of." Before the others could raise a protest, she had walked away.

"Excuse me," Octavia asked one of the guards at the door. "Did you see a pink pony wearing a candy-themed dress come this way?" The guard did not speak a word, as was customary of the Princess's royal guards. He did, however, point off to the distance. Octavia's eyes turned in the direction he was pointing. She saw the donut shoppe, and she walked silently towards it.

~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a very long night for the six ponies and their baby dragon friend. Every one of them had come into this night expecting all of their dreams to come true in the most wonderful and exciting ways possible, and one by one, their dreams were dashed. Despite all that, however, they decided that spending the rest of the night with each other was enough to consider it the best night ever. They were so busy talking and having a great time that they didn't even hear the door open.

"Pinkie Pie!" Octavia shouted into the store. The six ponies and Spike stopped their conversation and looked up at the gray pony. Octavia took a deep breath. In the short walk to the donut shoppe, she had prepared herself for this meeting with her sister. It was still jarring to her that Pinkie didn't even seem to recognize her earlier, but she was fully prepared to reintroduce herself. Knowing how wacky Pinkie could get, it was possible that it would take a while to convince her of who she was, but she was...

"OCTAVIA!!!"

Octavia found herself on the floor before she knew what had hit her. Pinkie's embrace was tight and strong, as she nuzzled her sister lovingly. Now she was more baffled than ever.

"P...Pinkie?" she muttered. "But I thought you didn't recognize me earlier..."

"Don't be silly!" Pinkie said, laughing. "That's my job! I just didn't want to go crazy on you and distract you too much from your big performance! How could I forget my own sister?"

"Sister?!" Pinkie's friends all asked at the same time. Octavia tried to speak up, but before she could, Pinkie had pulled her up and, still holding onto the embrace, dragged her over to the table.

"Oh, how rude of me! I should have introduced you first!" Pinkie said, nearly overflowing with energy and happiness. "Octavia, these are my friends! That's Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, and Applejack, and Fluttershy, and the dragon is Spike! Everyone, I'd like you to meet my sister, Octavia!"

"H...hi..." Octavia coughed to the others. Then she turned back to Pinkie. "C..can you please let go of me now?"

"Oh! Of course!" Pinkie said happily, and released her sister from her loving grapple. "I'm so happy to see you, Octavia! You sounded really good tonight! Have you been taking lessons? Because I wanna learn to play the contrabass in case there's another big swarm of parasprites! Oh, did you hear that Ponyville got attacked by parasprites? And I drove them off, just like you and Aquarina and I did when..."

"PINKIE!" Octavia shouted. Pinkie quickly quieted down and smiled a big smile at her sister.

"Yes, Octavia?" the pink pony asked. Octavia glared at her, not returning the smile.

"Do you have....ANY IDEA....what you and your friends did tonight?" the gray pony asked.

"Yes I do!" Pinkie answered. "We had a great time at the..."

"NO!" Octavia said, exasperated. "Pinkie...tonight was supposed to be the greatest night of my life. My orchestra and I were supposed to play for Princess Celestia, and then we were going to get noticed and get lots of gigs, and that would get me a lot of money, which is exactly what I REALLY need right now...but you had to not only interrupt our performance, but ruin the ENTIRE GALA before we could even play for the Princess! I haven't seen you for YEARS, Pinkie, ever since you abandoned your family, and the first time I see you again, you ruin my entire night!" Octavia shook as she said this last sentence. She hadn't intended to use the word "abandoned," as even in her anger, she knew how harsh it came off, but it had just come out. There was no taking it back now.

Pinkie and the others were quiet. Pinkie's smile had faded, and she stared at Octavia, remaining completely speechless. After a moment, her ears drooped, and she closed her eyes and lowered her head.

"Octavia...I'm so sorry..." Pinkie said, her voice cracking a bit. "I really didn't mean to..."

Octavia stared Pinkie down. The pink pony's friends looked on, not wanting to get between the two. Octavia tried to stay angry, but this was her sister. Even though they hadn't seen each other in a long while, she still cared for her. She let out a drawn-out sigh.

"It's OK, Pinkie..." she said. "There'll be other opportunities...I guess..." Pinkie looked up, her eyes big and red.

"No, it's not OK," Pinkie said quietly. "It was very insensitive of me, and I'm really, really, REALLY sorry..." Octavia sighed again. She was all ready to let Pinkie have it before, but seeing how genuinely bad she felt about what had happened changed her mind. The gray pony reached out and hugged her sister. She felt a tear fall from Pinkie's eye onto her shoulder, and she patted her on the back gently. The two sisters shared a quiet moment as the other ponies began to get up.

"Umm...Pinkie..." Rainbow said awkwardly. "We're...gonna let you two have some time to yourselves, OK? We'll catch up with you tomorrow, alright?" Pinkie turned to look at her friends, who all offered her warm smiles.

"Thanks, girls," she said. "Tell the Cakes I'll be home a little late, OK?" Rainbow nodded, and the group left the donut shoppe.

The two estranged sisters held each other for a while, neither of them saying a word. After a little while, Octavia released the embrace, and the two looked at each other.

"I missed you, Pinkie," Octavia said quietly. "Things weren't the same after you left."

"I missed all of you too," Pinkie answered. The two sat down, and another few moments passed without a word.

"So you said you needed the money?" Pinkie asked. Octavia nodded solemnly.

"What for?" Pinkie continued. Octavia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was time she knew.

"Pinkie...we have a lot to talk about."

~~~~~~~~~~

It had been a long day on the Pie Family Rock Farm. Pinkamena sighed as she pushed another rock across the field. She had been doing the same thing over and over for the entire day, for the last four days this week...it was beginning to grate on her nerves. She had never questioned her lot in life, nor had her sisters, but the constant tedious act of moving rocks was finally starting to lose whatever tiny bit of luster it had. The pink filly looked over at her sisters. Neither Octavia nor Aquarina seemed to be bothered at all by the work they were doing. If they were bothered, they were doing an excellent job of hiding it. She didn't understand how they could possibly be alright with the work they were doing...it was so repetitive, so uninteresting, so non-stimulating. Yet she hadn't even been getting these feelings of unrest until about a day or so ago. Before that, she was just fine doing what she was doing, and didn't question it. Now, though...she wasn't sure what made the change in her mind occur, but farming rocks wasn't enough for her. She wanted more.

"Come on, Pinkamena," Octavia whispered to her. As soon as she did, her eyes darted across the field to make sure their parents weren't watching. They weren't allowed to talk while they worked; it was strictly forbidden. "You're starting to fall behind, and you know what Mom and Dad think about that."

"I know, I know..." Pinkamena said. Then she sighed. "I just don't want to do this anymore." Octavia nearly tripped over the rock she was pushing. She stared at Pinkamena with wide eyes.

"But you have to!" Octavia said, not noticing the volume of her voice. "This is what we have to do!" The pink filly lowered her head.

"I just...want to do something else," Pinkamena told her sister

"What?" Octavia asked, baffled. What else was there to do other than farming rocks?

"I don't know," the pink filly sighed. "All I know is that I want to do something else with myself."

"Oh, please!" Aquarina said, strolling by. "Pinkamena, this is what we do. We were born on the rock farm, and our parents own it!"

"Well, they don't technically own it..." Octavia said, but Aquarina shushed her.

"It's close enough!" Aquarina said. "The point is, it's our responsibility to help out now, so that the farm stays in working order. Then once Mom and Dad can't work anymore, we'll inherit the farm, and our children will do the same. It's the way this works, Pinkamena, and you're going to have to live with that!" Pinkamena rolled her eyes. Aquarina was the oldest of the three (albeit by a scant three minutes), and she always loved to flaunt that over hers and Octavia's heads by being as bossy as possible. Pinkamena usually let it slide, because she didn't want to cause a fuss, but she felt particularly strongly about this, and to hear Aquarina dismiss it so quickly was frustrating.

"Not necessarily!" Pinkamena argued. "Just cause we were born here doesn't mean we aren't gonna be good at anything else." Aquarina gave her sister a smug look.

"Oh yeah?" the blue filly askd. "Well, what else do you think you could possibly be good at, then?" Pinkamena thought for a while. She knew that she wanted to do something else with herself...but she had to admit that she had absolutely no clue what that something else was.

"Can't think of anything, huh?" Aquarina taunted. "That's what I thought. Now get back to work!" Pinkamena sighed and looked down at the ground.

"You know, Aquarina," Octavia spoke up, "Just because you're three minutes older than Pinkamena doesn't mean she has to listen to you." The pink filly looked up at Octavia, surprised. It was so unlike her to speak up and inject herself into an argument. Aquarina looked just as taken aback, and for a second she couldn't even come up with a retort.

"Girls!" Pickerton Pie shouted from the barnhouse. "Stop talking and get back to work!"

"Well, you DO have to listen to HIM," Aquarina said, grinning. Pinkamena and Octavia sighed, and the three sisters resumed working. Pinkamena pushed the rock she had been moving into the nearest pile. There just had to be something else...

~~~~~~~~~~

Pinkie Pie sat silently in the donut shoppe, waiting for Octavia to return. She had left to pick up her cello, which she had left with her bandmates. This gave the pink earth pony a chance to think things over. It had been years and years since she had seen any of her family, and now here she was, sitting in a donut shoppe with Octavia. She still couldn't believe the stroke of luck she'd had in meeting up with her, but she never would have though that the family harbored any grudge against her for it. She had talked to her parents beforehand about it...she'd left a note for her sisters...it just didn't make sense. Even now, when Octavia had accepted her apology for it, she wasn't totally sure if she really meant it. And that word she used...abandoned...that hurt more than anything. Was that really how she felt? Pinkie figured that she might have been unhappy with her leaving, but abandoned? The pink pony sighed, then looked up as the door opened and Octavia reentered the shop, cello strapped to her back. The gray pony propped the cello case on the table, then sat down across from her sister. There were no words for a few moments.

"So what do we need to talk about, Octavia?" Pinkie asked. She wasn't sure she wanted to hear the answer to this; the concern in Octavia's eyes spoke volumes. Octavia let out a long, drawn-out sigh.

"It's about Dad," she said. Pinkie looked at her, her face instantly matching the concern she'd seen on her sister's face a moment ago.

"Dad?" Pinkie asked. She didn't know what else to say. Octavia nodded solemnly.

"Ever since a year or two after you left," Octavia said, "He hasn't been doing too well...to be brutally honest, we don't know how much time he has left..."

Pinkie couldn't believe her ears. Their father always seemed to be the invincible pony that never let anything get in the way of his family and his work. If he was ever sick in all the time she'd been at home, he sure didn't show it.

"So now, that leaves us with two problems," Octavia said. "Besides the obvious one, we also have a complication with the farm. It turns out that the deed to the farm is co-signed by Dad and an old business partner. If Dad....well, if the worst happens, the farm will be under his former partner's sole ownership, and he wants a pretty large sum of money to give up his share. So basically, that's why I was hoping to get some work after being seen at the Gala. We need this money so the rest of our family isn't thrown out on the streets."

Pinkie took this all in, trembling. She had been away from her family for so long, and she never would have expected them to come across such troubles. It made her feel even worse for accidentally ruining Octavia's opportunity to play for Princess Celestia. She looked at Octavia, who was starting to lose her composure. Pinkie took a deep breath, then stood up. She had to be strong for her little sister. She was only 2 minutes older than her, but regardless, that made her the older of the two, and she had to keep strong for her. Pinkie trotted over to her sister and put a hoof around her shoulders.

"There there, sis," she said, trying to return to her usual exuberance. "We'll get the money, no worries."

"How?" Octavia asked, her voice cracking a bit. "We didn't even get to play for Princess Celestia, and..."

"Don't worry about that," Pinkie said. "We can earn it in other ways! My friends and I can work something together tomorrow and we'll get it taken care of!" Octavia gave her sister a cockeyed look.

"Pinkie," the gray pony said, "I don't think you understand how much money we need here..."

"And I don't think you understand how super great and awesome my friends are!" Pinkie said, her voice finally making a complete return to its usual timbre. "We'll work this thing out tomorrow, Octavia. Don't you worry!"

"If you say so, Pinkie..." Octavia responded. "But it's really more than..." She was interrupted by Pinkie patting her on the head. It made her smile, despite her sadness. Pinkie used to do that to her all the time back when they were young, and it was refreshingly nostalgic.

"Ooh! I've got a great idea!" Pinkie said, pulling a surprised Octavia out of her chair. "How about you come spend the night with me, and then tomorrow we'll both work things out with my friends?"

"Oh, I don't want to impose..." Octavia started, but Pinkie would have none of it.

"You're not imposing, silly!" Pinkie said. "C'mon! It'll be just like a good old-fashioned Pie slumber party!" Octavia let out a small smile at the mention of this. She did enjoy the slumber parties she used to have with Pinkie and Aquarina.

"Well....alright," the gray pony agreed. Pinkie beamed, her smile hiding her trepidations about her family's situation. Octavia picked her cello up and followed her sister out the door, reflecting on the situation. She never would have expected that this gig at the Gala would have ended up with her staying the night at her long-lost sister's house. She silently doubted Pinkie's ability to help her earn the money needed, as she was a bit...flighty...but it was certainly worth a try.

Chapter 2

Octavia had never really spent much time looking up at the night sky. It was rare that she ever had the opportunity; work would usually last straight until it was time to go inside for the night, and being late was not an option. Of course, it was also rare that they finished their work early, which was the case tonight. She wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to see it tonight, either, if Aquarina had her way. She'd told Octavia to follow her inside so they could get ready for sleep early, but just before she'd entered the house, a tap on her shoulder made her hesitate. The next thing she knew, she and Pinkamena were lying in the dirt, staring up at the sky.

"I don't think I understand," Octavia said, watching her sister's pink hoof wave in the air.

"Well, you have to look kinda closely, I guess," Pinkamena responded. "You see how those stars look like a handle?" Octavia stared up at the stars indicated by the hoof. Her head tilted involuntarily as she tried to see what her sister was seeing. A sideways glance at Octavia's confused look was all Pinkamena needed to realize that her sister wasn't getting it.

"Come on, Octavia," she said. "Look at those stars there, next to the ones I was just talking about. Doesn't it look like the end of a spoon?" Octavia squinted.

"But they're not a spoon," Octavia finally said after some observation. "They're just stars."

"Well, yeah," Pinkamena had to concede. "But it's just the way that they're positioned. You have to use your imagination." Octavia opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a call from inside the house.

"Pinkamena! Octavia!" Aquarina bellowed, loud enough that the two ponies stood no chance of believably pretending not to hear. "Get in here! It's bedtime!" Octavia, not wanting to disobey, quickly rolled to her hooves. Pinkamena sighed lightly and followed suit, her pace a bit more leisurely than that of her little sister.

Three sets of eyes gazed upon the two fillies as they entered their parents' room. The two met the eyes of their parents first. Stern gazes, capable of saying so many words while simultaneously uttering none. Pickerton and Goodie Pie were surprisingly expressive for such solemn ponies, and in cases like this, looks were all that were needed from them. The sisters both briefly considered words of apology for their tardiness, but ultimately decided against them. There was no need to waste any more time. They looked, together, to the eyes of the oldest triplet. They carried the same air of self-importance that they always did upon successfully calling the others out on something they'd done wrong. The two could tell that she had tattled on them for wasting time outside, but said nothing to her either. Calling her out on it would only make them look worse and give Aquarina more ammo against them. Instead, they simply took their places next to her. They were already about a minute late on their nightly ritual.

Aquarina began her part of the song first. It was hard to believe that the pony whose shrill voice had called out for Pinkamena and Octavia moments earlier was capable of producing the sweet soprano that she now displayed. Pickerton's grim stare softened nearly instantly, and Goodie closed her eyes contently. Aquarina continued the gentle lullaby alone until Pinkamena's cue, at which point she joined in with a soft alto harmony. The two sisters, who clashed with each other at every other opportunity, interlaced their voices into a beautiful duet, using this rare bit of cooperation almost as a weapon against their parents' fatigue. They were soon joined by Octavia, doing her best to add her contralto to the mix. She struggled, as she did each night, and garnered the same annoyed side-glances from Aquarina that she always did. As usual, though, her parents seemed completely unbothered, smiling contently at the three sisters. Goodie was asleep by the end of the song, as usual, and Pickerton was on the verge of slumber, keeping himself awake long enough to thank the girls and give them each a kiss before sending them to bed.

"You messed it up again!" Aquarina hissed as the three climbed into bed. "Why do you mess it up every time? Pinkamena and I are always on-key!" Octavia didn't respond, too ashamed to do so. As much as she didn't want to admit it, Aquarina was right. The notes were just too low for her to hit properly. She started to bury her face in her pillow, but felt a hoof patting her gently on the back.

"It's okay, Octavia," Pinkamena said softly. "Maybe if you're having trouble with the notes, you could find another way to do it."

"What do you mean, another way?" Aquarina asked, a bit of venom in her tone. "It's a three-part song. SONG. That means singing, and that's what she's supposed to do, just like we do!" Pinkamena just shook her head and hugged Octavia.

"Sometimes the way you're expected to do something isn't the only way to do it," the pink filly said calmly. Octavia looked at Pinkamena with confusion, a stark contrast to the angry glare Aquarina gave her.

"You're supposed to listen to me!" Aquarina growled, trying her best to keep quiet despite her anger since waking her parents up was a strict no-no. "I'm the oldest! Now...go to bed!" Octavia began to protest, but was met with a gentle tap from Pinkamena's hoof.

"Just let her have this one," Pinkamena whispered. She then turned to Aquarina. "You're right, Aquarina. We'll go to bed now." The blue filly blinked and watched the two lay down, surprised that they actually listened to her, before doing the same herself.

~~~~~~~~~~

Octavia stared up at the ceiling.from her bed. Or rather, from the thing that was meant to be her bed. Pinkie had insisted on Octavia staying in her room with her, but ran across the problem of not actually having a second bed in the room. This meant very little to Pinkie, however, who quickly "solved" the problem with a large pile of pillows. It was a little lumpy at times, but overall it functioned just fine. The gray pony thought about how Aquarina would disapprove greatly of such a concept. She could practically hear her voice ringing in her ears, telling her that what Pinkie put together for her wasn't a real bed and the like, and informing her that she knew better than Pinkie when it came to beds, as well as everything else. She put this thought out of her head, not wanting to get needlessly upset. She'd been on enough of an emotional rollercoaster already.

Octavia stared at her sleeping sister. To say that her first meeting in years with her sister hadn't gone quite as she'd expected was a tremendous understatement. For years, she had been playing the scenario out in her head, anticipating that Pinkie wouldn't care about the fact that she'd left her family. Aquarina always said whenever Pinkie was brought up that she probably didn't care at all about her family or how they were doing, and the more she said it, the more Octavia believed it. Octavia fully expected this meeting, whenever it did happen, to devolve into anger and sadness, but seeing Pinkie react to seeing her with such joy was a tremendous relief, albeit a confusing one that was in direct contrast with everything she'd thought she knew She quietly hummed Pinkie's part of the song they used to always sing for their parents as she watched the sleeping pink pony. A little part of her really wanted to wake her up right then and there and ask her to sing it. She always envied her sisters' voices, but she knew that it would be very selfish of her to wake her up only to...

"Are you awake, Tavi?" Pinkie suddenly asked, nearly causing Octavia to fall off of her "bed" in surprise. "Also is it okay if I call you Tavi? It's a lot shorter!" Octavia pulled herself back up onto the cushions, raising a brow.

"Um...yeah, sure," Octavia said, fixing her mane. "And yes, I'm awake." Pinkie rolled over to face Octavia, beaming.

"I'm not really tired enough to sleep yet," Pinkie said, bouncing a bit on her mattress. "Let's do something!" Octavia looked at the clock. It was midnight. She would normally be asleep by 10:00 at the latest, and would likely be asleep right now if she hadn't had so much on her mind. She opened her mouth to object, but hesitated when she saw Pinkie's excitement. She sighed lightly, then smiled.

"Well..." the musician began. "I kind of did have a little request..." Pinkie stared at her with anticipation as she took a moment to gather her thoughts. "I was wondering if you wouldn't mind singing your part of our song for our parents." Pinkie gave her sister a warm smile.

"I'd like to," Pinkie said, "But even though I'm not tired, my voice kinda is! I did a loooot of singing tonight. But how about you play your cello instead?" Octavia tilted her head, not sure whether Pinkie's voice was really tired or if this was a stalling technique to hide the fact that she didn't remember the song. She wasn't really sure what to believe anymore. However, the idea of playing the cello and showing off how good she'd become was very tempting.

"Oh...uh...of course," Octavia said quietly. She slipped out of "bed" and made her way to her cello case. Pinkie nodded happily as Octavia opened the case and unpacked the instrument. Her mind raced for a moment, trying to figure out what piece to play for her sister. After a moment, she settled upon a decision so simple that she wondered how she could have had any difficulty coming to it. She got off to a quiet start, then crescendoed a bit, playing the part of their song for their parents that she was never quite able to sing properly. Unlike her attempts at singing it, every note as on key, resonating perfectly. She'd had years of practice, after all. Before long, a second sound joined her playing, and Octavia's smile grew as she listened to Pinkie's tired voice hum, in the beautiful alto that she wouldn't allow herself to admit missing for all those years. Octavia had to breathe deep to not tear up; she had remembered her part after all. The sisters continued their duet to the end of the song, their smiles radiating at each other. Pinkie was the first to break the silence.

"You play really beautifully," Pinkie said, a lot calmer than her usual cadence.

"Thanks," Octavia said meekly. The next words spilled out, practically of their own volition. "It's because of you that I could."

"What do you mean?" Pinkie asked, genuinely confused.

"I could never sing my part correctly," Octavia said, laying her cello down in its case. "I thought I was useless and a disappointment. You taught me that just because I can't do something in the expected way doesn't mean that I can't find another way to accomplish it." She bit her lip, looking up into her sister's eyes. "I looked up to you, Pinkamena." Pinkie took this in with mixed emotions. Her proud smile eventually gave way to a frown.

"I'm nopony to look up to, Octavia," Pinkie said meekly. "I abandoned you and the rest of the family. You said it yourself." Octavia winced, the words hitting her like a truck.

"I...didn't mean that, Pinkie," Octavia said, hanging her head. "I said it out of anger, and I apologize." She walked over and sat next to Pinkie. "Besides, it was best for you that you left the farm. A place like that is no place for a free spirit like yours." There was a moment of silence before the sisters embraced in a tight hug, so tight that it seemed almost like it was trying to make up for years of missed ones.

"Goodnight, Pinkie," Octavia said once the hug had ended, heading back to her "bed."

"Goodnight, Octavia," Pinkie responded in kind, rolling onto her mattress. Then, in unison;

"I love you."

Chapter 3

"Woooo! Day off party!"

The sisters had never heard of a day off that didn't coincide with a major holiday like Hearth's Warming. Such a thing was unheard of on the rock farm; their waking hours were typically split between working and eating, with no room for any other activity. Since Pinkie's cutie mark appeared about a week ago, however, their parents had become slightly more lenient. Work days ended minutes earlier, bedtime was pushed minutes back, and on one occasion, Octavia was positive she'd seen their parents show some outward affection towards each other, although she may very well have been seeing things. Perhaps it was that bit of outward affection, though, that had led to today, as Pickerton and Goodie had decided to go on a second honeymoon of sorts, leaving the three young fillies with the house to themselves while they spent the day at Obsidian Lake, a little while away from the farm.

A day off was certainly a new thing for the sisters, and for Pinkamena, a new event or discovery meant only one thing; a party. Her first party had been so successful, even Aquarina had loosened up and had a great time. Since then, she'd made attempts to replicate such a success at every applicable opportunity, and even some that were not so applicable. Her parents, while steadfast in the adherence of her and her sisters to the rules they had placed, wished to encourage their daughter's newfound destiny, even if it wasn't exactly what they'd have expected or even wanted for her. Parties were thrown left and right that week; whether it be for Octavia's newfound interest in playing their mom's old cello, Aquarina's discovery of a geode that led to the earning of her cutie mark, or the simple act of Pinkamena being present for a butterfly hatching from its cocoon, every party was treated with equal enthusiasm by the pink filly. Octavia tried her best to match her sister's effervescence, but such a task proved fruitless.

"Another party, Pinkamena?" Aquarina asked, rolling her eyes. "Don't you think we've had enough parties recently?"

"You can never have enough parties!" Pinkamena replied, her smile radiating in defiance of her sister's grumpiness. "Now c'mon! Those noise poppers aren't gonna pop themselves!" Aquarina glared with disdain at the small, brightly-colored cones in front of her. With a frown, she kicked one over.

"I'm the oldest," Aquarina said. "And I say no noise po-" her sentence was interrupted by a loud burst, as Pinkamena set off a popper right by her ear. Octavia couldn't help but chuckle a bit as the blue filly growled in frustration. She brought a hoof up to hold Pinkamena back, but the energetic little filly was far too quick for her, almost as if the idea of a party fueled her very being.

"Pinkamena!" Aquarina shouted.

"That name is too long!" the pink filly replied with a gigglesnort. "Just Pinkie is fine!" Aquarina made another grab for her, but she avoided it, bouncing high over her head and landing in front of their sister, a noise popper held between her teeth.

"C'mon Octavia!" Pinkie sang around the oral obstruction. "Give it a pop!" She spit the noise popper at her sister, who fumbled a bit before grasping it in her hooves. Octavia looked at the popper, then up to Pinkie, who gave her an encouraging nod. She looked over to Aquarina, whose expression was startlingly grim. She weighed her options for a few moments, looking between her sisters. Finally, she smiled and lifted the popper to her mouth, eliciting a loud "hmph" from the blue filly. She took a deep breath, but then dropped the popper as she was startled by a loud crash from outside.

"Wowie!" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing. "You must have gotten a really strong popper!"

"That wasn't the popper, Pinkamena!" Aquarina said, rushing to the window. "Something's going on outside!" Her sisters rushed up to the window, the three fillies jockeying for position as they all tried to gaze out the window and discover the source of the crash.

"What are those?!" Octavia gasped, managing to get the prime spot in front of the window and gazing out at the swarm of odd creatures that had knocked over one of their rock carts and was heading towards the food barn.

"Those are parasprites!" Aquarina shouted, shoving her way in front of the window. "I've read about them! They're terrible and dangerous..."

"And adorable!" Pinkie bubbled, popping up between the other two and bumping them out of the way. "Look at those eyes! And those wings! They're so cute and colorful..."

"...And they're going to eat all of our food if we just sit here and talk about how cute they are!" Aquarina yelled. Pinkie's bouncing stopped. She was excitable, but not dense.

"Well, what should we do?" Octavia asked, starting to panic.

"Um...the book didn't say," the blue filly sighed. "But they're kinda like bugs, right? So we just need to find some repellent spray!"

"I dunno..." Pinkie said. "I mean they don't look like any bugs I've ever seen! There's gotta be another way!"

"No!" Aquarina shouted. "There's one way, and it's the way I said!" Pinkie paid her no mind, trying to think.

"How about music?" the pink filly offered. "They say music soothes the savage beast, and these things seem pretty savage! Octavia, get your cello!"

"Are you insane?!" Aquarina cried. "We have a swarm of parasprites attacking the farm and trying to eat us out of house and home, and you want to PLAY MUSIC FOR THEM?!"

"Yep!" Pinkie replied with a smile. Octavia stared at the two as they went back and forth. The others were arguing too much, and nothing was being done about the problem at hoof. She took a deep breath; apparently, it was up to her. For lack of another idea, the young pony picked up her cello and bow and headed outside. All arguing by the other two stopped as they watched her make her silent exit, and it took a moment before they ran out after her.

Octavia stood just yards from the swarm of pests, making herself an obstacle between the and the barn. With one motion, she brought the cello down from her back, planting the endpin into the ground. Pulling herself to a bipedal position, she equipped her bow in her right hoof, propping herself up by her left on the instrument's hoofboard.

"Are you seriously going to..." Aquarina started. Her complaints were muffled by Pinkie's hoof. Pinkie nodded to Octavia, who closed her eyes and started to play. Her tempo plodding, her rhythm steady, her timbre strong, she played with all of her ability. Her eyes were tightly shut; she was hopeful that this would work, but still worried that it would fail. Her only indication that her playing was having any effect at all was the fact that her sisters were not shrieking in horror. Finally, a surprised gasp from Aquarina caused her ears to perk.

"I-it's working!" the blue filly exclaimed. Octavia opened her eyes to see for herself, and sure enough, the parasprites were not advancing. It was quite the opposite, actually, as the astonished filly watched the pests bob in unison to the beat of the music she was supplying. She turned her attention to Pinkie, and her proud smile only pushed her to keep it up.

"Ouh! Idea!" the pink one helped. "Follow me, Aquarina! Octavia, keep playing!"

"But I'm the oldest..." Aquarina offered feebly, before withdrawing her objection and following her sister. Octavia was starting to get a bit nervous, as the parasprites' bobbing was starting to become more lethargic. She worried that the menaces were starting to become bored of her playing, and began trying to come up with a backup idea. Such a measure would not be necessary, however, as Pinkie and Aquarina soon returned, armed to the teeth with their mother's other old instruments, relics of her former profession as a music teacher, as well as a large cart. Before Octavia knew what was happening, she and her instrument had been loaded into the cart by her sisters.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Octavia asked, baffled.

"Keep playing!" Pinkie cried out. Octavia righted herself and looked out to the swarm of parasprites. Sure enough, the music's interruption had started to cause unrest among the menaces. Octavia eeped and got right back to her playing, soothing the creatures once more. Pinkie and Aquarina quickly ducked under the twin harnesses in front of the cart.

"Play!!" Pinkie shouted, before moving her mouth to the harmonica positioned in front of it and beginning to blow. Aquarina followed suit, accompanying her with the large tuba that was wrapped around her. Between the two of them, they were playing about 6 or 7 instruments, the majority of them manned by Pinkie.

"Where are we going?" Aquarina shouted over the sound of her accordion.

"Obsidian Lake!" Pinkie shouted. She played a loud note on her trombone, using the slide to point in the intended direction.

"Why are we..." Octavia asked, but had no time to finish the question as the sudden initial movement of the cart nearly knocked her off balance. She used the cello to steady herself, then got right back to playing, the loud resonance of her cello managing to reverberate over the sounds of the other instruments and provide them with their beat. The two fillies in front pulled the cart with ease; pulling one pony and a cello was far less of a strain than the piles of rocks that they were accustomed to. Octavia stared out at the parasprites as they obediently followed the rampaging cart, effortlessly keeping up and eagerly swaying as a whole to the rhythm of the instruments. She watched them, realizing for the first time since this whole thing started that it was she who had initiated this, her original playing that lulled the parasprites into a gentle calm and commanded their attention away from the food that they had been seeking. She sped her tempo up slightly, watched as the dancing of the creatures altered to match it, and listened as her sisters increased their own pace in accordance. Everything felt wholly, singularly right about this. Maybe this was her calling? Perhaps not this exact situation, but the idea of playing an instrument and commanding the attention of audiences and peers alike with the power of her music.

Pickerton and Goodie sat at the edge of Obsidian Lake, where they'd had their first date many years ago. It felt strange being away from the rock farm for such an extended period of time; they typically only went on short trips, and only for essentials such as grocery shopping or medical situations. It was a rare occasion that they took time out of their schedule to relax and enjoy themselves, and even though they loved their daughters with all their hearts, they had to admit that a little one-on-one time was welcome. The happy husband and wife smiled as they stared into each other's eyes, their fixation on each other only interrupted by gazes towards their reflections on the surface of the lake.

"Do you think everything's going well at home?" Goodie asked, breaking the silence. Pickerton smiled, touching a hoof under his wife's chin and raising her attention back to him.

"Our daughters are very mature," he said. "I'm sure they're occupying themselves and keeping everything calm at the farm." Goodie beamed, nodding in agreement. Their faces drifted gradually towards each other's, stopping when their noses were about an inch from each other. It was at that moment that Goodie's ear perked up.

"Pickerton..." she said softly, her smile growing. "I didn't know you'd arranged for live music for our alone time. How sweet..." The stallion paused, tilting his head as he heard what sounded like an orchestra approaching them.

"...I didn't," he responded. The two slowly turned their heads towards the nearby path, where the music sounded like it was coming from. They stared in utter confusion as the Pie triplets' music cart burst onto the scene, a swarm of gleefully-dancing parasprites in hot pursuit.

"Throw me the balloon!" Aquarina bellowed. Pinkie followed her instruction, reaching into the cart and pulling an inflated balloon attached to a harmonica out of it with her teeth. She bounced it sideways to Aquarina.

"Stop playing, Octavia!" Pinkie cried. Octavia did just that as Aquarina undid the knot on the balloon. With all of her might, the blue filly tossed the balloon across the lake. The air expelled from the balloon blew into the harmonica that weighed it down, creating a loud, drawn-out note. The parasprites eagerly followed the new source of music, flying off across the lake until they were out of sight. The fillies in front skidded to a halt, sending Octavia and her cello flying over the front of the vehicle. Pinkie and Aquarina shrieked as their sister was catapulted, and Octavia clenched her eyes shut, waiting for impact with the ground; an impact that never came, as their parents burst into action, mother catching the instrument and father catching the filly.

"WOO!!" Pinkie exclaimed, offering a high-hoof that even the usually-uptight Aquarina couldn't resist returning. "We did it! We did it!! We..."

The two fillies then ceased their celebration, staring at the bewildered faces of their parents, whose date had been interrupted in a way that they never could have expected. Octavia's eyes slowly opened, and she looked up at Pickerton, who looked right back at her. She smiled awkwardly.

"U-um...we can explain..." the gray filly said meekly. "Some parasprites attacked the farm..."

"...And Octavia jumped right in and started playing her cello!" Pinkie bubbled.

"We didn't think we had any repellent spray!" Aquarina added.

"And the music made the parasprites stop so we got this idea to run them off!" Pinkie kept going. "And it totally worked and we saved the farm's food, all thanks to Octavia!" Octavia blinked; it had been Pinkie who had the idea to play music in the first place. Why was she giving her the credit?

"A-actually, it was..." Octavia began. It was then that she noticed everypony's eyes on her. She tilted her head, confused, and followed their stares to her flank, a space now occupied by a cutie mark; a purple treble clef.

"My cutie mark!" the filly yelped. Pickerton's baffled look melted into one of pride as he hugged his daughter proudly. The rest of the family gathered around, congratulating their youngest member on this discovery.

"This calls for a Cutie Mark Party!" Pinkie yelled. "Let's go home!" She turned to leave, then gave a little smile to Aquarina. "See? Sometimes doing things a different way is good after all!" Aquarina stuttered a bit before giving up and following the rest of the family home. Octavia watched Pinkie for the entire walk. She had already admired her sister; with the realization that Pinkie’s lesson had, in essence, earned her her cutie mark, that admiration only grew stronger.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Okay, seriously, where is Pinkie?”

Rainbow Dash flew impatiently back and forth in front of Sugarcube Corner, taking a moment here and there to glare at the closed front door. Their other friends waited with her; although none of them were as open about it as Rainbow was, they too were beginning to get impatient. To be fair, Pinkie had asked them to meet here nearly 15 minutes ago, and they had all been fairly punctual.

“Ah’m sure she’ll be out any minute now,” Applejack said calmly. “We jus’ gotta be patient is all.”

“Patience ended about 10 minutes ago,” Rainbow said, shooting another glare at the front door.

“Ya say it like yer never late fer nothin’,” Applejack retorted matter-of-factly. Rainbow scoffed.

“The Dash is never late,” she said, stretching her wings. “Because the party doesn’t start until Rainbow Dash is here.”

“I’m afraid I must agree with Rainbow Dash,” Rarity spoke up. “About the lack of patience, that is. I mean, honestly, who is 15 minutes late for an engagement that they planned, and at their own home, no less?”

“Come on, girls,” Twilight said, stepping up. “None of us like waiting...”

“Um...I don’t mind waiting...” Fluttershy said quietly, offering a small smile. “At least it’s nice out.” Twilight gave Fluttershy a look..

“...Most of us don’t like waiting,” Twilight corrected herself. “But I’m sure Pinkie Pie will be out any minute. She probably got caught up doing something important.”

Pinkie, meanwhile, was lying on the bedroom floor, under a pile of pillows. After waking up and making breakfast for herself and Octavia, she had told her that she needed to see her in the bedroom for something. Upon Octavia’s entrance into the room, she was immediately assaulted with a barrage of fluffy ammunition. It didn’t take long for the musician to return fire, and before either of them knew it, the pillow war had extended long past the time that the two were supposed to meet the others.

“Hey Tavi, what time is it?” Pinkie asked, poking her head out from her pile of pillows. Her sister poked her head out of her own pile to look up at the clock.

“It’s 10:15,” Octavia replied, starting to push some pillows off of the pile.

“Whoopsie!” Pinkie exclaimed, bursting out of the pile. “We’re late! C’mon!” With that, the pink pony charged into Octavia’s pillow pile, emerging with her sister on her back. The confused musician held onto Pinkie’s back for dear life as she galloped down the stairs and up to the front door, tossing it open and greeting her friends.

“Hi Twilight! Hi Applejack! Hi Fluttershy! Hi Rarity!” the excitable pony said, bouncing around and shaking her sister up in the process. “Hey, where’s Dashie?”

“Right...here...” came the pegasus’s reply from behind the door. Pinkie closed the door to see Rainbow flattened up against it.

“Double whoopsie!” Pinkie said as she peeled her friend off of the door. “Sorry Dashie!”

“Yeah...don’t worry about it,” Rainbow responded, brushing herself off. “So what’s this meeting all about?”

“Oh!” Pinkie said. “Well, it’s about why my sister Octavia is here!” She knelt down to let her sister slip off of her back, an opportunity she took immediately. The attention of the other five ponies turned to her, and she smiled awkwardly.

“Um...yes,” Octavia said, looking between the five. “There’s a bit of a matter that needs discussing...”

“Is everything okay?” Twilight asked, concerned.

“Not exactly...” Octavia responded. Before she could continue, Pinkie stepped in.

“Our mom and dad have been having some money problems,” Pinkie explained. “And the landowner wants to take the farm away, so we need to raise a whooooole bunch of money to buy the farm from them!”

“Oh my goodness...” Fluttershy said. “Um...I would love to help if I could...” The others echoed Fluttershy’s sentiment. Octavia looked at the five ponies, none of which she had even known at all before last night, all volunteering to help without even a second thought. She couldn’t help but smile.

“Great!” Pinkie said, bouncing. “Because I had a perfect idea! I figured we could pool our efforts together and set up an all-day fundraiser festival! And we could get all our friends together and have them do all sorts of things to raise money, and the main event could be a big concert by Octavia and her orchestra, and it’ll be super-fun!” Octavia tilted her head to look at her sister. Had she come up with this on the fly? None of these ideas had come up in their talking last night or this morning.

“What a great idea!” Twilight said. “I’ll start organizing things right away!”

“Ooh, I could auction up my latest designs!” Rarity squealed.

“Ah’ve got some new apple recipes Ah could sell!” Applejack added.

“I guess I could bring some animals by for a petting zoo,” Fluttershy offered.

“I’ll figure something out by the time we have it,” Rainbow shrugged. “And it’ll be totally awesome.”

“And I’ve got some extra books that I could sell!” Twilight said, smiling. “Oh, this is going to be wonderful! We’ll put it on this weekend!” She offered a hug, which Pinkie happily accepted. “Don’t you and your sister worry, Pinkie. We’ll get you that money!”

“Thank you girls so much,” Octavia said, smiling warmly. “Our family would really appreciate it.” Twilight gave her a smile in return.

“Anything for a friend!” the purple unicorn said. She then looked to the others. “C’mon, girls! Let’s start planning a festival!” The others cheered and followed Twilight, as Pinkie hugged her sister. Rainbow, however, hung back.

“Hey Pinkie?” Rainbow said, fluttering up to the sisters. “Uh, is there something else wrong?” It was an oddly intuitive moment for Rainbow, something which Twilight or Applejack might have commented on if they were still nearby. Pinkie, however, paid it very little notice.

“Why do you ask?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head. This question caught Rainbow by surprise; she honestly didn’t know why she asked. She wasn’t used to being in situations like this.

“Uh...I dunno...” Rainbow responded, rubbing the back of her mane. “I just kinda thought you seemed a little quieter than usual, and...”

“Awww!” Pinkie squealed. “I knew you cared, Dashie!” Rainbow’s cheeks turned bright red, and she chuckled lightly. “You’re right, though. Our dad’s a little sick. But it’s nothing serious.” This made Octavia blink; had Pinkie really just lied to her friend? Pinkie once again seemed to pay this no mind as she then patted Rainbow’s head.

“I knew I couldn’t hide anything from a smart cookie like you!” the pink pony said, beaming. Rainbow blushed a bit.

“Heh...yeah!” Rainbow said. “Finally, SOMEPONY says it! I’ll see you later, Pinkie!” With that, the pegasus zoomed off. Pinkie smiled her infectious smile as her sister looked at her, confused.

“Pinkie, why did you say...” Octavia started, but Pinkie placed a hoof over her mouth.

“Did you see how happy it made everypony to know they were gonna help our family?” Pinkie asked. Octavia tried to answer, but her mouth was still covered, so she simply nodded.

“Well,” Pinkie continued, “I sorta figured that knowing how serious things were with dad would make them sad, and I didn’t want to ruin their happiness, you know?” With that, she lowered her hoof and bounced back inside. Octavia just stared, stunned by Pinkie’s selflessness. Even now, she was still learning from her.

“So do you have any preparations to make for the festival?” Pinkie asked as Octavia followed her through the door. “I bet your bandmates are gonna be really happy to help!”

“They probably will,” Octavia replied. “And I’ll send letters out to them immediately. But I have a much more pressing issue to take care of.”

“What’s that?” Pinkie asked, head tilted. Octavia took a deep breath.

“I have to bring Aquarina here.”

Chapter 4

There had been a point where the Pie family thought they'd seen the worst that Pinkamena's newfound talent had to offer. They all believed after that first week that the middle child of the family had reached her apex as far as her propensity for partying went, that she would wear herself out and calm down, at least to the point where the others could manage to live their everyday lives without too much interruption. Things were sure to go back to normal, just as they had been prior to the rainbow that exploded in the sky.

That was a month ago. Since then, the family had endured more parties than any of them had encountered in the rest of their lives. It made no sense whatsoever to Pinkamena's family. Nopony they'd ever known had such insatiable effervescence. Nopony should have been able to exert themselves as much as Pinkamena did and still be capable of standing at all, let alone bouncing about as she always did. Yet she was. It didn't matter how raucous the parties got. It didn't matter how many there were, or how little time there was between them. Somehow, defying all logic, she was always ready and raring to go, with little to no sign of fatigue. Octavia would often try to keep up, making her best attempts at being her minutes-older sister's shadow, but it proved to be an impossible feat, and the gray filly would eventually be left in the same place as Aquarina and their parents; watching helplessly as the pink party dervish rampaged cheerfully on, leaving naught but streamers, balloons, and confetti in her wake. There was no way that the Pie family could go on living like this. One side would eventually have to give.

"Pinkamena Diane Pie!" Aquarina's shrill, no-nonsense voice rang out, using her sister's full name for emphasis just as their parents would. "What in Celestia's name is wrong with you?"

Normally, this might not have been a question that was worth listening to. After all, she'd ask this kind of thing at the smallest sign of something being out of the ordinary. This time, however, it was just a bit more warranted. The current party had started out innocently enough; shortly after the triplets' parents had gone out for the day, Pinkamena had happened upon a rock that was shaped like a heart. This, naturally, excited the easily-excitable filly, and with that, the "Rock of Love" party was underway. At first, the other fillies had enjoyed it. Octavia was helping decorate and dancing around as much as her little hooves would allow. Even Aquarina had enjoyed it at first, an event which may have been spurred on by being put in charge of judging the rock-carving competition. If there was one thing that placated Aquarina, it was being given control over something. It didn't take long for her to protest, though, as the party got more and more out of control. First it was the music being too loud, which put Aquarina straight into bossy mode. Then it was the confetti spilling out of its designated area and getting all over the place. Octavia was still on board for fun at that point, but when Pinkamena's dancing nearly knocked over one of their mother's favorite vases, even she had to admit that perhaps some calming down was in order. The event that had caused Aquarina's latest outburst, though, was Pinkamena's entrance into their parents' bedroom. Their parents' bedroom was strictly off-limits.

"Wheeeee!" Pinkie shouted, bouncing around the bed, trailing streamers behind her. She had toppled head-over-hooves into the party zone, and even though her sister knew there was very little chance of snapping her out of it, she was going to try anyway.

"Pinkie, I think that's enough..." Octavia offered. There were rare occasions where Octavia was the only pony who'd be able to rein Pinkamena in when she got like this. Unfortunately for her, this was not one of those occasions.

"Octavia, don't even bother!" Aquarina groaned. "She's clearly gone insane." The gray filly frowned; she didn't want to agree with her bossy sister, but she couldn't help but admit that things with Pinkamena had gotten out of hoof to a startling degree. Part of her wanted to go and pull her sister out of the room. Maybe some physical restraint would help calm her down and bring her out of this frenzy. Try as she might, though, neither she nor Aquarina could bring themselves to enter the forbidden land known as their parents' bedroom.

"Wanna see how high I can bounce?" the unstoppable pink pony asked, her gaze turning to the bed.

"NO!" Octavia and Aquarina shouted in unison. The question seemed to be a rhetorical one, though, as Pinkie's next leap landed her square in the center of the mattress. The two sisters watched in helpless terror as she bounced over and over, the carefully-made bedsheets thrown into disarray. The blue and gray fillies looked at each other, met in a rare moment of complete and utter agreement; they had to stop their sister before their parents got home.

Pickerton and Goodie Pie had just finished up a very nice, very relaxing day. Normally, they would have taken their daughters with them on one of these excursions to Ponyville, but they had chosen to go alone this time. After all, the surprise candy they'd purchased for them wouldn't be much of a surprise if they were right there when it was being purchased. Plus, the occasional time to themselves wasn't exactly unwelcome. It was relaxing to spend time alone with each other, but any relief that they'd gotten from this little bit of relaxation was quickly dashed as they stepped into the house and beheld the sight that lay before them. It looked as if a tornado had blown straight through their living room. Confetti and streamers adorned every piece of furniture in their sight. A pin the tail on the pony board had been drawn onto the back of some of their important documents. The trail of destruction led upstairs, and the two made haste in following it, arriving at their bedroom just as Octavia and Aquarina were about to step into it. The two fillies froze in their tracks. Each tried to speak up, but a stern look from Goodie silenced them. Pickerton stepped around the two to get a good look at his bedroom. He was a stallion whose face rarely showed emotion, but that day, anypony who was paying attention could easily see his anger rise.

“PINKAMENA DIANE PIE!” His voice rang out, loud and fierce, causing Octavia and Aquarina to tremble. They couldn’t remember ever hearing their father yell that loudly. Even Goodie flinched. Pinkie stopped bouncing immediately and turned to the doorway, smiling in defiance of her father’s anger.

“Ooh!” Pinkie giggled. “Hi dad! Hi mom! You came home early to come to the party, didn’t you?” She began to bounce again, but was intercepted in midair by her father. In one quick motion, she was spun around and brought face-to-face with a very upset Pickerton. The voice he spoke with next, an eerily even tone, was arguably more terrifying than his shouting.

“Everypony. Family room. Now.” Everypony obeyed. There was no other viable option.even

The three sisters watched their father pace back and forth. Their mother stood aside, saying nothing. The tension was palpable, the silence deafening. Even Pinkie, rarely able to sit still, said nothing. It was a good minute before Pickerton finally spoke.

"Pinkamena," the patriarch of the Pie family began. "For over a month, our family has done its best to allow you to be yourself and embrace the destiny that your cutie mark has beseeched upon you. We did this so you could be happy, but now, things have gone way too far. We can't allow things to continue in this fashion."

"But daddy, she was just..." Octavia began, but a stare from both Pickerton and Goodie silenced her.

"I tried to tell her not to..." Aquarina said confidently, thinking that siding with her parents would put her solidly in their favor, but she too fell silent as her parents gave her the same look they gave Octavia. In a vast change from the usual, Pinkie was the quietest of the three. Pickerton turned his attention back to her. Despite the anger that was evident in his tone and mannerisms, the pain from what he was about to say was clear. He didn't want to make his daughter sad, but certain measures had to be taken.

"The family and the farm have put up with enough," he continued. "There will be no more parties on my property."

The room couldn't possibly fall any more silent than it already was, but somehow, it felt like it did. Goodie lowered her head, feeling bad about the decision but finding herself unable to disagree with it. Aquarina, on the other hoof, looked absolutely relieved, perhaps even glad. Octavia's lip trembled; sometimes the parties could be a little much, but they made Pinkie so happy, and she liked to see Pinkie happy. She turned to see Pinkie's reaction, and the sight of her made her heart sink. Pinkie's usually-poofy hair and tail had fallen flat, as if they were balloons and the air had been taken out of them. She watched as Pinkie slowly got up out of her seat, dragging her hooves towards the stairs. The habitual bouncing that she'd taken up was nowhere to be seen. She had been sapped of her special talent, and by extension, her joy.

"Aren't you going to make her clean up after herself, daddy?" Aquarina asked, feigning innocence over her clearly cold-hearted question. Pickerton turned his head and watched his usually-exuberant daughter make her sad ascent up the stairs. He had honestly expected her reaction to his ruling to be more heated. His heart wasn't prepared for the despair that she had displayed. He sighed, deep and pained.

"Your mother and I will clean," he said. "I think Pinkamena has been punished enough."

Bedtime came about an hour after. It was the first time since they began doing it that Pinkie did not join her sisters' nightly ritual of singing for their parents. Aquarina had protested, saying that she had to join them, but Pickerton said that she was excused for the night. Both sisters had attempted to go see how Pinkie was doing, but they had been told by their parents to let her be. The two went to their separate rooms for bed immediately after their song, but sleep would not find Octavia so easily. She tossed and turned, before finally deciding that she needed to check on Pinkie. She had been told specifically not to, and leaving her bedroom for any reason other than a bathroom visit was strictly prohibited to begin with, but the situation was writing too heavily on her mind for rules to be much of a concern. The filly quietly made her way out of bed and to the door, careful not to open it too fast, lest it hit against the wall. She approached Pinkie's door, and was surprised to see that her light was still on. A gentle nudge was all it took to push the door, already open a crack, aside.

Octavia gazed upon the sight that lay before her, not knowing how to react. There Pinkie sat, in the middle of the room, a toy tea set laid out in front of her and what looked to be her "guests." The pink filly was flanked by a wagon wheel and a bag of oatmeal, and seated across from them were an unlit candle and a stack of rocks. Octavia silently slid into the room and nudged the door closed, watching the scene from a distance.

"More tea, Bernie?" Pinkie asked, before moving a hoof to manipulate the candle.

"That would be lovely!" Pinkie responded for the candle, using a Fancy accent.

"Yo, I want some too!" the rocks were made to say. Pinkie gleefully acquiesced and poured some invisible tea for the two.

"Hey, why does Rocky get tea before me?" the wheel questioned.

"I'm sorry, Admiral Wheelberg!" Pinkie quickly responded, pouring "tea" for it.

"I want apple cider instead!" the oatmeal was made to say. Pinkie responded with a gigglesnort.

"Oatmeal, are you crazy?" the pink filly laughed. Octavia, meanwhile, had seen enough. She made her way cautiously over to her sister.

"Pinkie?" the gray filly whispered. Pinkie whirled around to meet her gaze.

"Hi Octavia!" Pinkie responded, not bothering to whisper. "Did you want some tea too?"

"Um...n-no," Octavia said. Pinkie drooped a bit.

"I understand..." she replied sadly. Octavia frowned, but then smiled slightly.

"I was just wondering if you wanted to have a slumber party," she asked.

"B-but that's a kind of party..." Pinkie answered. "And I'm not allowed to..." Her response was interrupted by a gray hoof on her mouth.

"I promise I won't tell," Octavia said. "As long as we make it a very quiet, very neat party." Pinkie's mane and tail suddenly poofed back up, and she grabbed her sister in a big, happy hug.

"Thank you, Octavia," she said, giving her sister a nuzzle. "I knew you'd be here for me. My Pinkie sense told me."

"....Your what?" Octavia asked. Pinkie giggled quietly.

"Never mind," she said with a smile. "I knew you'd be here for me, and that's all that matters." She gave another warm nuzzle. "And I'll always be here for you too."

~~~~~~~~~~

It was a beautiful day in Ponyville. It had to be, after all; Rainbow Dash had called in a favor with the weather team to reschedule the storm that had originally been planned for today. Normally, she wouldn't try and get the team to adjust their plan. Regardless of her usual carefree attitude, she knew how important it was for them to adhere to a strict weather schedule. Today, though, was a special occasion. She couldn't let the big festival get rained out. Pinkie always worked so hard to make everypony smile; her personal goal today was to make Pinkie smile ten times bigger than she'd ever made her smile before.

Pinkie was indeed smiling as she bounced about the festival. As soon as news spread about the festivities, nearly everypony in town had stepped up to do their part. She gave a smile to Carrot Top and Berry Punch, whose booths were situated right next to each other. The two were holding a friendly competition to see whose smoothies would sell better. At the moment, the berry smoothies were in the lead, but the carrot smoothies were making a steady comeback. Across from them stood Bon-Bon's candy stand. In a rare change, Lyra, her ever-present marefriend, was nowhere to be found. It was understandable, though; she was probably practicing, due to having been asked to join Octavia's orchestra for the big performance tonight.

Pinkie bounced up to Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Granny Smith, who were manning their apple cart. She stopped and flipped a few bits into the collection basket before grabbing herself a delicious apple fritter.

"Hi Applejack!" Pinkie said cheerfully, taking a big bite of the fritter. "How are things going over here?"

"Shoot, Ah'm jus' pleased as punch with these sales!" Applejack responded, giving the collection basket a hearty shake and pointing out the sound of a large bounty of bits shaking within. "Ah'm happy ta report that t'day's sales're blowin' mah Gala sales outta the water!" She then blushed slightly. "Not that that's really much'f a feat."

"Aw, it's okay, Applejack!" Pinkie responded, finishing the rest of the fritter off with one big bite. "Those Canterlot ponies didn't know what they were missing!" She flipped another ten bits into the basket, then snatched up a pie.

"That's only seven bits, Pink!" AJ told her friend.

"I know!" Pinkie responded before bouncing off. Her next stop was the booth set up by Rarity. Unsurprisingly, her booth was the most lavish one in the market, colored fabrics and flashy baubles grabbing everypony's attention. The pink party pony poked her head into the booth, just narrowly ducking under the feathers of a large hat being tried on by one of Rarity's customers.

"Hi Rarity!" Pinkie said. "I see things are tres magnifique in here!"

"Why Pinkie Pie!" Rarity responded, looking up from the project she was working on; a custom scarf for Blossomforth, as was obvious by the cutie mark embroidered on the end. "I was not aware that you spoke Fancy!"

"Oh I don't!" Pinkie giggled. "Just that phrase!" Rarity smiled back to her.

"I have been working nonstop," Rarity said. "And I could not be happier. Such inspiration! Such appreciation! My stars, business has been simply booming!"

"Great!" Pinkie answered. "Keep up the wonderful work, Rarity! And have some pie!" She tossed a paper plate with a slice of apple pie over to the seamstress, wincing as its landing caused it to stain a lovely roll of white fabric. She offered an earnest "sorry" to the unicorn, but she would have none of it.

"The stain...it speaks to me!" Rarity exclaimed. "The placement...the color...I can work with this! Apple stain shall be the new trend! I shall alert Applejack immediately!" Pinkie just laughed and turned to head to her next destination, a trip which was interrupted by the need to duck under a speeding Rainbow Dash. She watched as Ponyville's fastest flyer skidded to a halt about ten feet ahead of her.

"Hi Dashie!" Pinkie called. "Thanks so much for arranging a nice day for today!"

"No problem at all, Pinks!" Rainbow responded, waving a hoof. "Anything to help you!" Pinkie beamed. She found it a little odd when Rainbow asked her to smile bigger, but was happy to do so.

"Whatcha doing?" the pink party pony asked.

"Oh, you're gonna love this," Rainbow said, hovering and smiling as if she'd had the best idea ever. "I'm charging ponies to race me, and if they win, I pay them double their investment!" Pinkie tilted her head.

"But aren't you worried about if you lose?" she asked. Her attention then turned to a panting Silver Speed, who had only just made it up to the group. Rainbow looked to Silver, then to Pinkie.

"Yeaaaah, I don't think that'll be a problem," Rainbow said matter-of-factly. Pinkie just smiled and passed her a slice of pie. She then took one more look at the exhausted Silver and gave her a slice as well. The happy pink pony continued on her way, stopping to watch two little fillies running eagerly. Ruby Pinch and Noi had become nearly inseparable since Berry (Ruby's mom) and Carrot (Noi's sister) had gotten together. Pinkie decided to follow them wherever they were going, which ended up being the petting zoo that Fluttershy had set up. The pink pony poked her head into the tent, getting a good look at the scene. Fluttershy had brought so many of her animals to town for the event, and all the young ponies couldn't be happier. Even a couple of adults were paying up to enjoy the experience.

“Hi Fluttershy!” Pinkie bubbled. “I see business is booming!” The shy pony looked up and gave her friend a warm smile.

“Um...yes,” Shy responded, nodding. “It’s wonderful...and the young ponies are being so careful with the animals...I was worried that they would get spooked.”

“The ponies or the animals?” Pinkie asked with a giggle. The yellow pegasus giggled lightly in response. Pinkie grinned and passed her a slice of pie before exiting.

Pinkie’s next planned stop was Twilight’s booth, but before she could make it there, she found herself distracted by a small table set up amidst the larger ones. She bounced up to it, giving a happy greeting to the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“Hey girls!” Pinkie said cheerfully. “Whatcha got going on here?”

“Oh, this is an Anything Booth!” Sweetie Belle said, beaming..

“What’s an Anything Booth?” the pink pony asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“Well,” Scootaloo answered. “We figured that helping out was a really easy way to figure out what our special talents were!”

“So we got this here booth set up,” Apple Bloom continued. “An’ ponies can come up an’ pay us money ta do anythin’ they want us ta, so we can find out whether it’s our special talent!”

“It was my idea!” Sweetie informed Pinkie proudly. Pinkie stared at the three fillies for a few seconds.

“...Well just be careful with that!” Pinkie offered. A slice of pie went to each filly, and then she was on her way once more.

Finally, Pinkie arrived at Twilight’s booth. She looked around at the stacks of books set up behind the booth, giving a warm smile to Twilight and Spike, who had just finished up with a customer.

“Hi Twilight! Hi Spike!” Pinkie said, bouncing up and leaning on the counter. “How’s business going over here?”

“It would be better if Twilight didn't keep backing out of sales,” Spike told her.

“Well...they keep wanting to buy my favorites...” Twilight said, smiling awkwardly.

“You have multiple copies!” Spike insisted, causing the purple unicorn to blush, embarrassed.

“Aw, it’s alright!” Pinkie said. “You’re doing the best you can, and that’s all that matters!”

“Exactly!” Twilight said, as Spike moved aside to talk to another pony who’d approached the booth.

“I can’t even tell you how much this all means to me, Twilight,” Pinkie said, calming down a bit. “Everypony has been so helpful today!” She glanced at the final two slices of pie; she’d really wanted a little for herself, but still, she slipped the two slices into plates for Twilight and Spike.

“Pinkie, you’ve already done so much for the residents of Ponyville,” the purple unicorn told her. “We’re all very happy to help you and your family.” She then tilted her head, having remembered something. “Where’s Octavia, by the way?”

“Oh, she went back to the rock farm to go talk to Aquarina,” Pinkie said. She seemed not to think much of it, but the response threw Twilight off.

“Pinkie...” Twilight said, raising a brow. “Why didn't you go with Octavia?” Pinkie’s smile faded slightly.

“Um...well, I’m not really sure if Aquarina would want to see me,” Pinkie said with a light sigh. “And I’m sorta nervous about seeing my parents...” Twilight nodded slightly, though she didn't seem completely convinced.

“Well...” Twilight started, trying to figure out how to word this best. “I mean, I understand, Pinkie Pie, but I really think you should see your parents while you can. Not to be a downer, but there might come a time where you won’t be able to see them anymore.” Twilight looked down towards her pie, blissfully unaware of how blunt she’d been with her last comment. It wasn't until she noticed the first teardrop splash onto the counter where the pink pony stood that she realized her error.

“...Pinkie?” Twilight asked, looking up into watery blue eyes. “What is it?” Pinkie’s smile had faded, and she was trembling. Before Twilight knew what was happening, Pinkie had spilled the truth of her father’s condition. By the time she’d finished, tears were streaming down her cheeks. Twilight hugged her friend tightly, giving her mane some comforting strokes.

“Oh my gosh, Pinkie...” Twilight said softly. “I...I’m so sorry...”

“I didn't want to tell anypony and ruin all the happy energy going around...” Pinkie whimpered. Twilight lit her horn up and dabbed at Pinkie’s eyes with a handkerchief. Part of her was amazed that Pinkie would withhold her own tragedy from her friends just so they could be happy themselves, but upon further consideration, it really wasn’t much of a surprise at all. Twilight found herself at a loss, not knowing what exactly to say. In the end, she figured that maybe cold, hard facts could be set aside for a moment, and chose to say nothing. Sometimes words were unnecessary; just being there for her was all that was needed.

“...Please don’t tell the others,” PInkie pleaded, pulling back and looking into Twilight’s eyes. Twilight nodded without hesitation.

“I won’t,” she told her friend.

“Cross your heart, hope to fly?” Pinkie asked.

“Stick a cupcake in my eye,” Twilight finished. The two shared a long, much-needed hug. Spike, who had just finished with his customer, turned to witness the hug. He considered questioning it, but backed off and let it be. He wasn't sure what it was about, but something told him it was best not to interrupt.

Chapter 5

She believed her. She really did. After all, she'd never been given a reason not to.

The week hadn't been kind to poor Pinkamena. She had never seemed quite content to just work on the farm, but it was easier back then. Back then, it was all she knew. She had no clue what she was missing by going on with her usual routine, and barely had an idea that she was missing anything at all. Now, she had experienced true happiness and joy, found her life's purpose, and gotten used to her new path in life. And then, in one swift moment, it was all gone. One couldn't even say that everyone had gone back to the way it was, because there was one vital, glaring difference. Some ponies, waxing poetic, would say that to never know happiness would be preferable to finding it and having it taken away, and such was the case with the poor pink filly. It was evident in everything she did. Her work suffered, she would often keep silent even when allowed to speak. She'd still sing her part of the sisters' song for their parents just fine, but her heart clearly wasn't in it.

Octavia was the only one who would see her happy at all during that week. Each night, she would wait for their parents and Aquarina to fall asleep before sneaking out of her room to join Pinkamena in hers. Each night, she would poke her head into her sister's room, and Pinkamena's face would instantly transform. Away went the gloomy haze that surrounded her, replaced by the sweet, cheerful grin that Octavia had become used to since the day that the rainbow exploded in the sky. It might not have been as big, as glowing as it was when she would throw her own parties, but it was there nonetheless, and that was all Octavia wanted. At first, she was surprised that she was even able to coax it from her. Octavia was no master of throwing parties, and truthfully, her slumber parties, in her opinion, sometimes didn't even really deserve the "party" moniker. In Octavia's limited experience with parties, she knew them to be loud and raucous, two words which certainly could not appropriately describe what Octavia was doing for her sister. Their parents and sister would certainly be woken up by any loud noise, and that was not something that they could let happen. Octavia was also no good at coming up with activities for the two. Most party games, from what she knew, involved more than two ponies. Octavia's ideas were usually limited to minor things, such as telling fairy tales to each other. Sometimes she wouldn't even have an idea at all, and they would be stuck just sitting there and talking. Regardless of how boring Octavia thought her ideas were, though, Pinkamena would always give her her most appreciative smile, hug her tightly, and thank her before the two drifted off to sleep. Truthfully, that was all that Octavia could ever want. Her sister had promised to always be there for her, and she wanted to make sure to do the same for her.

She was as surprised as anything after that seventh night of doing this when she woke up to find Pinkamena not in the room. The two of them, since starting this, had been waking up a few minutes before the family, so Octavia could sneak back to her room without anypony finding out what they'd been doing. The gray filly searched every corner of the room, in case her sister was hiding and waiting to surprise her or something, but found no trace of her. She checked the bathroom, only to find it unoccupied. She even checked her own room, though she could not think of a reason for Pinkamena to have gone there. She was starting to get very worried, and despite the risk of waking her family, decided to head downstairs and see if she had perhaps snuck down for a bite to eat. Quickly, yet still quietly, she scampered down the stairs, only to find that her efforts at stealth had been for naught, for there were her parents and Aquarina, gathered around the dinner table. Octavia skid to a halt, looking like a deer in the headlights as her family turned to look at her. She expected looks of anger, or at the very least disappointment, so her surprise upon finding them with sad looks on their faces was palpable.

"...Has anypony seen Pinkamena?" Octavia asked tentatively. Pickerton sighed a heavy sigh, then motioned for her to come join them, which she did without hesitation. She looked around at her family. Even Aquarina seemed down.

"Wh-what's wrong?" Octavia asked, afraid of what the answer might be. She'd never seen such a look of sadness shared by her entire family before, and it was making her very nervous. Her parents gave each other a look, before passing a sheet of paper over to their youngest daughter. Her small hoof received it, pulling it closer to have a read. She already knew who it would be from, but the pink stationery that it had been written on would have made it evident if it were not already.

Dear Family,

By the time you read this, I will already have left, as I cannot continue to stay here under

these conditions. I don't blame you for this at all, as I know my behavior made things hard for you,

and that it was the only decision you could make. I've decided to go out on my own to follow my

destiny. I still love all of you very much, but in the end, I think it's better for all of us if I leave.

Octavia stared at the note in silence, unable to find words appropriate for the situation. Her parents sensed her sadness, and Pickerton rested a hoof on her back, but she swiftly pushed it away.

"Why didn't you stop her?!" Octavia shouted. She had never raised her voice to her parents before; doing such a thing was strictly forbidden. It was all her mind would allow her to do, though. "You could have stopped her from...from..." She shook with sorrowful rage, unable to continue. Both Goodie and Aquarina wore expressions of shock, but Pickerton simply sat there.

"I couldn't have stopped her if I tried, Octavia," he answered, a hint of sorrow to his tone. "With the way things were, it was bound to happen. Despite her obsession with partying, Pinkamena is old enough and mature enough to make her own decisions." He moved in to place his hoof on his daughter again. "I'm sorry, Octavia. We miss her too." Once again, his hoof was shoved away by the confused, hurt gray filly. She opened her mouth to respond, but couldn't speak around the sobs that threatened to show themselves. In a flash, she slid from her chair and ran upstairs, slamming her bedroom door behind her. The Pie family patriarch let out another pained sigh, as his wife placed a hoof on his.

Octavia cried in her room for what felt like an hour, although she wasn't exactly sure how much time had passed. Why didn't anypony stop this from happening? How had she not even heard Pinkamena leave? She wasn't exactly a light sleeper, but surely that would have been enough to wake her up. And why didn't Pinkamena even wake her up to say goodbye? She was risking getting the both of them in trouble by setting up these slumber parties for her sister each night; the least she could do was give a proper goodbye. But there shouldn't have been a goodbye at all. Octavia's sorrow began to give way to twinges of anger and frustration. Pinkamena had said that she would always be there for her, and despite her flighty behavior ever since discovering her cutie mark, she had believed her. And now she was gone. Gone, without a trace. No hint on when or if she was coming back. Not even an address to reach her at. Just gone.

The gray filly looked up as her bedroom door opened. She expected one or both of her parents, but was met with the face of her remaining sister instead. She rubbed her eyes and sniffles as Aquarina approached, hopping up onto the bed with her.

"I'm sorry, Octavia," Aquarina said softly, patting her on the back. "I know what it meant to have Pinkamena here to be there for you." Octavia whimpered, moving closer to Aquarina as she opened her forelegs for a hug.

"I-it's not fair..." the gray filly whined as she was embraced by her sister.

"Shh, shh," Aquarina whispered, stroking her sister's mane. "I know. It isn't fair at all." Octavia closed her eyes tightly, letting her sister comfort her. It was rare to see this side of Aquarina, uncommon to hear her voice in a soothing tone, rather than a demanding or even mocking one.

"I-I can't believe it..." Octavia continued, shaking a bit. "She didn't even leave a way to contact her..."

"I know, I know," Aquarina cooed, hugging her tightly. "It wasn't right of her to abandon her family like she did." Octavia looked up at the word "abandoned." She mouthed it, her voice box not seeming to want to use it in reference to Pinkamena. It just didn't seem to fit. And yet...

"But I'll never abandon you like that, Octavia," Aquarina whispered, giving her a sisterly nuzzle. "I always told you that Pinkamena was irresponsible. I'm just sorry you had to figure it out this way. But don't worry. I'll be here for you." With that, she let go of the hug and slid off of the bed. "You just come back to my room whenever you need me, okay?" She gave Octavia a smile, then exited her room.

Octavia sat there, letting this all sink in. Maybe Aquarina was right this whole time...she'd never have believed it before, but then again, she'd never have believed that Pinkamena would...abandon her. She felt her chest tighten up, feelings of sadness and depression fading, replaced by feelings of resentment, thoughts of betrayal. How could Pinkamena do this to her family...to her? Did she even care about them? No, of course not. If she had, she never would have abandoned them like this. Small gray hooves threw the first thing they could reach: a little twig diorama that Pinkamena had made for her of the two of them during one of her "Celebrating Sisterhood" parties. She watched the memento careen across the bedroom and hit the wall, breaking in two, separating the two stick ponies in an accidentally appropriate fashion.

She had believed her. She really had. After all, she'd never been given a reason not to. Clearly, she'd been wrong in doing so.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Absolutely not."

Two words that Octavia had hoped not to hear, but expected all the same. After all, she hadn't seen Pinkie since she left home, and had nothing on which to base a sudden change of opinion towards her. She looked quietly at her sister, who sat across from her. The years had changed Aquarina quite a bit. Of the three sisters, she was the most well-built, having taken on Pinkie's part of the physical work once she left and Octavia's after she decided to devote her time to her music. After their father became ill, she slowly started taking on his work as well. She had welcomed her destiny of working on the farm, but her sister could still see the resentment in her eyes from time to time. Resentment of Pinkie for leaving, just as Octavia had once harbored, and perhaps even resentment towards Octavia for going down her own path. If that existed, though, she'd never said a word to Octavia about it. Once Pinkie had left, Aquarina had admittedly been a model sister. Her bossy nature still showed, but she had shown a new, kinder side to accompany it, something that Octavia had really needed after Pinkie's departure. She lent her an ear to listen to her problems, a shoulder to cry on, and anything else she could want within reason. Forgiveness for Pinkie, however, seemed to fall outside that realm.

"But why, Aquarina?" Octavia asked, even though she knew the answer. She tried to continue, but Aquarina's rising voice cut her off.

"She left of her own volition," Aquarina hissed, her brow furrowed. "She could have stayed here with the rest of the family, but she left. She abandoned us, Octavia, and I don't have time for somepony who doesn't have time for us!" She accentuated this by pounding a hoof on the table that separated them, causing a small, jagged fissure to form from the point of impact. "Don't forget, you felt the same exact way about her until now!"

"You don't understand, Aquarina," Octavia responded, trying to keep her own temper down, away from the levels to which her sister's had already elevated. "I spent the last couple of days with her, and she's really changed a lot. I mean, she's still a crazy party animal, but she's definitely matured since she left."

"It's hard NOT to mature from the way she was acting before she left!" Aquarina retorted, crossing her forelegs. "And mature or not, that still doesn't change the fact that she doesn't give a flying feather about her family!"

"But that's not true!" Octavia answered, her own voice beginning to raise despite her efforts to level her tone. "She was happy to see me, and as soon as I told her about Dad, she wanted to help! She organized an entire fundraiser in Ponyville to raise money for us! How is that not caring for her family?" Octavia took a deep breath. She didn't like to shout, but she couldn't help it. She watched her sister for a reaction, hoping for one of resignation. Her spirits lifted as Aquarina sat there, looking as if she was trying to contemplate Octavia's point. It wasn't long before her bravado returned, albeit a bit diminished.

"Well," Aquarina asked, "if she wanted to reconcile so badly, then why didn't she come here with you? Why do you have to drag me all the way to Ponyville?" Her tone had softened a bit, as if she was trying to pose the question not only to Octavia, but to herself.

"She was helping to organize the fundraiser," Octavia answered.

"And another pony couldn't do that?" Aquarina responded. Octavia sighed.

"For some reason," she told Aquarina, "she was convinced that you and our parents wouldn't want to see her." Octavia sat back, waiting for Aquarina's snappy retort. After a moment of silence, she looked at her sister curiously. Aquarina was a bit of a loudmouth; it wasn't like her to not offer any form of comeback. In fact, something definitely seemed off in general about her demeanor. In the years since Pinkie had left, Aquarina had really stepped up as a support for her. Like their father, she rarely showed signs of weakness, so much that Octavia had practically forgotten what it was even like to see a crack in her armor. Yet she sensed something in Aquarina now, something that she was desperately trying to hide.

"...Aquarina?" she asked tentatively. The blue mare sat silent, staring down at the table.

"...I'm sorry, Octavia," she finally said, her voice showing the slightest signs of shaking.

"No, I understand that you're still upset," Octavia responded. "But if you just..."

"That's not what I meant," Aquarina interrupted. She looked up, confusing Octavia with a pained expression.

"Then what?" she asked. Aquarina let out a deep sigh, and the floodgates opened,

"I was always jealous of what you and Pinkamena had," Aquarina admitted, trying but failing to keep herself composed. "You always looked up to Pinkamena, always followed her around...and I wanted that. I wanted to be the one you looked up to, but it was always her."

"Aquarina...that's not true..." Octavia answered, taken aback by this revelation. "I looked up to you too."

"But it never felt like it," Aquarina responded, the shakiness in her voice growing. "I know I'd often come off as bossy, but I just wanted to be the responsible one. But you always went with her and her silly ways, and it just...it really hurt. I know you didn't mean to hurt me, but..." She couldn't finish her thought, too choked up to continue. Octavia could barely find words herself. Aquarina had never spoken a word of this to her, or to anypony else as far as she knew.

"...But why are you telling me this now?" she asked softly. Another deep sigh from her sister.

"Wait here," Aquarina said, and headed upstairs. Octavia did just that, racking her brain to try. And figure out what it was that Aquarina could have gone upstairs for. She wasn't left much time to think, though, as her sister returned, carrying with her a small piece of stationery. She sat back down, placing the paper on the table.

"I'll understand if you hate me after reading this," she said, refusing to make eye contact as she slid it across the table. Octavia took it in her hooves. She instantly recognized the worn pink stationery as she started to read.

To Aquarina: we've had lots of differences, but that doesn't change the fact that I'll always love you. To

Octavia: I'm so sorry that I broke my promise to always be there for you. I just hope you can forgive

me. Please keep up the cello playing and follow your dreams. With your talent, there's no way you can

fail. If anypony wants to reach me, I'm heading to Sugarcube Corner in Ponyville. I've heard they're

looking for an apprentice. I'll understand if you don't want to write, though.

Love always, Pinkamena Diane Pie.

"It was a two-page letter," Aquarina said, having lost all semblance of trying to keep her emotions in check. "I woke up early that morning and found it...I was just so angry that she left, and resentful that she wrote more to you than to me, and that all combined with the jealousy ...it was too much. I took the second page and hid it, then woke our parents up and showed them the first page." She wiped a tear from her eye. "I thought it was a great idea...that it would finally make me feel like you looked up to me, and let me be the good, responsible sister that I wanted to be...but all it did was make me a terrible sister to you, and to Pinkamena too. I'll understand if you never want to speak to me after this...I deserve it."

Octavia sat there, stunned. No, stunned wasn't the word. Hurt. She thought back on all the years that she'd spent stewing over things, letting her feelings of anger towards her estranged sister fester, and worse yet, having those feelings validated by Aquarina. All this time, Aquarina had reminded her of a betrayal that was more severe than the reality of the situation, used it against her to fulfill her own needs. She wanted to be mad at her. She wanted so badly to leave the farm right then and there, to make her feel the pain that she'd had to deal with all these years because of her. As she looked into her sister's eyes, though, she realized that she just couldn't do it. Their parents had always taught them that two wrongs did not make a right. Even though what she did hurt, in some fashion, she had done it to get closer to her. Aquarina's methods were flawed, but in truth, even though Octavia wasn't quite as at fault, she also could have been better to Aquarina. She could have shown her some more respect than she did before Pinkie had left. Maybe if she had, none of this would have happened. She watched Aquarina sigh and get up, and realized that she had stayed quiet for too long.

"Aquarina, wait," Octavia called to her. She watched as her sister turned to look at her again. Despite her tough exterior, Octavia looked at her and saw a little filly who just wanted her sisters' admiration.

"You don't have to say anything," the blue mare said. "I did a terrible thing to you and our entire family."

"What you did was bad," Octavia responded, trotting up to meet her. "But you're still my sister, and I still love you. And while we might not be able to fix what was done, we can do our best to make up for time lost by it." She embraced her sister, who wrapped her in a tight return hug. "I love you unconditionally, and you've got another sister in Ponyville who does as well." Aquarina nodded her consent.

"I guess it's about time for a reunion."

Chapter 6

"I'm worried about her, Carrot."

To be fair, Cup Cake was a chronic worrier. She worried about nearly everything, whether her worries were warranted or not. She had worried about what her family would think when she married Carrot. She had worried about starting their business venture in Ponyville. She worried each and every time a recipe didn't come out perfectly. Her worries were often silly, and Carrot would do his best to comfort her and tell her gently that she didn't need to worry. This time was a little harder.

Taking in a pony as young as their newest apprentice was a questionable practice in itself. Besides the difficulty of working around child labor laws, dealing with a filly that age would have been trying under normal circumstances. This filly was like nopony they'd ever dealt with before. Pinkie Pie was a constant ball of energy, always running around and wearing the two out, and at times calming her down seemed like an insurmountable task. They couldn't get upset with her for it, though. It was even harder to be mad at her than it was to calm her down. She was unstoppable, but her unstoppability was partnered with unending cheeriness. She brought smiles everywhere she went, a trait which the customers of Sugarcube Corner appreciated greatly. Even when a bout of overexcitement resulted in a mess in the kitchen or a ruined display, Cup and Carrot couldn't bring themselves to stay mad at that cheery pink pony.

There was only one time each day (other than her bedtime) at which Pinkie was not leaking effervescence. Every single day at 12:00, she'd stop whatever she was doing. Even if she was right in the middle of something, she'd drop everything. She would head straight outside to the mailbox and proceed to sit still and wait for the mail to arrive. She would do this every single day, telling the Cakes that she was hoping to hear from her family. Every day she would wait, and every day she would end up disappointed. Her disappointment wouldn't last terribly long; she'd be back to her normal self within minutes. Still, those few moments were torture for both her and the Cakes. To see such a happy pony in such a state of depression was horrible, and they were thankful that it only lasted a few minutes.

The two ponies watched from the window as Pinkie sat by the mailbox, just as she'd done every day for the past three months. The Cakes watched the mailpony approach, and felt anticipation build up within themselves. They'd become nearly as emotionally invested in this as Pinkie, hoping that she'd finally get the letter she was waiting for. They watched, unable to hear the conversation through the glass, as Pinkie hopped up and questioned the mailpony excitedly. Their hearts sank along with Pinkie's as the mailpony gave her a deeply apologetic look and shook his head. Even after the mailpony left, the dejected pink pony sat and stared at the mailbox, her ears drooped. The Cakes gave each other a look.

"Do you want me to go talk to her, pudding?" Carrot asked. Cup shook her head.

"We'll both go talk to her," she responded. Carrot nodded solemnly, and the two headed outside, joining the filly on the lawn.

"Are you okay, Pinkie?" Cup asked. Pinkie looked up at her with big filly eyes.

"They're not writing back, are they?" Pinkie asked, a hint of pain in her voice.

"Pinkie, don't..." Carrot started, but he too was silenced by the filly's sad gaze.

"They're better off without me, aren't they?" Pinkie asked, clearly not expecting an answer. She sniffled once, and the couple wrapped her up in a tight hug. The little filly whimpered softly in their embrace, taking in their affections for a good minute before letting go.

"You can let it all out if you're angry with them, sweetie," Cup told her, patting her gently on the back. Pinkie shook her head.

"I'm not angry," she said. "I'm sad, but if they're really better off without me there, then I'm happy that they're happy. And if they decide they want to see me again, then that's great. But if they don't, then that's okay too, as long as they're happy."

"That's very mature of you, Pinkie," Carrot said, ruffling her mane. "Come on inside. We'll make you a nice batch of cupcakes, alright?" Pinkie nodded, and Carrot lifted her up onto his back, leading the group inside.

Pinkie didn't wait by the mailbox the next day.

~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn't like Octavia to be late. At least that was what the other members of her orchestra had told Pinkie. According to them, Octavia was often the very first to arrive at any of their engagements.

"Calm down, Pinkie," Twilight told her friend, in an attempt to be helpful. "I'm sure everything is fine, and she'll be back any moment."

"But what if she doesn't come back?" Pinkie asked, panicking. "What if she got home and tried to ask Aquarina to come to Ponyville but she said no and then she asked again and Aquarina got mad and used a hypnosis machine on her to make her forget that I was her sister and then she told her that some other pony was her sister and then it became true and that other pony became Pinkie Pie and then I had to change my name since there can be only one Pinkie Pie so I had to take the other pony's old name and it was something like Burlap which doesn't even fit me at all and then you and the girls all decided to be friends with new Pinkie Pie instead of poor old Burlap? What then?!"

Twilight stared at her for a moment. Part of her was very confused, but at the same time, it was a bit of a relief to see Pinkie acting more like her old self again. A serious Pinkie Pie was something she wasn't used to, and a sad Pinkie Pie was something she wanted to avoid at all costs.

"That won't happen, Pinkie," Twilight finally answered with a smile. She wrapped a comforting leg around Pinkie. "And besides, we'd all be friends with you even if your name WAS Burlap." The pink mare smiled and hugged back, giving her dear friend an appreciative nuzzle.

"This is all very touching," Frederic interrupted from his piano bench, the slightest hint of derision in his voice. "But the fact remains that this is very uncharacteristic of Octavia. I do hope nothing's happened to her."

"I'm sure she's fine!" Pinkie said cheerfully, in direct contrast to her worries from mere moments ago. This contradiction confused Frederic and the other members of the orchestra, but to Twilight and her friends, it was nothing out of the ordinary for Pinkie Pie.

"Well, I certainly hope you're right," Frederic said. "We're supposed to be going on in about five minutes." The ponies looked up at the clock, and sure enough, time had passed far quicker than they'd expected. Pinkie poked her head through the curtain to get a look at the audience. The little concert area they'd set up in town hall was filling up fast. The rest of their good friends filled the VIP seats in front, save for one strangely vacant seat. Pinkie gave the crowd a smile and a wave before retracting her head from view.

"There are a LOT of ponies here!" the pink party pony told the others. "Practically everypony in Ponyville! The only ponies I can think of that are missing are..."

"Us?" came a voice from the entrance. Pinkie whirled around to meet Octavia's voice, and her smile grew even wider when she saw a bulky blue pony following her.

"AQUARINA!!" Pinkie shouted. In a flash, she cleared the room and pounced on her estranged sister. Aquarina, for her part, was bewildered. She'd had a feeling that Pinkamena would be accepting of a reunion, but time away from her sister's exuberance had removed its familiarity. Her first instinct, unearthed from her behavior as a filly, was to make a comment about how Pinkamena needed to calm down. She quickly decided against such actions, choosing instead to wrap her long-lost sister in a tight embrace.

"Pinkamena..." Aquarina sighed, running one hoof through her poofy mane. "I'm so sorry..."

"For what, nearly crushing me?" Pinkie asked with a giggle. "You've really put some muscle into your hustle!" The blue mare blushed lightly.

"We'll, I have been doing most of the work around the farm for a while now," Aquarina said, giving her one more squeeze before letting go. "But that's not what I meant. I wanted to apologize for..."

"I know, I know," Pinkie said. "For being a bit bossy when we were young." She booped Aquarina's nose with a hoof. "It's okay. I understand. You were only trying to look out for us. I forgive you, and I still love you." Aquarina smiled slightly. Pinkamena was saying most of what she wanted to say for her. There was still the matter, though, of her biggest wrongdoing, and there was no possible way that Pinkamena would be able to get this one. She looked at her estranged sister, trying to figure out how to tell her about the years of betrayal and secret-keeping.

"W-well...yes, that's part of it," the blue mare said, feeling a lump rise in her throat. "But what I really need to apologize to you for is..." Pinkie put her hoof up to Aquarina's mouth before she could continue. Aquarina looked into her eyes; there was a look of peace and love in those baby blue eyes, a look that stopped her dead in her tracks.

"I don't care, Aquarina," Pinkie said quietly. "Whatever it is, I don't care right now. Right now, I'm just happy to have both of my sisters back." Aquarina bit her lip, feeling tears coming on. She wrapped Pinkie and Octavia up in a big group hug, one which both mares were happy to reciprocate. The hug lasted for a good while, and even Twilight felt herself begin to tear up as she watched the reunited sisters hold each other close. She wanted to join in,but figured it was best to let them have their moment by themselves.

"I'm really sorry to break up this happy moment," Frederic said, giving Octavia's shoulder a nudge. "But it's time we went on. We don't want to keep the crowd waiting." Octavia gasped as she realized what time it was, and squirmed to try and get out of the group hug.

"I'm sorry, girls," Octavia said, trotting over to her cello case. "We'll all catch up after the concert, alright? Besides, that'll give you two some time together." Aquarina smiled and nodded, giving her a wave to go ahead. Pinkie, however, stopped her.

"Ooh, before you go!" the party pony interrupted, holding her back. "I still feel really really awful about ruining your opportunity at the Grand Galloping Gala, sooooooo I called in a favor!"

"What do you mean?" the confused gray mare asked.

"You'll see~!" Pinkie responded in a singsongy tone before grabbing her older sister. "C'mon Aquarina let's go!" In a flash, the two of them, as well as Twilight, had absconded to take their seats. Octavia and her band mates gave each other a look, before letting it go and heading out onto the stage. It didn't take Octavia too long to see what Pinkie's called-in favor was. She felt her knees go weak as she looked out into the crowd and saw none other than Princess Celestia sitting front and center alongside Pinkie, Twilight, and their friends. One look at her bandmates showed that they had a very similar reaction. Pinkie simply gave her sister a big smile and a "go ahead" gesture with her hooves.

"F-from the top, everypony," a newly-nervous Frederic instructed the rest of the orchestra. Octavia readied her instrument, mouthing a "thank you" to her sister. The musician drew her bow along the cello strings, filling the little concert area with her passionate music. She had always been talented with her instrument since she'd began to work with it, and her passion for it was always evident, but she could swear that something felt different about this time. Her heart was always in her music, but for the first time in a good while, perhaps since before Pinkie had left home, her heart truly felt whole.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Mom! We're home!"

Octavia and Aquarina were in a state of jubilation, and for good reason. Things were finally looking up for their little family. Both sisters had finally reunited with their estranged third, an occurrence that neither of them had expected to happen at all. They planned on surprising their parents by arriving home with Pinkie in tow, but Pinkie had opted to lag behind, promising that she would arrive shortly after. Neither of them had a problem with this; they had a lot of news to surprise their parents with, after all, and this gave them the opportunity to save the best for last. Finding their mom didn't take very long at all, as she met them outside hers and Pickerton's bedroom.

"Thank goodness you're home," Goodie said before the two could speak. "Your father's...y-you should come in and see him, right now." Her voice cracked as she spoke, and the two sisters looked at each other, worry setting in. That tone of voice could only mean one thing. The two entered the bedroom without hesitation, followed closely by Goodie.

Pickerton looked up from the bed. He smiled gently at his daughters, trying to look as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Such an illusion was impossible to pull off, however,. His hollow breathing was more evident than it had been in the last few weeks, and his attempts at ignoring the pain he was feeling only barely masked it. He feebly waved the family over. He hadn't been able to sit up properly for the last few days; this wave was the best he could muster.

"How was your trip to Ponyville?" he asked his daughters, his voice raspy.

"I-it went well, father," Octavia said, giving him a smile and reaching out to touch his foreleg. "The fundraiser was an amazing success...we earned enough bits to buy the farm."

"That's wonderful news, Octavia," the Pie family patriarch said, his smile growing. "I knew you girls could..." His sentence drifted away as he coughed, causing the mares to worry.

"A-and that's not all," Aquarina added, trying to bring the positivity back into the room. "Octavia's orchestra's been hired by Princess Celestia. They're going to be her personal orchestra for all royal events!" Their father's smile filled the room.

"That's my girl," he said quietly, rubbing her hoof. "It was only a matter of time, right?" Octavia nodded, biting her lip. She didn't like to show her sadness in front of her father. He needed all the smiles he could get.

"And we found-" Octavia began, but her sentence was interrupted by a cough.

"Girls..." Pickerton said weakly. "I love you so much..." Aquarina's hoof quickly joined Octavia's on her father's foreleg. The sisters huddled close to him, joined by Goodie.

"I don't have a lot of time left, girls..." Pickerton told them. "Please...I want to hear your song one more time." Octavia, fighting desperately to keep from crying, nodded and quickly took her cello out from its carrying case. She worried to herself about Pinkie, hoping she would be able to make it in time. She looked to Aquarina, and the look on her face told her that she was thinking along the same lines. Another cough broke them from their thoughts. Without another moment's hesitation, Aquarina began to sing her part. Her voice was slightly shaky, but still she sang as best she could, her beautiful operatic soprano ringing out. Octavia, taking a moment to wipe her eyes, brought her bow down, providing the bassline. Pickerton laid his head back on the pillow as the two harmonized flawlessly, pouring their emotions into their performance. Still, it was lacking one element.

As if it had been timed perfectly, the bedroom door creaked open. Goodie covered her mouth with a hoof, feeling tears form instantly as the pink mare poked her head into the room. She gave her mother a warm smile as she made her way up to her sisters. She opened her mouth and added her alto to the piece for the first time in years. Pickerton's ears perked up, and he turned to face the girls. As soon as he saw her, his eyes went wide.

"...Pinkamena..." he whispered, feeling his eyes water as well. Pinkie's voice trembled as she sang her part alongside her sisters, but still she pressed on, offering one hoof to her father. He took it, his grasp much more feeble than she'd ever felt it. The sisters continued their song for their parents, Aquarina taking it upon herself to hold their mother, who had succumbed to sobbing moments earlier. It was the first time in years that all five members of the immediate family were together, and by the time the song came to a close, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. The pink mare smiled to her father.

"Hi daddy," she said quietly. Pickerton just stared at her for a few moments, before pressing his front hooves against the bed. The rest of the family watched in wonder as he managed to summon up the strength to sit up for the first time in days.

"I missed you so much, Pinkamena..." he whispered. With that, the floodgates opened. Pinkie felt like a little filly again as her father and mother hugged her, tears cascading down her cheeks. Her sisters soon joined in, their little family reunited once more.

"I missed you all so much too," Pinkie said through sniffles. "I'm sorry I left, but..." Her sentence was cut off by her father covering her mouth with a hoof.

"Don't be," he told her, taking her hoof in his. "You needed it...and I can't tell you how proud I am of you for going out and following your dreams."

"I love you, daddy," Pinkie told him.

"I love you too, Pinkamena," he responded. "I love all of you." Pinkie felt his hold on her hoof begin to loosen. Her hoof shook and tried to reach for his again, but his hoof fell limp as he lay back on the bed and closed his eyes, a content smile on his face.

Epilogue

The Pie family rock farm was not accustomed to so much company. The farmhouse itself was a small building, barely big enough to properly suit the full family of five back when they were all living there. In the last two weeks, however, it had been host to many visitors. Today was no different. Pinkie had brought her five closest friends from Ponyville to visit, and Octavia had invited her bandmates as well. It was a day of celebration, after all, and a celebration wasn't a celebration without good friends and family to celebrate with. It was only moments ago that the papers were officially signed, entrusting full ownership of the farm to the Pie family. Pinkie had collaborated with Mr. and Mrs. Cake to make the perfect cake for the celebration. The giant rock-shaped cake was so perfectly crafted that it had nearly tricked Goodie. With Octavia leaving the farm to live in Canterlot, Aquarina would be keeping control of the majority of the work on the farm, although fellow farmer Applejack had offered her help if she could fit it into her schedule. It wasn't much of a surprise to Pinkie that the two of them became fast friends.

Aquarina finally told Pinkie the truth behind the lack of communication from the family about earlier in the day. Even though Pinkie had told her not to worry about it on the day of their reunion, the guilt was too much for her to bear. It didn't go flawlessly, nor should it have. Pinkie was hurt by the revelation, but it didn't take much for her to forgive her sister. She had just gotten her back, and she wasn't willing to lose her again. Besides, to paraphrase what her father had said years ago after the ban on parties in the house, Aquarina's guilt had punished her enough. Today was not a day for hard feelings. Today was a day for celebration and reminiscing.

"Remember the time you led the whole family in the Pony Pokey?" Aquarina asked, nudging Pinkie and chuckling.

"Oh gosh, I remember that," Octavia chimed in, grinning. "I could barely do it. I'm no dancer."

"Oh, you were better than your father was!" Goodie laughed. "That is, after Pinkamena spent about 20 minutes convincing him to join in!"

"Totally!" Pinkie agreed. She then nudged Aquarina back. "And I remember YOU complaining near the end!" She broke into an imitation of Aquarina. "Pinkamena, that's enough dancing! I don't want to put my whole self in anymore! My whole self is staying out!" The entire group laughed, including a now-blushing Aquarina.

"Well...I was tired!" the blue mare answered.

"We were all pretty tired," Octavia agreed. "Except for Pinkie. She never gets tired as long as there's still partying to do!"

"Youuuuu know it!" Pinkie answered, ruffling her sister's mane. The group shared another laugh.

"You know, Pinkamena," Goodie said, once the laughter had quieted down. "Your father would always talk about you." She sat down next to Pinkie, wrapping a foreleg around her. "He missed having you here so much, but he was so happy that you were out in the world, doing what made you happy." Pinkie beamed, feeling a couple of tears coming on. It wasn't the first time her mom had told her something along these lines, but it made her just as happy each time. Luckily, she had friends who could sense when she needed them most, as Twilight and Rainbow both moved in to be close to her in case she needed them. The party pony smiled wistfully as she looked towards the porch, over to the vacant rocking chair that her father used to occupy when he was done with his part of the work. She took a deep breath, keeping her smile up. She may have been away from home for a long time, but it still hurt her to think that he would never sit in that chair again.

"How's everypony doing out here?" Pickerton asked as his aide pushed his wheelchair out to join the party.

Doctors had been positively baffled at the old farmer's sudden recovery. Nopony could properly explain it. Most ended up agreeing upon the fact that he was just a tough old stallion who wouldn't give up the ghost without a fight. The family, however, believed otherwise. He certainly wasn't out of the water and still didn't have all that much time left, but the light in Pickerton's eyes when Pinkie returned was like nothing the family had seen in him in a long time. Perhaps it didn't make sense from a logistical standpoint, but when Pinkie was involved, sometimes it didn't have to.