Pinkie held her sister's hoof tightly while the doctor spoke. He spoke vaguely of the disease and what had technically happened, but seemed to be avoiding the ending, the punchline. He was flowering up all the bad things with scientific jargon to distance himself and the more he talked the more worried they got. He was obviously avoiding something and if a doctor had a hard time saying something it couldn't be good. Inkie had a year's worth of experience to testify.
Seeing the impatience on their desperate faces, he decided to drop straight to the point.
"I'm sorry, but with our knowledge of the disease, we never had a case that lasted longer than five days after it hit this stage."
All the doctor could say was, "I'm sorry..." after delivering the news. For a moment Pinkie had almost hoped it was some sort of sick joke, but the look on the doctors's face spoke no clearer a truth. It was an empty hope anyways.
Her eyes had been on her sister since he started talking, looking for any emotion she could spot, so that she may comfort her immediately or even preemptively, but saw none. All she could tell was that Inkie had been staring at the yellow balloon in the corner of the room behind her. She was quietly listening to every word he said without a single reaction. She had been quiet all morning and for the past few days. In recent memory she had been less talkative and Pinkie knew it was because of the pain. So silence was what she endured. Pinkie had slept in the hospital room over night and they knew it wasn't going to be a great day, but never did she imagine this, not now, not this soon and not so little time.
As soon as she heard the life expectancy she was on, she looked down at Pinkie with a look of mild shock on her face. He left them alone in the room and in that silence. As the clock ticked on the wall, that look of shock slowly grew into one of fear and sadness. She closed her eyes and silent tears fell. She shook a little bit as her breathing became erratic, but the pain kept her from exerting herself too much. Pinkie joined her sister, her sobs being only a touch louder.
Pinkie was the only one who came to Inkie regularly. Her parents had taken Blinkie and traveled far away. Pinkie had sent out letters to find them when Inkie was diagnosed, but was unable to track them down. Sometimes, her friends would come and visit out of sympathy for Pinkie, but they were always unsure of how to react. They had only known Inkie as a patient and not as a pony who was truly "alive" so to speak. Their trips were awkward because they didn't know how to connect with her and almost every time, failed at pretending that the situation wasn't nearly as depressing as it was. So it was just her and Inkie together and alone.
Pinkie came around to see Inkie as much as she could, but couldn't always make it. Life happens sometimes and whenever it did, Pinkie would be forced to rush in late to one of their "parties," apologizing over an over. Inkie would just put on that "don't worry about me" smile and tell her that it was okay if they rescheduled. It broke her heart every time and Pinkie would promise to throw an extra fun party for her next time.
Pinkie hated that smile, the "don't worry about me" smile. Some ponies told her that a smile was a smile, but Pinkie knew a real smile from a suffering smile. Whenever Inkie was in pain, she'd put that smile on, whenever their time had to be cut short, she put that smile on and whenever Pinkie left, she put that smile on. She hated seeing that smile, more than anything. Nothing broke her heart more.
She didn't always put it on though. Sometimes Pinkie would see a real smile, the kind of smile that she lived for. They might be reading a really good book together and something completely unexpected would throw them for a loop and they'd be glued to the book, unable to put it down for hours. Pinkie Pie called that a Creeping Smile, one that slowly works it's way up your face. Sometimes Pinkie would tell her a funny story about her friends and they'd be on the floor laughing until their sides hurt. That was the what she called the Grand Smile, a smile that just keeps smiling and smiling. Yet it was nothing like the Pure Smile.
It was a smile that even Pinkie didn't see very often. It's appearance varied from pony to pony, but she knew it when she saw it. It was a sense of happiness couldn't be described.
Pinkie didn't see any of those smiles now, not even the "don't worry about me smile". They instead cried the tears that they needed and the tears Inkie rightfully deserved. Pinkie didn't like to think of sadness as a part of life, but it often was, and she wasn't going to keep it from her sister.
*
"You just forget about what that silly doctor said, okie dokie lokie?" Pinkie determinedly said through tears a few hours later, still holding her sister's hoof..
She decided that she was going to make these last few days matter. She was going to make sure that Inkie died with a great, big super funtastic smile on her face and nothing was going to stop her from finding happiness for her sister.
Inkie was sobbing heavily. Tears flowed freely from her deep amethyst eyes. She looked miserable, depressed and above all else, terrified. She listened desperately to her sister, absorbing every single word she said. She was silent for a second.
"I-I-I'm g-going to die..." Inkie finally choked out. She flung herself at Pinkie, "I'm so scared Pinkie! I don't want to go... I don't want to leave you..."
"No no no! You're gonna get lots better and we're gonna have all sorts of super fun parties, you got that little missy?" Pinkie's tone did not waver. She knew that in her heart, she needed to believe her own words for Inkie to.
Inkie's began to break down further and her timid voice fell through it. Small remnants of her usually sweet and kind voice peppered the sobs. It was heart-breaking, but Pinkie stayed strong.
"First we gotta calm down, can't have any fun with all this crying, so let's read that book you really like." As the words left Pinkie's mouth she knew how cheap they were. They had read the book in question at least thirty times. Inkie put on that smile again.
Stop it. Stop smiling like that. Smile for real.
Pinkie watched her sister cry and knew that she'd never have another real smile again. This wasn't how she wanted her to go out, depressed and suffering in a downright dreadful hospital room. So much pain had taken place in that room that she knew that if she'd stay there she'd die with a tear in her eye, a heart in pieces and that smile on her face. Spending the last few days doing the same things that she'd done for the few months wasn't happiness. Maybe she'd laugh a few times and maybe they'd play a game, but she'd still put that horrid smile on. Pinkie had to step it up, she'd need a miracle to make this work.
"Actually you wait here, I'm gonna go get a friend. I promise I'll be right back." She kissed Inkie on the forehead and wiped the tears from her eyes. They truly were gems.
Using her amazing Pinkie speed, first she dashed to Sugarcube Corner to tell the Cakes she wasn't going to be coming in all week. When they saw the usually euphoric mare, wracked with concern and worry, they didn't ask why, they knew it was important. They gave her two of their most gourmet cupcakes as she left, the cupcakes they saved only for royalty. It was their unspoken way to tell her that she could take as much time as she needed. Tearfully accepting them, she dashed out and made her way to Twilight's library.
"Twilight! Please I need your help!" Whenever Pinkie needed help, barely understood the question and had not a clue of the answer, she went to Twilight. Most ponies did.
"Oh hey Pinkie! Shouldn't you be at the hospita--" When Twilight saw Pinkie and her messy mane and tired face, she dropped the book she was levitating as her eyes grew wide. "Oh my stars...Pinkie, what's wrong? What happened? Tell me everything is okay with Inkie?!" Twilight asked frantically. Of all of Pinkie's friend's Twilight was closest to Inkie because of all the books they both read. Inkie would regularly check books out from her library.
"There's not much time. Quick I need to know if there is any possible way to make her healthy again, even for a short time..." Pinkie was unemotional and to the point.
"I've already tried everything I know. I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do... Why? What happened?"
"She... doesn't have much time left... things got worse." Pinkie was still trying to remained focused, but it wasn't easy. Thinking about her sister alone in that room waiting to die fractured her heart and resolve. "I needed to know if you could help make her remaining time, better..."
"I'm so sorry Pinkie... Give me a moment..." Twilight thoughtfully paced on the upper level of the library. Something crossed her mind. It was a curse that she had always theorized about using, yet never had the grounds to.
"I have one idea, but it isn't safe and I've never done it before. There is this curse that returns youth to a pony at the cost of half their remaining life," Twilight said heavily. She wasn't even sure that she was okay with the existence of such a spell, let alone the ability to use it, especially on one of her best friend's sisters.
"Do it." Pinkie said flatly. Pinkie knew that for a fact that two days of the best time of her life would be better than four days of bittersweet suffering.
Twilight blinked stupidly at the mare of parties. She wasn't sure if Pinkie was the best pony to make this sort of call. They were playing dice with somepony's life and the heaviest decision she ever saw Pinkie make was punch choice at her parties.
"Are you sure? Shouldn't you ask Inkie first?"
"No, we're not gonna tell her. Just come with me back to the hospital and do the spell."
"I really think we should ask her first... it's not really a simple decision..."
Pinkie let out a slow sigh. She really didn't want to argue about this.
"Twilight, what do you enjoy more? Studying your brains out all week or going on a vacation with your friends and having fun?"
Twilight considered the notion. It was a reasonable, if not overly simplistic analogy, but she still hesitated. These were some big moral questions they were talking about. The value of life and time were about as meaningful as they can get, and talking about them in such a practical way without understanding them seemed despicable. The vitality of youth for half of a pony's life? Twilight needed to more time to think, maybe there was a philosophy book she could read on the matter. Pinkie couldn't waste another moment.
"She's afraid Twilight... She's so afraid. Like we all are. Do you want to die? Cause I sure don't. Thinking about the dying hurts and it's all she does. If you tell her, then she'll spend these last few days afraid. She'll let it stop her from having the funnest time she can," she explained with steadfast tears. "She deserves the greatest going away party ever..."
Pinkie wasn't always the most reasonable pony, but there were a few things she understood with perfect clarity.
How to smile and how to make other's smile.
"Twilight let her think that she's getting better. She'll never smile more. I mean really, being told you're going to die in five days and then suddenly getting better, what could b-be bet-tter than that?" Twilight couldn't help but share her friend's tears. She really cared for her sister and was ready to make the deep calls alone.
Twilight couldn't in her right mind make such a meaningful decision. If she was going to do it, she should probably do it as soon as possible, but there was such a heavy conflict. It was so wrong yet so right what Pinkie was asking for.
Buck it.
"Race you to the hospital," Twilight surrendered. If anyone accused her of inappropriate use of magic than she'd just deal with it. Obviously it was important to Pinkie, so it was important to her.
Pinkie's eyes lit up and she dashed out at her usual, legendary speed. That was all she wanted, it didn't matter how long her time left was. A single day of pure happiness and hope was better than a week of suffering. Pinkie was going to get her out of that bed and on her hooves again.
Twilight knew that she only had a few seconds to beat Pinkie there. She took an old dark tome off the shelf and powered up her teleport spell. She vanished in a flash of light.
*
They stood outside Inkie's room. Twilight quickly skimmed the spell. She knew it well enough as she talked to the princess quite often about it, Celestia had invented it herself. She felt a strange level of excitement finally being able to use.
"Hey Twilight do you think you can do the spell in a way that won't be obvious?" Pinkie asked as Twilight closed the book.
Pinkie had given this a lot of thought and it was clear that Inkie was the only thing on her mind. Her ruthlessly direct mentality was actually endearing to Twilight. She wondered if Shining Armor would be able to make the hard decisions like that. Twilight smiled a solemn smile. Pinkie could read Twilight's mind through that smile.
"I'm all that she has Twilight. She needs me right now and I'm sure that if I was in her situation she'd do the same thing for me" Pinkie's cheery face fell to a bittersweetness. "I can make any pony in Ponyville smile and I can't even make my own sister smile... Some sister I am."
Pinkie let loose the weakest laugh Twilight ever heard from the Element of the Laughter.
Twilight gave her an understanding smile. "Well what about those cupcakes on your head? I could enchant those so that when she eats them the spell will be quietly set off in her. But it might take more time to set in. She wouldn't feel it until tomorrow." Twilight saw a conflict because she might want to give Inkie more youthful time at the cost of letting her know that magic has been cast on her. If they waited, then Inkie would be completely in the dark with less time.
"Enchant the cupcakes." Pinkie said, almost snapping at her. Twilight was taken back a bit. Despite the tender moment they were sharing, Pinkie had this grand plan all in her head and it seemed like she expected everypony to know what she was thinking instinctively.
"Alright miss demandy pants." Pinkie gave her a sorry look and Twilight lightened her expression.
Twilight stood back and focused. Her horn glowed it's usually purple and she felt herself stiffen. She moaned quietly in tension, mouth slightly agape. She imagined the cupcake as her target and as the spell continued, she began to choke. As if the life and magic inside her had reached a bottle neck, the energy stopped for a second. She made a few guttural noises and forced it through. A small ball of white light popped out of her mouth and into the cupcake. It flashed green as it absorbed the magics and then was still. As soon as it was over, Pinkie burst in the door.
"Look who's here!" she said cheerfully as she entered, bouncing about like her old self. Pinkie recognized Inkie's eyes and knew she had been crying while they were gone. She had a real smile on her face when she saw Twilight come in. She was the closest thing she had to a friend other than Pinkie.
"Oh hey Twilight. Come to get your book back?" Inkie asked innocently, as though she hadn't just been told that she was going to die in a few days. Nothing was wrong and her smile showed it.
"Oh no, I was just in the area and decided to drop by. Pinkie said you were having a party and it sounded like fun!" Twilight threw on her most sympathetic smile of false excitement. Amateur...
Indeed the room was almost permanently full of balloons and streamers with some portion of a small cake on the nightstand and a music player in the corner. Pinkie always did her best to bring as much of a party with her where she went, but something about this party felt old and unwanted.
"You bet," she replied weakly.
"I went down to Sugarcube Corner and Mrs. Cake gave me these super delicious cupcakes! I had one and thought, you know who would really like these? Inkie would, since you know cupcakes so well. I mean they're the best cupcakes I ever had and I know A LOT about cupcakes. So I dashed on back and ran into Twilight and now we have a super funtastic party!"
Inkie let out a fake giggle. Pinkie cringed.
"We'll see about that, I'm sure they're not better than the MMM."
Pinkie had regularly brought her work back to Inkie. Over time she had become an expert in baked goods, sampling and rating them in several different categories. It was one of the few things they shared.
"You two go ahead and eat them, I already had four and couldn't have another bite," Pinkie said to Twilight and Inkie, rubbing her tummy.
Twilight levitated a cupcake to Inkie who happily snatched it from the air and smiled. It did look really good and something about it seemed extraordinary just from the way it felt in her hooves.
"Cheers," Inkie proclaimed holding her cupcake up to Twilight's.
"Cheers." They tapped cupcakes.
They spent the rest of the night reading the best books Twilight had in her library. Laughing and smiling. Pinkie could see the life come back to Inkie's eyes. She had maybe one or two days to make this count.
*
It was a miracle. Inkie woke up the the next morning feeling like a completely different pony. More importantly, she woke up happy. She didn't feel any pain, she was full of energy and she had a crazy appetite. Pinkie was still asleep and she had cheerfully eaten the rest of that small cake on her night stand, having piece after piece. Something unexplained about it tasted incredible. She didn't understand it, but by the time she had finished it, she knew something was different. She went to shake Pinkie awake.
"Pinkie! Pinkie!"
Her eyes fluttered awake to see a great big smile on her sister's face. Instantly remembering what happened last night her hair sprung into it's normal do and she reflected her sister's expression with her own. It was time and there couldn't be a moment's hesitation.
"Oh hey Inkie! Lookin' good today!" she observed noticing the smile
"I feel great! I think that cupcake last night was the best I've ever had. Tens across the board. Nothing hurts and I have a ton of energy!" She sure was talkative to day. She looked out the window at the distant ground hopefully. "I actually kinda want to go outside..."
Her face was nervous. Pinkie's smile just kept growing and growing. She had her sister back. Even though her eyes winced with hesitation, those lavender jewels sparkled like a hidden gem and she could see the hope in them. She hadn't gotten out of bed more than once a week for the last month and now she wanted to go all the way outside. Pinkie's eyes got watery and she sniffled with pure bliss. Her smile couldn't step growing. She figuratively exploded.
"Well what are you waiting for?! Come on everypony!!!" Pinkie Pie could barely contain herself. She hadn't felt this happy in years and an almost devilish grin overcame her face.
Before Inkie could protest, Pinkie had stripped her of her hospital gown, grabbed her, tore the window open and proceeded to launch her out of it at high velocity. Inkie screamed in horror as she soared through the air. This wasn't what she had in mind when she said outside. The height was dizzying, but she could see all sorts of things from that high up, terrified of course.
Meanwhile Pinkie had set up a comically over-seized slingshot in front of the window and proceeded to launch herself out after her. It was hidden under Inkie's bed just in case of slingshot emergency.
Giggling maniacally with a snort or two interlaced, Pinkie flew after her sister. Inkie looked up at the pink mass, wondering if she had gone mad and finally snapped as soon as she told her she felt better. No, she was just being Pinkie. Pinkie pulled out her trademark party cannon and launched a giant cup of jello right under where Inkie was about to land. She bounced off it harmlessly and rebounded, hitting the ground softly. Pinkie landed right next to her a few seconds later. Inkie had a look of complete, pure astonishment on her face, shock still keeping her emotions.
"Wasn't that super duper fun?!"
This was the moment of truth, if Inkie truly had come back, then she'd show it right now. If not, then Pinkie had just launched a terminally ill hospital patient out a window at high speed from three stories up and would probably taken to jail. Inkie just said there on her back, eyes wide as dish plates trying to absorb what just happened. For a moment, Pinkie thought she might need to take her back there, but then her face creaked.
Slowly her mouth began to curve upwards, leading to a very fulfilling "Creeping Smile". The smile then turned into chuckle, ending in a rollicking laughter. A "Grand Smile" too? Pinkie still had it.
"Can we do that again?!" Inkie asked excitedly.
"Nope! Cause now you haveta follow me to Sugarcube Corner for some more super delicious treats!" Pinkie exclaimed. Pinkie began to trot slowly towards her favourite place, leading only a few inches in front of Inkie.
Inkie carefully watched her legs as she walked. Normally she was too weak for any kind of physical activity. She had a terrible feeling that something was going to go wrong and that she'd wake back up in her bed.
Her trampling hooves beneath her began to beat to her heart. She picked up the pace and let them carry her to speeds she had never attained before. She didn't know what was going on but her heart told her to run as fast as she could and she wasn't going to let it down.
The wind in her face, the ground speeding by beneath her, she ran and ran. Unable to stop, not wanting to stop, she was free from that room and would never go back. A few tears left her eyes, already far behind her. Pinkie also let tears behind them in the wind as her sister picked up speed.
"Race you!" Inkie shouted.
"You're so on!
Two streaks of giggling colour, one pink, the other grey, dashed through Ponyville at breakneck speeds. They ran freely over obstacles, jumping from one house to a carriage to the statue in the middle of the town square to where ever they wanted. It was freedom of all movement. Not only was she boundless of her health, but also her heart and mind. The recovery made no sense, but she wasn't about to argue with fate. Pinkie had always told her to seize the day whenever she had the energy so she did so.
When arrived at Sugarcube corner in a cloud of dust and calmly walked in.
"I won!" Inkie said triumphantly, panting lightly.
"No way I won!'
From the bakery a familiar voice rang out.
"Pinkie is that you? I thought you weren't coming in--" Mr. Cake stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Inkie. The two mares in front of him had enormous smiles on their faces and were they the same colour, he wouldn't have known the difference. "Well lookie here! It looks like somepony is feeling better isn't she?"
"Mmhhhmm!!"
"Yup I gave her that cupcake and she woke up feeling like a million bits!" Pinkie explained happily.
"Well those Royal Cupcakes are quite special. Takes a week to make just one."
"Royal Cupcakes?" Inkie asked curiously.
"Yeah they're the special ones we make only for the princesses."
"Hmm maybe they're magic and have magical healing powers," Pinkie slyly mused.
"That would explain why the Princesses live forever! All thanks to cupcakes!" Inkie suggested.
"That's what I've been trying to tell everypony forever now!"
They all laughed heartily at that.
"So what can I get you today?" Mr. Cake asked wiping down the counter and then gesturing to their diverse menu and storefront.
Pinkie nodded at Inkie and she trotted up to the counter.
"Do you still have that carrot cake you made awhile back? The one with the lemons and apples on top?"
"You betcha." He went back into the bakery and returned with a small green cake, adorned with apple wedges and lemon designs around the sides of it. He carefully put it on top of her head and she smiled.
"Thanks Mr. Cake I'll probably be around later, if not, see you next Monday!" Pinkie called out as the left.
"No problem Pinkie, you two have a good day!"
They both trotted out into the sunlight. It was a bright morning, ponies were going about their business. They had the whole day together. Pinkie racked her insanely quick mind for ideas of what to do. Needed to keep it high energy.
"So what now? Inkie asked, excitedly. Now that Pinkie saw her in the light, her sister's mane and coat hadn't seen a proper grooming for longer than she can remember. Even though her brighter persona had definitely brought out the glistening of her eyes, the rest of her still looked like it belonged in the hospital. Yes that means Rarity. Anyways, Rarity was always a lot of fun to be around.
"I have an idea! Let's go see Rarity! Since you're feeling a lot better you need to look the part. My friend Rarity can make any pony look like a star!"
They dashed over to the boutique in a similar fashion. Inkie used to be very concerned with her appearance and as she got sicker Pinkie did her best to make her feel pretty, but it neither fixed nor returned the beauty she once had. Pinkie knew that this would be important to her.
Rarity was busy designing scarves in the front when the entry bell sounded, alerting her to someone entering her store.
"Welcome to Carousel Boutique! Where everything is chic. uni--Inkie?!" Rarity gasped as she saw the grey mare. Pinkie gave her a death stare which Rarity caught onto quickly enough. She didn't want everypony treating her like a hospital patient. "What are--can I do for you?" Nice save Rarity.
"Well it's been forever since she's gotten a makeover and we know how much you love doing that," Pinkie explained. Inkie just blushed shyly.
"Well it's not like I just give anypony a makeover! I require inspiration, imagery and an unfound muse."
"Rarity, you pretty much give a makeover to any pony who hasn't showered in twelve hours or uses multiple mane care products..."
Rarity scoffed at that. It was true though. It was in her heart to make everypony look the best they could.
"And what of it?!" Rarity sized up Inkie and a whiff of interest came over her face. "Darling is your mane naturally that straight?"
"Uhhm... yes ma'am," she replied still bashful. This beautiful unicorn who probably had colt after colt chasing her was starting to look at her with real interest.
"Your colours while some may consider dreadfully dull actually..." she trailed off. Pinkie waited for it and there it was, the glint in Rarity's eyes followed by her trademark. "IIIIDEEAAA!! Come with me darling, I must create!!!"
A precious hour later, Inkie emerged from the depths of the boutique looking radiant and gorgeous. Her mane was clean and cut, without a hair out of place, her coat was shiny and rejuvenated. She was wearing these strange striped legging things that matched her eyes perfectly. Noticing her sister's confusion as she looked at her legs, Inkie clarified.
"Rarity calls them socks. They're super comfy and--"
"Look absoulutely smashing!" Rarity cut her off, brimming with pride over her new creation. "Quite the stroke of genius if I say so myself. Inkie inspired me. Her look has these curved yet straight lines," Rarity pointed to the curvature of the lines in her mane and tail. "And I just had to catch that illusion elsewhere."
"So I put them around the leg and voila! And no deary, there not just called socks. They're called Inkie Socks," Rarity said with a wink. Inkie blushed and fiddled her new legging-covered hooves.
"You look great sister!" Pinkie really thought so. Yesterday her sister had been an emotional wreck, which while understandable, still wasn't a good thing. Now that she stood there, it felt like Inkie had stopped being that sick mare in the bed and was her sister and best friend again. One that she'd invite to parties, hang out with after work and had a normal life with. They used to do that before she was sick. Pinkie was always closer with Inkie and when they worked back on that rock farm, she was the only friend she had.
Inkie's face turned even redder as they piled praise on her.
"Darling you better watch your rump, I'm sure every stallion in Ponyville will have his eyes on you." Rarity added raising an eyebrow at her with a mischievous grin.
"Oh stop it you two." Her face was now fully scarlet.
"Come now Pinkie, we're embarrassing the poor thing. In all honesty Inkie you are a doll of a mare and it was my pleasure. Drop by anytime you like and we can catch up on fashion and maybe venture to the spa," Rarity concluded as she saw a groups of mares enter the shop out of the corner of her eye. "Welcome to Carousel Bouti--"
Rarity went to greet her new customers which happened to be a bride and her bridesmaids so Inkie and Pinkie decided to sneak out to avoid the chaos set to ensue.
Pinkie smiled bitterly as she recalled Rarity's offer. If only she knew.
"Where to next Pinkie?" Inkie asked cheerfully.
Pinkie snapped back into the fun mindset. "Let's go find Rainbow Dash! She's always super fun!"
Almost as if on cue, a rainbow streak flashed across the sky in the distance. Pinkie watched the streak closely. She was 1044 meters away moving at 170 KPH at 189 degree from the origin. Target acquired. Pinkie shook violently as she calculated the firing solution. Inkie looked at her sister with a skeptical but curious smile.
"Come on Inkie I'm gonna teach you a little thing called Pinkie Running..." Pinkie finally said.
Pinkie grabbed her sister by the hoof and stuffed her into the party cannon. It was larger on the inside than it was on the outside and they could both stand up on what Inkie though to be the bottom of it. Pinkie jumped in after her and they both stood there in darkness for a few seconds. Inkie could sense Pinkie flailing around.
"Quick Inkie! Do the chicken dance!" Pinkie's voice called out through the darkness.
Inkie giggled and started doing the iconic dance. She had no idea what was going on, but it was fun. They danced in complete darkness like a couple of crazy chickens before they fell out of the bottom of it out into open sky. Before them, grinding to a halt, was a very startled Rainbow Dash. The two earth ponies were floating in mid-air, seemingly held up by the chicken dance. She just looked stupidly from one sister to the other.
"Heya Dashie! Whatcha up to?"
"I could ask you the same question..." Rainbow's mouth was agape.
"Just hangin out! Hey do you think you can show my sister Inkie your sonic rainboom?!"
"Uhh yeah sure. Let me just get up to speed." Rainbow recovered, always ready for an excuse to show off.
As she flew up high to prepare for her legendary trick, Inkie took in her surroundings. It was an stellar view. She could see the entirety of Ponyville and the surrounding country side, the sun was high in the sky and Inkie saw a bird fly past her, almost close enough to touch. It was exhilarating. Inkie had never flown before, but her arms were getting tired from dancing and she was getting nervous at the idea of falling.
"Pinkie, I'm getting sort of tired. How do we get down?"
"We fall!" Pinkie grabbed her sister and hugged her tight. Immediately they both plummeted towards the ground.
Inkie screamed at the top of her lungs while Pinkie laugh maniacally as the fell through the sky. With only seconds to live Rainbow Dash heard the scream and sighed. Pinkie Pie could have just asked. Annoyed she exploded with all her strength after the two falling ponies.
Inkie watched the ground in sheer terror as it got closed in on her at an uncomfortable speed. Pinkie seemed to be completely calm with what was transcending, relatively speaking, but Pinkie would probably have been comfortable telling a dragon jokes about how fat he was. She actually yawned as they fell to their death. Inkie's eyes grew wide as the she fell with a hundred feet of the ground. Inkie hoped that she was really just being Pinkie Pie right now, because if she wasn't that would be a horrible stroke of luck.
Being rather fatalistic about the situation, Inkie patched some strange mix between a death scream and an ironic laugh.
Pushing easily through the sound barrier, a sonic rainboom exploded behind Rainbow Dash as she caught the sisters only a few yards from the ground. The dazzling colours evoked distant cheers from Ponyville. She did flyover, waving at all her adoring fans. Inkie was just screaming in terror.
She flew them up high into the sky as they soared at mach speeds. Inkie was still screaming at the top of her lungs, but this time, out of pure euphoric thrill. She was moving way, way, way too fast.
"WOOOOO!" she hollered out as they went into a spiraling drop. Her newly styled mane was getting messy but she didn't care.
*
Rainbow Dash dropped them off after a few minutes of her sonic joyride. She had done flips, drops, corkscrews and every single trick she could think of. Inkie's cheering egged her on to greater and showier tricks. Pinkie Pie asked her to set them on a massive cliff that over saw Ponyville. Rainbow was humbly showering the usual amount of praise on herself while she did so.
"Heh, you should see me when I really get going Inkie. It's pretty awesome," Rainbow said to the now terrified mare.
Inkie was strapped to Rainbow Dash, eyes still wide and mane blown back. Pinkie thought they'd have to pry her off but, when Inkie saw the ground, she loosened up a bit, if only to tell Rainbow that she was ready to get off. She slowly approaching stuck her hoof out trying to reach it, almost unsure if it was really going to be there. She probably spent thirty seconds waggling her arm at the earth.
"Hey you okay there?" Rainbow gave Pinkie a triumphant look. She had literally flow this mare out of her mind.
Inkie didn't even hear her, she just wanted to touch the ground. Finally she felt the dirt beneath and proceeded to put all her weight on that one hoof, promptly falling over. She curled up into a fetal position, indulging in the sanctity of physical stability, stroking her tail in self-comfort. She laid there for a few minutes while the friend's watched her nervously.
Pinkie actually thought she might have gone overboard. Rainbow did do a pretty long ride and at sonic speeds, the g-force is unholy. Inkie finally cracked a grin. It was slow at first, but she let it take her and it snowballed into hysterical laughter. At what, she couldn't explain. Pinkie followed her lead and Rainbow Dash shortly after that.
"I think I just had an epiphany," Inkie started, calming down and sitting up. "I think... you just broke my mind Rainbow Dash."
"Broke your mind?" They asked in unison.
"Yeah, I can't explain it but I think I just snapped."
They looked at each other nervously
"Is that a good thing?" Her sister was slightly concerned.
"It's a great thing! You guys broke my mind free. I snapped out of it everything I previous understood. I wish I could explain it better, but I feel like I understand you completely Pinkie..." She looked deep into her sister's eyes. "Every bizarre thing you do, it's just... utterly brilliant. I feel like the boundaries of reality no longer exist when I see things your way."
She stepped out onto the edge of the cliff and looked down at the town. Tiny specks busily moving like ants occupied her eyes while she spoke. They other's were silent.
"You remember how Pa told us that out of rocks you can make anything? That out of earth and from the earth you were given everything?"
"Of course. That's why we had a rock farm." Pinkie was thoughtful when it came to her family.
"He told us the wisest pony would learn to make everything. But I don't think that's true anymore."
Inkie never once crossed her father. Something must have clicked and changed her fundamentally. Pinkie listened closely, heart wide open. Inkie turned back to her, those eyes piercing straight through her, as if they already knew every secret she had.
"He wanted to makes all things. But you Pinkie... You were different from the rest of us. You weren't content with material things..."
"You wanted to make all things possible. And now that I understand you, I know you can do it."
She was speaking from a different part of her heart. Pinkie had come to know the sadness that lurked inside her sister and for awhile she had thought it had taken her completely. But as she spoke now, Pinkie learned she preserved part of herself, untouched by sickness. She had sealed away her hope and kept it safe while the disease ravaged the rest of her.
"No tool, medicine or earthbound thing could have healed me. I'm not even sure if I truly am better, but I certainly feel it and that's all thanks to you Pinkie."
"Awww sis... I'm just looking out for ya!" They went to hug. Rainbow had already snuck away from the exchange. Lovey feely things weren't her thing.
Looking deep into her sister's cool eyes, a flicker of an idea crossed her mind. A fleeting thought in one of the many thoughts she had each second since her mind started racing. That flicker grew into a massive flash screaming "GO" over and over again. The idea was absurd, mad, chaotic and completely unreasonable. Something that she would do without hesitation. Usually something sacred kept such ideas from sounding so enticing, but that 'something' wasn't there.
The entire day had been something of a dream and it wasn't even half over yet. Magical, unexplainable, a joy ride from one excitement to another with the sister she loved. No more pretending to be happy, no more fake smiles, no more lonely hospital rooms and no more fear. The dream was going to keep going until the bitter end. She still couldn't believe she was about to do this.
She kissed her sister.
Their tender lips sharing eternal paradise together. The euphoria surged through both of them as their hearts pounded in unison. They weren't sure why they did it and had several hundred reasons why not to do it, but not the doubt of the world drifted near them. It was neither romantic nor completely platonic, is was a love that manifested out of purity itself. They merely enjoyed each other so much that a kiss was another pleasure they sought and took.
Inkie had absorbed Pinkie's essence and nature over the last few months because of her complete immersion in the joyful mare. Pinkie thought she had been the one reading into Inkie, but Inkie had actually perceived much farther into her. She watched without understanding, without the key to make sense of her, knowing only that whatever she did, she was happy. Something that Inkie was not.
She wanted to be like Pinkie, to be happy and to bring happiness to other, like she had brought to her. Her sickness held her back, but now she could release the soul that Pinkie had poured into her to understand the mare who would do anything for a friend. Pinkie never had somepony to confide in until this point, but she gladly let Inkie into her heart and mind.
She understood the greater meaning of the things Pinkie did, things that other ponies would write off on her as "Just being Pinkie Pie." It defied definition, the beauty of her acts. Now Inkie had plunged into this new world of seeing things through Pinkie's eyes. She was scared of it, there was just so much to do, so much to see. It was bright, daunting, confusing and vaguely smelled of cotton candy. Kissing her now let Inkie briefly see those worlds and cried when she saw the paradise Pinkie had found. She couldn't wait to get out and experience the grandeur of life so that she may find herself there as well.
Despite being legal sisters, the natural boundaries did not stand between them. Pinkie was obviously adopted. She shared little in common with any other member of her family and was of no colour combination anywhere in her adopted family's traceable genetic history. But that's not important.
They pulled away from the magical kiss.
"I never knew..." Inkie said tearfully. She had seen the world how it should be.
"You understand now?" Pinkie had cried with her. She merely nodded her head and kissed her again. She wanted to see more of the paradise and Pinkie obliged her sweet friend's request.
*
News of Inkie's recovery travels fast through a certain sterling unicorn. Pinkie and Inkie had spent the rest of the afternoon on that cliff. It was getting late now and the sun had almost dipped below the horizon. Inkie was understanding everything that made Pinkie Pie, Pinkie Pie, the bouncing, the physics bending, the cheerful disposition. Seeing things through her eyes was intoxicating. Whenever she wasn't sure of something, she'd kiss her and through her, see the answer. They weren't sure what to call each other in this new relationship. They were sisters and that would never change, but they weren't entirely lovers. It felt more like the were partners, the last two of their kind in the world who stuck together because of their unnatural connection.
Pinkie wasn't sure if Inkie was cured or not, but something in her heart told her that she was. A type of healing had happened that was neither magic nor material. Inkie had found the hope of happiness. She stared into the world with wide eyes, knowing that paradise was only a hop or physics breaking speed record away.
"Can you believe it?" Inkie stared off into the setting sun at the edge of the cliff.
Pinkie slowly walked up from behind her sister and nuzzled her neck.
"Believe what?"
"Yesterday a doctor told me I was going to die in a week." Inkie's face was solemn. "Do you think I will?"
Pinkie was silent. She had been avoiding this specific elephant in the room all day, for good reason. The dream wasn't going to end now. Pinkie wouldn't let it. But a creeping feeling sunk into her. She knew her sister's time could be over any moment now.
Inkie took that silence for the truth it was. She went to kiss Pinkie.
"I love you. You've done so much for me Pinkamena Diane Pie." Inkie let several tears drops. "I'm not afraid anymore."
She took a step towards the edge of the cliff. It was obvious what she planned to do. She wanted to end things on her terms.
"Inkie?! What are you doing?! You just found hope, a reason to live!" Pinkie pleaded. Tears flowed freely from her eyes.
She smiled softly, eyes sparkling, full of hope. Pinkie knew that smile. It was the 'don't worry about me smile' but she only just recognized. It was her sister's Pure Smile. Pinkie nearly broke down upon seeing it. Inkie had been happy while she was sick, health had nothing to do with. She was just happy to be with her sister.
Pinkie knew her sister's time would be up soon, but a part of her didn't want to believe it.
"I didn't just find hope, I've had it my entire life..." She put her hoof on Pinkie's heart, then kissed her one last time.
*
Applejack had planned a hoedown in celebration of Inkie's amazing recovery. She sent Rainbow Dash to fetch them and bring them down to the barn. As much as she searched and searched for the sisters she couldn't find them. When she checked the cliff she only found Inkie's torn sock.
