"How much longer, do you think?"
...
"Then, I suppose this is it, isn't it?"
...
"I know I've asked this before, but... is there nothing I can do?"
...
"I... I understand. It's almost morning. I should probably raise you soon."
...
"Just... just once more. One more time, and then you can rest."
It's an odd thing, knowing when you are going to die. The waiting is the worst part, and I've been waiting ever since I found out one thousand years ago. It had come as a complete shock at the time, but I really should have seen it coming. A million years is an awfully long time to live. Even the stars in the sky must meet their end sometime, though my sister is loathe to admit it. Perhaps I have become jaded because of my longevity, but my impending demise no longer bothers me as it would so many others. No, I have plenty of other things to be bothered by, one thing above all else.
I am not alone.
When I first discovered that the sun was dying, I was afraid merely for myself. What would become of me? Is this it? Is my long life finally coming to an end? I worried on my own well-being, my own future, but that only proves just how short sighted I was at the time. After the initial shock wore off, I had more time to think on the true impacts of such an event. Sometimes I wish I had stayed selfish, had only thought of myself, but I know that's impossible. I love my little ponies far too much, and that's why my mind nearly broke when I realized that they would all die with me.
"Princess, your breakfast is ready."
Is it that time already? It's funny, I had always thought that when this day finally arrived it would just drag on and on. Now that it's here, time just seems to slip away. I suppose I shouldn't waste precious daylight lying in bed. It is in rather short supply after all.
"Thank you, Dust Pan. Please tell Luna I'll be down shortly."
"Of course, Princess."
Look at her, trotting off to the dining hall without a care in the world. I wonder, did I make the right decision in keeping this whole apocalypse thing covered up? On the one hoof, I would rather not have my ponies spend their final moments in a panic. If I had it my way, they wouldn't even notice it was happening until it was already done. On the other hoof, it doesn't seem fair that they shouldn't be able to spend their final moments with their loved ones, instead of wasting away their last day at work. Maybe... maybe I'll send the castle's janitorial staff home early. Nopony deserves to meet their end while scrubbing a bathroom.
Speaking of, I should probably haul myself out of bed now.
Who put the bathroom so far away, anyway? I swear sometimes, this whole castle was designed to waste time. Is it worth my time to make myself presentable today? Every minute counts, after all. But then again, I should try to keep up an appearance of normalcy to avoid causing a panic. What's five or so minutes out of an entire day? What else could I even do in so short a time? Were it not so morbid, I would probably be laughing at the idea of brushing my teeth as one of my final acts. Who wants to have bad breath when they die, right? Ah ha ha.
Ha.
Why do my teeth even need to be brushed, anyway? Can an immortal alicorn suffer from tooth decay? It's not that I don't enjoy brushing. I do. In fact, it's one of the few things I get to do that makes me feel like a normal pony. Don't tell anyone this, but I swapped the royal diamond studded brush for one of those plastic ones they hand out at the dentist. It's so much softer on my gums. Why does form always have to come at the cost of function?
Right, that took longer than it should have. Better get to the dining hall. Luna is probably waiting impatiently for my arrival. I wonder what the cooks have prepared for my last breakfast. French toast, perhaps? I hope that's it. Nothing too fancy. Knowing Luna though, she probably had them cook up some huge feast. I love her to death, but she can be a bit excessive at times.
Ha ha.
Death.
When I first found out, I tried to ignore it. What's that? World's going to end in a thousand years? That's future Celestia's problem, let her deal with it. I guess I knew what was going to happen, but it didn't sink in just how terrible it would be. Sure, I would be there in a thousand years, and so would Luna, but all of my beloved subjects will have lived their lives and passed on long before the end. They won't have to suffer as I will. I know that's shortsighted now, but I think I may have lost it if I had dwelt on the issue right then. I needed time to adjust to the idea, and I think my mind just went on autopilot for a little bit to give me that time.
And so, for three hundred years I carried on as though nothing were wrong. Looking back, I think I may have tried a little too hard. In my efforts to remain inconspicuous, I doubled my efforts to make everyone happy. Not all of my decisions were popular, sure, but when is that ever the case in politics? I must admit, it was so much easier to just say yes to everything. You want to renovate the old theater? Sure, have some money. Tax cuts for everyone? No problem! You think Baltimare should have it's own private naval force? Well, the treasury's empty, but I'm sure I can scrape something together out of my personal spending money.
Okay, so I went a little nuts. I know everyone has to deal with it sometime, but for immortal beings, "you're going to die" is a bit of a bombshell. I mean, even I can see that some of my decisions were stupid, but can you blame me? You would probably do something similar if you were me. We all make mistakes. Mine just happen to ruin entire economies.
My willful ignorance couldn't last forever though. I had begun to wind down my excessive spending, but by the three hundredth year I was still in denial. I'm still not sure why it took so long to snap out of it, but I'll never forget the day it happened. It was a Thursday, early morning. I was eating breakfast at the time, with Luna, like always. One of the maids went into labor right there, and I, being my exceptionally helpful self, waved off the guards and carried her to the hospital.
I didn't have to stay with them. I'm still not sure why I did, but for some reason I just couldn't leave. The nurses must have been so confused, and honestly, so was I. Princess Celestia, sitting in a hospital waiting room, waiting for a pony whose name, to my regret, she didn't even know. After the initial rush wore off, I must admit, I found the situation to be a little absurd. And yet, I stayed. I stayed, and I waited, and I'm glad that I did.
When I saw that little unicorn foal sleeping next to his mother, I felt like a fog in my head had been swept away. I've seen millions of children born during my lifetime, and I still don't know why, but seeing this one child made me realize just how shortsighted I had been.
I had convinced myself that none of the ponies I loved would suffer at the end, that they would all be long gone. Maybe it was necessary to retain my sanity, but it couldn't last forever. No, this child, right here, he would grow up, fall in love, have children of his own, and once he had lived his life to the fullest, he would die happy. His children would do the same, and their children after that. For hundreds of years, they would continue the cycle, and they would all lead happy lives.
All except for one.
In seven hundred years, a child would be born, and that child would burn alongside me at the end of the world.
On that night, after three hundred years of denial and bottled emotions, for a single child not yet born, I wept.
I suppose it's my own fault for getting my hopes up. Should I have expected anything less? Probably not, but is it too much to ask for a a simple glass of orange juice, just once?
"Is there something wrong with breakfast, Tia? Did the chefs forget something?"
"No, Luna, they did not. This is... everything is just fine."
Of course, she's too busy stuffing her face to respond. No, nothing was forgotten, and that is exactly the problem. This table was built to seat at least twenty ponies, and yet there is barely enough room on its surface to hold breakfast for just the two of us. Every fruit and vegetable imaginable is arranged in every combination I can think of, and probably a few others after that. Pancakes, muffins, scones, biscuits, waffles, donuts, and a variety of the most elaborate toast assortment I've ever seen is stacked as far as the eye can see. How do you even make fancy toast? Why would you? Actually, wait. I think they did forget something.
"Luna, is the French Toast on your end?"
"The what?"
Oh, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you?
"Nothing, Lu. I think I'll just have one of these uh, banana crepes."
I wonder if I should say something. We probably won't see each other for, well... ever again, actually. Would it be considered rude to die without saying goodbye? Normally, I wouldn't think so, but this is kind of a strange situation, isn't it? It's not exactly the type of thing one usually brings up at breakfast. You normally wouldn't bring it up at lunch or dinner either. Well, some ponies might. I've actually known quite a few like that. It's kind of hard not to when you've lived as long as I have. I remember one colt in particular, a previous student of mine, can't remember the name, but he spent most of his time talking about death like most ponies discuss a day at work. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have been as surprised as I was when I found out he had been studying necromancy behind my back. Oh, and there was this other one...
"Tia."
"Hmm?"
"I asked if you could pass the raspberry waffles."
"Oh, yeah, sure."
She's looking at me funny. Why is she looking at me funny? Did I pass her the wrong waffles? I'm sure I grabbed the raspberry ones.
"Something wrong, Luna?"
"Not with me, no. Something's clearly bothering you, though."
"What? How so?"
"I'm allergic to raspberries. The fact that you didn't question me at all when I asked for them tells me that your thoughts lie elsewhere."
Oh wow, she's right. I am out of it. Clever girl...
"It's nothing. I'm just a little preoccupied today. I've got a lot to do."
That should be explanation enough. I'm always pretty busy. It's not too much of a stretch to think I'd be a little distracted by my work. Actually, that gives me the perfect excuse to leave breakfast a little early. Luna's too perceptive for her own good. The longer I stay here, the greater the chance that she-
"Today's the day, isn't it?"
Oh, come on! Can't anything go right today?
"What day, exactly, are you referring to?"
"You know what day. The final day. You weren't going to tell me, were you?"
And here comes the guilt trip. Is it so wrong to not warn somepony that they're going to die? Okay, when I word it like that, it actually does sound really bad. That's really not how I meant it.
"I'm sorry, Luna. And yes, it is. I thought it would be best to keep it a secret. If anyone found out, it would cause a panic, and I think we both know that won't help anything. I just want our subjects to live their lives like they always have. They deserve that much, at least."
"Mmhmm."
Well, she doesn't seem mad. It's hard to tell with her, though. You know, after close to a million years of trying to analyze her ticks, I still haven't quite caught them all? At one point, I was so sure that when one of the primary feathers on her left wing rustled, it meant that she was getting angry. Turned out, it just meant that her wing itched. That does make her angry though, so technically I was right. Sort of.
"So, what do you have planned for today?"
Okay, wasn't quite expecting that to be her response. It's a shame, with just a couple hundred thousand more years, I could have probably had her completely figured out.
"Nothing special, really. Finish up breakfast, attend court, go over some paperwork, the usual."
Alright, that look, that one right there, has got to be irritation. Or confusion. Befuddled? Oh, I've got it. Shock.
"Paperwork? Tia, you can't be serious! These are your final moments! You should be doing all the things you always wanted to do, all the things you could never do before! You should at least spend your time doing something more fun than legislation."
"Luna, we have lived for a million years now. There is nothing left for me to do, I've done it all."
"That's a lie and you know it. There are plenty of things you've never allowed yourself to do because of your position. You've made yourself a prisoner, and even now you refuse to let yourself free."
Well, she's not wrong, I suppose. Still...
"Look, I can't just run off with no warning. You know anything I do out of the ordinary will arouse suspicion, and I want everyone's last day to be as painless as possible. If that means doing paperwork, then so be it."
"You would spend your final moments in misery so that your subjects can die in ignorance?"
Well, when you put it like that...
"...Yes."
Odd, she almost looks sad. Does she really want me to run off and party that much?
"Then... you are a bigger fool than i gave you credit for."
"..."
"I'm going to make the most of my final hours in this life. Come find me when you've come to your senses."
Aaaaand she's gone.
Huh.
That was odd.
Calm. Serene. Tranquil. Nary a whisper could be heard amidst the trees, save for the occasional falling of snow from a branch that could no longer bear its frigid load. Every morning, the sun's rays bounced off blankets of pure white, illuminating the woods in a dazzling light show, one sadly too bright to appreciate without risking blindness. Every night, the chill winds undid any progress the sun had made in clearing the ground, dusting the trees with a fresh layer of frost and fortifying the snow with thick sheets of ice. This is the way things had stayed for three peaceful months ever since the first snows had fallen and the woodland critters had taken to their warrens and dens to wait out the cold, harsh winter. However, on this day, as the sun reached its peak in the sky, the beating of wings and a melodic humming finally broke the silence.
Most ponies, pegasii in particular, usually preferred more open habitats. To find a pegasus here, of all places, wasn't unheard of. It was, however, unexpected, or it would have been if there were anyone around to witness the event. Even so, the unlikely creature soared amongst the trees, her grey coat of fur protecting her from the biting cold as the wind mercifully blew her lavender bangs out of her eyes so that she could focus on the task before her. It might have helped, if her eyes weren't closed anyway.
The pegasus hummed a tune softly to herself as she blindly barreled through the densely packed forest, blissfully unaware of the many close calls she had lucked out in avoiding. She bobbed her head in rhythm with the song with a wide grin plastered on her face, more than once narrowly missing a tree branch to the nose due to a well timed down note. Occasionally, her jolly mood would get the better of her as she let slip a few words.
"The time has come to welcome spring mmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm and it's also time to saaaay goodbye badum bum dee dee dee~"
A branch clipping the tip of her ear brought the pegasus back into the real world just in time to catch a large tree racing towards her at a higher speed than was entirely comfortable for trees to be moving at. One sloppily executed barrel roll found her on the other side of the tree no worse for wear, though her blue vest and saddlebag were now adorned with a few more stray leaves and twigs than they originally started with. Crisis averted, she picked up speed once again and continued her song, steadily increasing in volume as she lost herself to the music.
"How can I help? I'm new, you see. Yadda yadda doo doo doo. Umm something something about magic. I haven't got a cluuuuuuuuuuuue~"
By now, she was really getting into the song, bobbing and weaving back and forth, a twirl here, a loop-the-loop there. In her head, she was a graceful dancer. Her awe-inspiring movements painted murals of unrivaled beauty against the sky's sunlit canvas. Back in reality, she failed to account for the extra weight she carried in her saddlebags. The additional strain on her wings caused her tight loops to go wide and her fluid motions to flow more like wet cement.
"Winter Wrap-Up, Winter Wrap-Up!
'Cause tomorrow Spring is here!
'Cause tomorrow Spring is heeeeeee-Oof!"
A sharp pain in her chest forced the air out of the blindsided mare's lungs. Lacking any semblance of control, she tumbled through the trees leaving behind trails of grey feathers to mark her path. Surprise made way for fear as the frozen forest floor rushed up to meet the flailing ball of limbs. The panicking pegasus squealed in terror and kept her eyes tightly shut as she awaited the unforgiving embrace of solid ice.
The impact never came. As her hooves slowly moved away from her eyes, the pegasus could see that she had indeed stopped falling, though she remained suspended in midair. A clue to her savior's identity came in the form of the painfully tightened straps around her barrel, limiting her to short, and ultimately unsatisfying breaths. After fumbling around for what felt like eternity, her hooves located the clasp on her saddlebag. She gasped as the strap loosened, coughing and wheezing as she sucked in air.
A relieved sigh escaped her lips as her breathing returned to a more regular pace. Twisting her neck to peer over her shoulder, she confirmed that, yes, her saddlebags had snagged on one of many outlying tree branches, saving her from a potentially nasty spill.
"What happened? I didn't see any branches up there," she mumbled to herself. Before she could ponder her situation further, a familiar pain struck her between the eyes. She just barely caught sight of a small rock falling to the ground before her vision was obstructed by her own hooves. Shielding her face from further assault, she shouted blindly into the surrounding woods.
"W-who's out there? Show yourself!" Legs kicked wildly as the frightened mare struggled to maneuver into a more favorable position. Her erratic movements did little to offer her a solid defense, though her pendulous motion did make her a slightly more difficult target.
Her thrashing slowed somewhat when she heard a rapid tapping noise from above. Slowly uncovering her eyes, her gaze locked on the source of the sound. A squirrel stood perched on the branch she was currently attached to, tapping its foot impatiently while it hefted a sizable rock in one paw.
"Did you throw that rock? That wasn't very nice, Mr. Squirrel." The swinging pegasus tried to give her attacker an angry glare, but her slow mid-air rotation ruined the effect. "I could have been hurt. Anyways, aren't you supposed to be asleep?"
Not much information could be gathered from the squirrel's fast paced chittering, but the mare seemed to understand his body language well enough. He pointed at her, then stomped on the branch a few times, rustling the leaves and causing a racket. He then puffed out his chest and did his best imitation of the pegasus' singing that could be expected of a squirrel before gesturing angrily at a hole in one of the trees nearby where three infant squirrels could be seen poking their heads out with weary eyes.
"Oh wow, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake up your family, Mr. Squirrel." The pegasus bashfully rubbed the back of her head. "Sometimes I just get so excited, and I kind of get carried away. I'll try to be quiet from now on."
The squirrel sighed and dropped the rock he was carrying. He sat down on the branch, and pointed at the still suspended pegasus before cocking an eyebrow and shrugging his shoulders.
"What am I doing here? Well, that should be obvious, silly. I'm Ditzy Doo, Ponyville's official bird gatherer for Winter Wrap-Up day! I'm on my way to get the southern birds right now. Well, I was until someone, not gonna name any names, knocked me out of the sky with a rock. Actually, come to think of it, that was a quite a throw. Do you work out?"
Choosing to ignore that comment, the squirrel instead pointed in the direction that Ditzy had just come from with a quizzical expression on his face.
"Yep, Ponyville's in that direction. Why do you ask?"
The squirrel pointed his other paw toward the sun, and then back in the direction of Ponyville.
"Oh, you're right. It is getting late. I need to get a move on if I'm going to make it back in time." Ditzy struggled to free herself again, but eventually went limp as she swung helplessly once more. "I don't suppose you could help me out here? I'm kinda stuck."
************ To be continued ************
Ponyville slept under Luna’s moon, the streets silent, save for the hoofsteps of three ponies and one small dragon cloaked in the night’s shadow. The four companions approached the town plaza from the direction of Sweet Apple Acres, as one of them finally broke the silence.
“That was some party, but I didn’t expect it to last that long. Spike and I still have to clean up the library for tomorrow, and I have a letter to write to the Princess on top of that.”
“But Twiiiiiilight...” the young dragon whined.
“No buts, mister. We have to get it done before the library opens in the morning,” Twilight Sparkle admonished her assistant. Her demeanor softened as Spike sulked at her response. “But, if we get it finished without any complaining, I may be able to let you sleep in.”
Spike perked up at the prospect. “Until noon?”
“Until nine.”
“I don’t know...”
“Fine, ten o'clock and no later.”
“It’s a deal, if I get extra gemstones in my cereal in the morning.”
The two other ponies chuckled at their friends’ haggling. As they reached an intersection, one of them interrupted Twilight and Spike’s bickering.
“Well, this is my stop. Thanks again for the superific party! Gummy had so much fun he can barely stand.”
The alligator in question was draped lazily over his provider’s back, toothless jaws clamped on a lock of her fluffy pink mane to retain his balance.
“Oh, it was the absolute least we could do, Pinkie,” the final member of the group chimed in. “After all, it would have been an absolute affront to social etiquette if the mare of the hour were required to organize her own birthday celebration.”
“Silly Rarity, I LOVE throwing parties! I could never have a bad time at a party!” The smile on Pinkie Pie’s face lit up the entire square, but it was short lived as the memories of the rest of the day resurfaced. “Still, I can’t thank you girls enough, especially after how I acted earlier.” Pinkie lowered her head, averting her eyes. “I should have trusted you.”
Twilight quickly jumped in to reassure her forlorn friend. “Pinkie, you don’t have to apologize to us again, and you have nothing to feel bad about. Celestia knows I’ve jumped to some crazy conclusions before. We all make mistakes.” She smiled as Pinkie lifted her head, her face adorned with a sheepish grin. Twilight never had to worry about Pinkie Pie for too long, she always managed to bounce back.
“Thanks, Twilight. I promise, I’ll never doubt my friends ever again.”
“Girls,” Rarity interrupted. “As much as I enjoy these heartwarming moments, we really should get going. I still have to check on Sweetie Belle, she’s probably worried sick about me.”
Twilight’s head bolted upright. “Oh my gosh you’re right! Spike, we need to go now. Oooh, we’re going to be up all night at this rate.”
“Hey, our deal still stands even if you complain, right?”
“Sorry Spike.” A mischievous grin crept into Twilight’s face. “Should have read the fine print.”
Pinkie couldn’t help but laugh as her friends all went their separate ways, two of them still arguing as they ran. They really were some of the best friends a pony could ask for.
Probably better friends than I deserve.
A rustling sound on her back shook Pinkie out of her thoughts. The blank, listless stare she received from Gummy clearly broadcast his outrage at the fact that he was not in his warm, cozy bed right now.
“You’re right Gummy, all parties must come to end, and this pity party is no exception. Let’s go home.”
Pinkie carefully nudged the door to Sugarcube Corner open, avoiding the bell that announced the arrival of customers. It wouldn’t do to wake the Cakes up this late at night. She snuck up the stairs, carefully balanced on the tips of her hooves, and silently slipped into her room without so much as a creak from the door’s hinges. Stealth is a critical skill in any party planner’s repertoire. A surprise party isn’t a surprise if you get caught, and Pinkie had plenty of practice over the years.
Gummy rolled off of Pinkie’s back with about as much effort as he always puts into anything he does, expertly landing on a pillow on the floor and immediately falling to sleep. Pinkie glanced around the room, her gaze resting on the table in the center and the “guests” seated around it.
I guess I left a bit of a mess, huh? I’d better get all this put away.
Pinkie hoisted the sack of flour that she had dubbed ‘Madame Le Flour’ onto her back and picked up the bucket that held ‘Mr. Turnip’ with her teeth. She quickly relocated the party guests to their rightful places in the storeroom. The last thing she wanted was for the Cake’s to wake up in the morning and discover that their supplies had been pilfered.
‘Sir Lintsalot’ was quickly dispatched with a handy broom and dustpan, and only one guest remained. Pinkie stared for a few moments at the trio of rocks that made up ‘Rocky’. The other attendees had merely been random objects from around the shop, but there was nothing random about the stones that made up this imaginary partier. She hadn’t been in her right mind when the guests had been assembled, and examining the stones in her now lucid state caused Pinkie no small amount of distress, a feeling she had devoted her entire life to trying to avoid.
How fitting, that in one of my lowest moments, I would pick out those three.
Pinkie rolled the first rock onto her back. A simple chunk of useless minerals to most, but to Pinkie, it meant so much more. The small, brownish colored rock was schist, a fairly common rock to be found back on her family’s farm. Not a particularly sturdy specimen, its fine layers were prone to flaking and could easily be split without much pressure. She carefully carried the rock to her closet and opened the door.
Behind the door was, for the most part, an unorganized pile of rocks on the floor. Pinkie lowered herself until she was laying on the floor and delicately shifted the chunk of schist from her back onto the pile.
Safe and sound. I don’t know what I would have done if that had broken.
Pinkie wanted to kick herself for handling such a delicate specimen in her earlier fit of madness. Each and every rock in this closet was special to her, and breaking one of them would be like breaking a piece of herself. Each of these rocks held a precious memory. Some of them were happy, some were sad, some made her smile, and some made her mad, but all of them were important to her, more than she could say. She could identify them all by their shapes, their colors, and the cracks that adorned them, and looking at them let her relive her most powerful memories as clear as the day she found them.
She trotted over to the two remaining rocks at the table. She positioned herself next to the stool they rested on and gave it a little nudge, bumping the second stone onto her back. Argillite, a sturdy rock, smooth to the touch, with a dark blue-gray color. This particular specimen had been found in Ghastly Gorge, a trip Pinkie wouldn’t soon forget.
As Pinkie walked the stone across the room, she reflected on the interesting choices made by her maddened self. These stones weren’t picked by mere coincidence. She had chosen these stones in particular to represent her anger, and her sorrow. These three held powerful memories like the others, but they were different. These were memories of her darkest moments, and surely they had resonated with her madness on a subconscious level.
The second stone rolled to the floor of the closet, and Pinkie quickly returned to the third. The largest of the three rocks, Pinkie almost lost her balance when it slid onto her back with a little more momentum than she had intended. She righted herself with a little effort and trudged back toward the closet. Slate, a common rock back on the farm, and a good, sturdy building material. Much of her family’s revenue had come from harvesting slate. It fell to the floor next to the others, and the night’s cleanup was complete.
Pinkie laid down in the closet’s doorway, exhausted from having hauled three sizeable chunks of rock across the room when she was already tired out from the day’s festivities. She looked at the rocks before her, contemplating something. It had been a while since she last took time to reminisce about days gone by, and her brain was working too hard to sleep.
Which one, which one...
She glanced at the schist momentarily. Passing it by, her next focus was the slate, then the argillite. She shook her head and shivered.
No, not those tonight. After today, I need something to lift my spirits! How can I greet the day with a smile if I end the night with a frown?
It didn’t take long to find what she was looking for. In the corner, all by itself, laid a very small rock, almost a pebble, that she easily lifted with one hoof. Pinkie always kept this one separate from the others, so it wouldn’t get lost.
Perfect! A surefire way to brighten my day!
Pinkie laid the stone on the ground before her, crossed her hooves in front of her, and laid her head on the floor, staring at the rock as she silently began to dream.
“PINKAMENA! PINKAMENA WHERE ARE YOU?” A grey coated mare with her mane tied in a bun was standing in front of her family’s small farm house, shouting at a barren field. “Goodness gracious, where could that filly have gone?”
A shuffling noise could be heard from the side of the house, and the mare quietly walked around the corner of the building in an attempt to remain undetected. She looked around and still found nothing. An almost inaudible noise could be heard coming from somewhere nearby. It sounded like somepony was trying to stifle a giggle.
“Well then,” the mare said a little louder than was necessary. “I guess if I can’t find her, I’ll have to eat ALL THIS PIE by myself.”
The giggling stopped immediately. One of the barrels propped against the side of the house started to shake.
“Yep, a special pie, just for her, and she isn’t even around to share it. What a shame.”
The top of the barrel shot into the sky like a cannon as a tiny pink cannonball was fired through the air, landing right in the dirt at the mare’s feet.
“I GET A PIE? WE NEVER HAVE PIE! I LOVE PIE! WHAT FLAVOR IS IT? PIE IS THE BEST! YAY!”
“Hmmm... well I can’t be certain, but I think that it might have been... raspberry?”
“WOOOOHOOOO! RASPBERRY IS MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITEST FLAVOR EVER!” the little pink filly could barely contain her excitement as she bounced circles around the older mare. “You’re the best, mama.”
“Well, you can’t very well celebrate a pony’s fifth birthday without their favorite pie now can you?” Pinkamena’s mother flashed her widest grin at her daughter. “Now, go in and wash your hooves before dinner starts to mold, your father and your sisters are probably getting tired of waiting.”
Pinkamena trotted into the house, practically bouncing with each step. She was going to get pie! She could barely believe it, her family could rarely afford luxuries like pie. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, except for the last time she had pie, so maybe it was more of a twice in a lifetime opportunity. Either way, she was prepared to savor it like it was the last pie she would ever taste, which seemed likely.
She approached the table and hopped up onto her stool where the rest of her family was waiting. The rest of the family bowed their heads and Pinkamena followed suit as her father began to speak.
“Celestia, we thank you for this bounty which we are about to receive, and your glorious sun that banishes the darkness and its nightmares from our world.” The brown coated stallion paused for a moment, deep in thought as his eyes scanned the aforementioned ‘bounty’, before continuing. “We also pray that you may see fit to bless our family with a decent harvest this year, so we might be able to afford something besides plain hay. Some spices would be nice.”
His wife gave him a piercing glare. “Clyde...”
“Right, uh, amen.”
“Amen,” the rest of the family mumbled in unison.
Pinkamena bit into the hay in front of her. It was dry, scratchy, and didn’t really taste like anything. She wasn’t sure what ‘spices’ were, but if her father wanted some, they were probably pretty good. Still, hay was what they had, and she had learned not to ask about her parents’ choices in cuisine. Besides, tonight there was pie, and nothing could ruin it for her.
“Clyde, do you have to do that?”
“Do what?” Pinkamena’s father muttered around mouthfuls of hay.
“You know perfectly well that Celestia had nothing to do with our last harvest, yet you insist on blaming her.”
“Look, I’ve told you before, I don’t blame the princess. I just figure, maybe she could use some of that fancy magic to help us out next time. We could use all the help we can get after everypony else quit on us.”
“I could help,” a small voice squeaked from across the table. Both parents turned their heads in surprise. They had completely forgotten that they were arguing in front of their children. Their two older daughters stared at their food awkwardly as their youngest joined the conversation. “I saw a really big rock today, and then I saw an even bigger rock than that one. See? I can find good rocks like you can.”
“Pinkamena, I know you want to help, but you’re just too young. Rock harvesting is a lot more than just finding rocks. There’s a lot of heavy lifting involved, and it can be dangerous too,” her mother informed her. “I just don’t know what I’d do if you were hurt trying to help us.”
“Well, maybe I can find smaller rocks? Could I help then?” Pinkamena pleaded.
“Sorry kiddo, your mother’s right. It’s just not work for a filly your age to be doing.”
“But I-”
“The answer is no. End of discussion.”
“Alright...” Pinkamena hung her head in disappointment. “I just wanted to help,” she sniffed.
Clyde felt his heart break as the filly’s eyes teared up. He had made his own daughter cry, and on her birthday no less. He had to do something.
“Pinkie.” The little filly’s ears perked up at the sound of her nickname. “You’re not strong enough to help with the harvest just yet, but how about I teach you about the difference between metamorphic and sedimentary rocks after dinner? Then you’ll be ready to help next year. What do you say?”
Pinkamena wiped her tears away with the back of her hoof. “You mean it? You’ll teach me?”
“Of course. When have I ever lied to you?” Clyde smiled at his youngest daughter as she regained her composure. “Now, cheer up. Rumor has it, there’s a raspberry pie somewhere in the house with your name on it.”
If Pinkamena wasn’t at one hundred percent before, she was now. Pie tended to have that effect on her. Her smile had returned in full force, and Clyde could have sworn her pink coat had turned a shade brighter.
“That’s my girl. Now let’s go find that pie.”
One slice of raspberry pie and a lesson on rock formations later, and Pinkamena could barely keep her eyes open.
“Well now, looks like someone’s ready for bed.” Clyde crouched down to let his daughter climb onto his back. “You’ve had a long day today.”
“Papa, do you think I’ll really be able to help harvest rocks next year?”
“Well, if you don’t fall asleep in the middle of anymore of your lessons, you just might.”
“I didn’t fall asleep!” Pinkamena bolted upright, but her weariness got the better of her as she slumped down again. “I just closed my eyes for a minute.”
“Uh huh.”
“Honest I didn’t! But uh, just in case, could we have another lesson tomorrow? You know, so I don’t forget anything.”
Clyde chuckled. His daughter was a terrible liar. “Sure thing. Hey, if you’re good, I’ll even throw in an extra lesson on igneous rocks.” He waited for a response, but none came. He couldn’t see her on his back, but the telltale heavy breathing told him all he needed to know. He gently deposited the little filly onto her bed and tucked her in for the night.
“Good night, Pinkie.”
“PINKAMENA! PINKAMENA WHERE ARE YOU?”
“I’M OVER HERE MAMA!”
Pinkamena’s mother turned her head towards the voice and spotted her daughter in the distance, out in the middle of one of the empty fields.
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT THERE? I WAS WORRIED SICK WHEN I COULDN’T FIND YOU!”
Pinkamena had broken into a run and was headed straight for the farmhouse at breakneck speeds. She looked so excited about something, her mother just couldn’t seem to stay upset.
“Pinkamena Diane Pie, what in Equestria has got you so excited?”
The little filly unceremoniously rolled a small object off of her back, right at her mother’s feet. “It’s a rock!”
The older mare examined the rock with a critical eye. It was a granulite, of what looked like felsic composition. Certainly not the most common rock, which was good since it didn’t have many uses, but that meant that this sample wasn’t particularly valuable. Combined with the fact that it was too small to fulfill any purpose it could have normally, this specimen had a net value of absolutely nothing.
“I think it might be one of those uh, sed-uh-mintery rocks papa told me about.”
Another interesting property of this particular rock was that it was metamorphic. Pinkamena was so happy about her first ‘successful’ harvest though, her mother couldn’t bring herself to correct her.
“So, how much is it worth? Can we sell it?”
“Oh, well, I don’t know right off hoof. I’ll have to have it appraised. Now, you go inside and wash up.”
“Okay!”
Pinkamena bounced into the house, literally jumping with joy. Her mother picked up the rock that was left behind and walked inside, shutting the door behind her.
“So, the sedimentary rocks are like layers?”
“That’s right, sedimentary rocks are formed when layers of sediment are compacted together under immense pressure. That’s why they’re called ‘sediment’-ary.”
“Huh.” Pinkamena nodded, pondering this new information. “So, the rock I found earlier today, that wasn’t sedimentary was it?”
“Right again. That was a metamorphic rock.”
“Metamorphic, right.”
Clyde could tell his daughter wasn’t fully invested in tonight’s lesson. His wife had shown him Pinkamena’s rock earlier, and they had both decided it was best to tell her its real value sooner rather than later. The little filly hadn’t taken this revelation well, but it was better than risking the chance that she might hurt herself trying to look for more.
“What’s got you down, Pinkie?”
“I’m useless.”
The response was expected, but it still hurt to hear her talk about herself like that.
“You’re not useless. What makes you say that?”
“I wanted to help so we could make money, so I tried to find a good rock, but the rock I found was worthless, and now we won’t make any money, and we’ll have to eat hay forever because I’m too stupid to be a rock farmer.” Pinkamena’s voice started to crack as her tear ducts threatened to turn on the waterworks.
“Pinkie, you aren’t stupid, you just made a mistake. Even mistakes can be a good thing as long as you learn from them. The fact is, you’re still too young. You’re not strong enough to carry the large rocks that we need, but there’s more to it than just that. Remember what I told you yesterday?”
“That if I study hard,” Pinkamena recalled her father’s words, answering between sniffles. “That if I study... I can help next year.”
“That’s right. If you study, you’ll be able to tell which rocks are the most valuable. And speaking of value, I don’t think that rock you found is worthless at all.”
“It’s not?” Pinkamena jumped up, her tears nearly evaporated with her sudden mood swing.
“Well, we still can’t sell it.”
Pinkamena deflated slightly as her hopes were dashed.
“However, I’d say that you learned a very valuable lesson today. No matter how many mistakes you make in your life, your only failure is when you don’t get back up and try again. If you keep at it and always try your best, you will succeed. That rock is your first step to becoming a great rock farmer, and that’s worth more than any number of bits.”
“He was right. I wouldn’t trade that day for all the bits in the world.”
Pinkie Pie glanced around the room, and then back at the rock she had been talking to. The absurdity of sharing such a sincere moment with a rock, no matter how sentimental, finally hit her and she burst into laughter. Gummy gave her a sidelong glance from his pillow across the room.
“I’m sorry Gummy,” Pinkie apologized amidst her various chuckles and chortles. “It’s just so, ahaha, so ridiculous. Just what I needed to put a smile back on my face, at least I hope so.” She dashed over to the mirror on her bedside table and took a look. “Yep, there it is!”
Another giggle fit later and Pinkie Pie was back to your usual, jubilant self. She returned to the closet and picked up the small chunk of granulite with her hoof.
“I was such a silly filly, to think I could actually fix everything with one rock.” She took one more look around the room, really taking in her surroundings this time. “I’ve really come a long way since then.” She thought back on the events that had transpired earlier that day, and remembered her father’s words of wisdom.
Your only failure is when you don’t get back up and try again.
She had failed to trust her best friends in the world, and had turned her back on them in her anger. Even so, they forgave her like nothing had ever happened. Perhaps the best way to make up for her mistake was simply to forgive herself. Well, that and a party, of course.
Pinkie placed the rock back in the corner of the closet and shut the door. She shuffled over to her bed, and, lacking any sort of grace, flopped on her side, pushing the blanket out of the way as she slid into place on the mattress.
“And to think, raspberry wasn’t even my favorite flavor. I just hadn’t tried any others!”
Pinkie Pie snickered at her own comment as her eyes closed and she finally drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow, she had a party to plan.
