It was a stormy day. Droplets of stinging cold water dropped from the lightning streaked sky. One pony dared to brave these conditions, but then again, she wasn't the most sensible of ponies. The soft sounds of her hooves trotting on a worn stone echoed in the dark gloom. Her saddlebags bumped uncomfortably on her back, filled with a strange assortment of items. A stick of cotton candy, wrapped in a plastic covering, a small carton of chocolate milk, a bouquet of roses, and a card hidden in a bright pink envelope. All thoroughly soaked, much like the very exhausted pony.
She sighed, having reached her destination. The tall iron gates of the Canterlot sculpture garden marked the end of her weary journey. Or nearly the end, anyway. She still had to find his statue and travel back to the train station. She could feel a sneeze coming on and hoped she could find the statue soon, as she didn't want to catch a cold. As she trotted through the woven paths of the sculpture garden, passing by many strange and beautiful statues.
At last, in front of her, tucked away in the darkest corner of the stormy garden, stood him. Lifeless, encased in stone, a look of absolute terror on his face. The pony fondly remembered when she had first seen the statue. She was just a filly, going to Canterlot for the first time on one of her father's many rock-related business trips. She had soon grown bored of listening to him rattle on to customers, so she, being the mischievous thing she was, bounced away towards the garden.
There, she had found him, although she had yet to know how much the encounter would change her fate. She spent the whole day playing by his statue, and the next day after that. the whole week she stayed in Canterlot she had made him into a sort of imaginary friend, whom she could talk to, joke to and play with. After all, he looked so out of place among the other statutes, as the pony did among her own family.
The pony smiled sadly, back in the present, and lifted her saddlebags from her aching back, placing them on the damp ground. The pink bags had faded from the rain, much like the pony herself. She unhooked the clasp, a trio of balloons, her cutie mark, which was, in a way, her signature. Anypony who saw those balloons would immediately think of Pinkie Pie, the party-loving, hyper baker in Sugarcube Corner. But Pinkie Pie wasn't feeling like throwing a huge celebration right now. She carefully picked up the strange assortment of items in her bags and placed them in front of the towering, asymmetrical tower she now faced.
At eye-level, directly in front of her, a faded brass plaque loudly proclaimed the identity of the statue, and who had defeated him. Pinkie couldn't help herself from reading it- really, she couldn't. Whoever had written these words had to have been a unicorn, as Pinkie Pie recognized that the plaque was enchanted.
Discord, Former Ruler of Equestria, Defeated by our beloved princesses and the Elements of Harmony.
Newer words inscribed on the brass added:
Defeated a second time by Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, the spirits of the Elements. FRAGILE! DO NOT TOUCH!
Pinkie hated the fact that she was included in there, as it was with extreme reluctance that she had done what any sane pony in her position would have. She had known Discord, far better than Twilight knew him from books, or the rest bknew him from bedtime stories. He had been her friend when she needed one most, an inspiration when she was unsure where life would take her, and even, dare she say it, a lover when he returned. She had studied him more than anypony else, written assignments on him, looked up to him- the grand master of chaos and everything Pinkie stood for.
If she could, she would forgo her Element of Laughter, hand it over to anypony, just to meet Discord once more. But she knew, deep in her heart, that she couldn't. Even breaking her Element would be disastrous, as all the evils she had banished would return, not just Discord. She sighed, and reached out with one hoof, gently touching the draconequus, through a layer of stone, as if defying the plaque's warning would make it disappear.
A surge of laughter and fun surged through her, and she could taste the delicious mix of cotton candy and chocolate milk in her mouth. For a second, she could pretend that Discord had returned. But as she pulled her hoof away from the surface of the statue, she realised in the end, that was all it was.
A statue.
The rain that had constantly drizzled from the stormy sky became more heavy, and Pinkie's half-deflated hair clung to her face. Tears brimmed in the young pony's eyes, blurring her vision of her beloved statue. Pinkie Pie eased her sopping saddlebags back on, and began to walk back through the garden towards the entrance, head hung low. Before she left, however, she turned back to the statue.
"Goodbye, Discord," she whispered, "And happy Hearts and Hooves day."
She then fled from the garden, her tears cascading down her face, creating small puddles of their own.
Somewhere, hidden in the bushes, a trio of young fillies threw their hooves up in the air and cried out in the gloom.
"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MATCH-MAKERS!"
Rainbow Dash blew a lock of stray hair out of her face, groaning in boredom. A furious storm raged outside the cosy walls of Sugarcube corner, which stood like a beacon in the dark, a safe point in the eye of the storm. Rainbow Dash wished that her fellow weather ponies weren't so incompetent in their job. Just how did Derpy mix up a sunny day and a ferocious storm? If Derpy wasn't so adorably pitiful Rainbow Dash would have fired her ages ago, back when she had made in snow in summer. Or when she created a hurricane that blew half of Ponyville to bits. Or that time she made it rain muffins.
Rainbow Dash spotted her now, talking to a strange-looking brown stallion whom Rainbow Dash assumed was her boyfriend, her daughter Dinky squirming to get free in her arms as her mother munched contently on yet another of the Cake's famous oat and blueberry muffins. At least her date had arrived on time, which was more than Rainbow Dash could say about Pinkie. Celestia, that pony was supposed to be here an hour ago! They were going to miss the next screening of The Power Ponies if she didn't get here soon, and to top it off, Rainbow Dash's chocolates were melting.
Rainbow Dash grew bored of watching Derpy, and so she quickly scanned the other patrons of the cafe. She soon spotted Twilight, the purple mare taking a sip of the caramel-flavoured coffee Sugarcube corner sold, whilst reading a newspaper. Rainbow couldn't see Flash Sentry, Twilight's boyfriend, anywhere, and she felt a bit saddened to think of one of her best friends being alone on Hearts and Hooves day. Like Rainbow herself.
On closer inspection, Rainbow could see that Twilight's eyes were red and puffy, most likely from crying, and that her magic was almost crushing her coffee cup. That, and the absence of Flash, added up pretty neatly in Rainbow's mind. Ouch. Dumped on Hearts and Hooves Day.
Rainbow diverted her attention from Twilight, and spotted a few more interesting sights, such as Spike flirting to an uncomfortable (and taken) Rarity and Bon-Bon handing over some heart-shaped candy to Lyra. And then, out of the corner of her eye, Rainbow Dash spotted her.
Applejack was talking to the Cakes, a wagon full of delicious treats attached to her body. Her flowing blonde mane was soaking wet from the storm and not tied up like it usually was, and her cute hat was perched on it. She was smiling, laughing at a comment Mr. Cake had made, which made her freckled face become even more beautiful, if that was even possible. A light blush dusted Rainbow's cheeks as she stared at the mare, the mare she could stare at for-
No. No no no no no no. Rainbow Dash slammed her head into her table repetitively, trying to shake those thoughts out of her head. Celestia, she had a girlfriend! What was she doing daydreaming about one of her best friend's?!
"Bad Dashie! Bad Dashie!" she mumbled to herself.
"You okay, sugarcube?" a familiar accented voice asked with concern evident in her voice.
Rainbow lifted her head and stared into Applejack's emerald green eyes, blushing slightly, she soon realised that the whole cafe was staring at her, and even Derpy had frightened her vision to watch Rainbow's antics. Rainbow's blush turned beet red.
"Yeah, um, of course, AJ! I was just... er... making sure my head is strong enough for my next stunt!" Rainbow grinned nervously, as Applejack narrowed her eves at her suspiciously.
"Breaking through a pile o' rocks again, Dash? Rainbow began to sweat under the full force of Applejack's glare.
"Yes! That's it... a pile of... rocks... heh heh heh..." Just at that precise moment, the tinkle of the door's bell rang through the shop, and in bounded a sopping wet Pinkie Pie. The mare spotted Rainbow Dash at bounced over to her, oblivious of what was going on.
"Hi Dashie!" she called, enveloping her girlfriend in a hug, pecking the pegasus's cheek. Applejack sighed, trotting away.
"Oh! Hi Pinkie!" Dash said, water from the wet Pinkie soaking her fur, as she blushed awkwardly from the kiss. Pinkie and her had only been dating for about a week, and they hadn't even kissed yet. Rainbow Dash supposed that she should have never gotten into this relationship if she truly loved Applejack, but when Pinkie asked to be Rainbow's girlfriend, Rainbow didn't want to disappoint her. Maybe that was the wrong choice. "You're a bit late, ya know."
Pinkie separated herself from Dash. "Whoopsie! I guess I was just being a silly little Pinkie Pie again!" She spotted the chocolates on the table, and a look of pure joy lit up her face. "Ooooooooo! Chocolate! Is this for me?" Rainbow Dash nodded and Pinkie started scarfing down the treats, putting at least five in her mouth at a time.
"Soooooo good!" Pinkie handed a few of the remaining chocolates to Rainbow, who nibbled on some.
As they ate the sweet treat, the same thought flashed through their minds:
Chocolate is good. Chocolate helps me ignore the pain.