"Dance as though no pony is watching you; love as though you've never been hurt before; sing as though no pony can hear you; live as though heaven is on Earth."
The Way Things Were
Chapter 2
Where am I?
"I'll always protect you Pinkie…Always protect you."
What do you mean? Who are you…and why do you want to protect me?
"Because you're Pinkie Pie. I care about you."
But I don't even know who you are.
"..."
Please say something. Do I really deserve your protection?
"...Always."
Pinkie sat up in bed and felt a chill run through her spine. She found herself in a large bed with blankets wrapped tightly around her. She looked about the room and felt as though she knew it from somewhere. It seemed so familiar to the pink pony, but at the same time she couldn't remember when she had been there.
"Where am I?" Pinkie asked the shadows lurking on the wall. Silence greeted her. She looked to the opposite side of the tiny room. "I'm lost. I don't know where I am, can you help me?"
Pinkie waited for an answer…
…And waited…
…And waited, but she heard nothing.
Pinkie's bright eyes began to water and she shut them in sorrow. She felt alone and scared and there was nopony around to help her.
Pinkie wait! Don't go, get out of here!
The magenta maned pony jerked awake in her bed. She was hot and her forehead hurt. Her back and stomach ached as well; it was getting worse. What happened that night? Why can't I remember?
Pinkie caught a glimpse of that night. She was standing over a cerulean pegasus that lay against a tree. As the vision passed the ground shook around them, but the little pony stayed where she was. She didn't take a step from in front of the wounded mare.
Pinkie opened her eyes again and held a blank picture in her hooves. She woke up with it every night with it on her bedside table, but she never left her bed and nopony ever came to see her. She wanted desperately to know what it was for. "Why can't I remember who you are?" She sobbed, gazing down at the white photo. She began shuffling awkwardly in her bed, unable to keep still any longer.
The pony with the straight magenta mane closed her tear soaked eyes and held the paper to her chest. Pinkie lay back in the familiar fluffy bed and fell into a restless sleep.
Please Dashie…please don't go, I need you.
Pinkie squirmed under the blankets and moaned in agony. "What's going on?"
Don't…don't leave. P-please don't let her die. I'm the reason she's like this.
"Like what? What happened?" Pinkie's eyes opened, her tears having dried out in the night. Her fur was matted and dull from all the crying, but she was too sad to care. Pinkie blinked and looked over at the piece of paper at her bedside.
Weeks passed by and still those confusing dreams plagued Pinkie's mind. The voices in those imaginings sounded so familiar, but she couldn't recall their names. Eventually it became too much for the little pony to bear. Pinkie just sat awake in bed, fearing what hallucinations or nightmares she might have if she closed her eyes.
It was always dark in that room, making it seem all the more cramping and suffocating. When she had nothing to do Pinkie would think about the room. Where it was and when she had been in it before.
The only visions she didn't mind having were those of a blurry room at night as she slept peacefully. A cyan pegasus lay next to her, nestled comfortably under the colorful blankets. The sight warmed Pinkie's heart every time she thought about her. If she thought about that, things suddenly didn't seem so bad.
She just knew that pony was important to her somehow, even if she didn't remember.
One night in particular startled the cerise mare awake in a cold sweat. It was from a vision she hadn't seen before, and she could see it as clear as day.
A sky blue pony lay crumpled against a tree, with another pony standing over her. She seemed to be protecting the injured mare from something. "Please Pinks. You have to get out of here, I'll handle this."
The pink pony in her vision shook her head. "But you're hurt."
"I'm fine, I can still get up…go now!" Her wings were brittle and battered, and she seemed to be gasping for oxygen.
In her bed, the carnation earth pony tossed and turned. She shook her own head in response to the pony's order to leave. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes as the vision continued.
"I…I can't." Growing adamant with her decision, Pinkie took a deep breath to calm herself. "I'll…I'll be right back okay Dashie?"
That name again.
"No Pinkie, you'll be killed!"
Killed? What do you mean I'll be killed?
The pony in her vision smiled at the cyan mare as smoke and flames covered the clearing. "…Promise." Pinkie turned and ran into the fire as the pegasus called out to her, but Pinkie couldn't make out the words.
The words kept coming back to Pinkie as she lay awake, trembling and crying in her hospital bed. Weeks had gone by, confined to that one dark room and that endless sleep. She cried and cried as her visions faded.
She heard voices suddenly. They were slurred at first, but Pinkie eventually distinguished them as two ponies talking. She opened her eyes and saw two blurry figures in front of her.
They seemed to be talking amongst themselves, but the little pony could hear them.
"Do you think she's awake this time?" One of the ponies asked.
The other one shrugged. "It's hard to say. We've tried talking to her a few times, but she's just gone back to sleep."
Pinkie couldn't take it anymore. She didn't know who they were talking about, but she only cared about one thing at the moment. "Is she okay?" She struggled to ask. Her blurry vision cleared enough to see the shocked faces on the doctors.
"Who?" The other pony replied after a moment of silence.
The magenta maned pony struggled to sit up and groaned at the pain she felt in her stomach. "Her…the pony I was with when the dragon attacked." Pinkie tried to move again, unable to stay still from seeing those visions. What greeted her was excruciating pain throughout her body.
Pinkie let her head drop roughly to the pillow and the pain began to subside. Doctors rushed to stabilize the rose mare, attaching wires and tubes to the exhausted pony. They tried to make her as comfortable as she could be in her condition. "You need to relax. This state you are in is very unstable. You won't be able to move around very much, at least for a few weeks." A soothing voice from Pinkie's beside spoke to her. "The pony you are talking about has made a full recovery. She'll be leaving shortly I'm afraid, but you probably know her well enough to meet again somewhere."
At hearing the pegasus was going to be okay, Pinkie felt a weight lift off her shoulders. She shut her stinging eyes when she felt more tears welling up. No, I don't. I…I can't…
"Now it's alright, she isn't going to die. I can still save her, but there seems to be something on your mind."
"What?" Pinkie whispered. She opened her eyes to an empty hospital room; she was still in bed, but all the equipment was removed. Pinkie sat up, like she had tried to before, and felt no pain. "Where'd everypony go?"
"She will be leaving shortly…"
The words echoed in her eardrums until she couldn't sit still any longer. "Dashie." Hearing that name again, Pinkie rose slowly from her bed and hopped off. She continued quickly out the door and into the hallway. "Whoever you are…I have to know you're okay. Before you leave." Pinkie began trotting lightly down the hall, avoiding the gazes of ponies as she made her way to the mystery pony's room.
The pink mare didn't really know where she was going, but her heart told her to keep moving and as it beat faster with every step she took, her stride also quickened. Soon she was zooming passed doctors and patients in a pink blur, until grinding to a halt outside a dull looking hospital room at the other end of the hall. Pinkie gulped. I just hope I'm not too late. She gently nudged the slightly ajar door open with her snout and her eyes immediately widened.
Standing in front of the room's bed and looking frantically around it for something, was a beautiful cyan mare with a multi-colored mane. Her flank was adorned with a cutie-mark of a cloud and rainbow-colored lightning bolt.
Pinkie desperately wanted to say something to get the pony's attention, but she couldn't find the words to tell her she was there. As the pegasus seemed to give up her search, Pinkie Pie remembered back one day at her parent's rock farm.
A rainbow had graced the sky above the pink pony's head and Pinkie's blue eyes that day. At the front of that dazzling spectacle flew a cyan filly with a lightning bolt for a cutie-mark and a mane of all the colors of the rainbow.
If it were even possible as she stood in the doorway, Pinkie's eyes grew even wider than before. Suddenly a flood of confusing emotions overwhelmed her. She felt admiration, joy, terrified, and sick to her stomach, but she couldn't bring herself to look away.
As the cyan mare turned around, and Pinkie could see the pony's gorgeous magenta eyes, she thought of one word that had never let her down before. So, without thinking, Pinkie drew in a breath and let that one word out. "Hi!"
The cyan pegasus jolted backward in surprise to Pinkie's outburst and nearly fell flat on her flank. Luckily, the blue pony managed to steady herself before she could lose her balance completely. Pinkie still clenched her teeth slightly. That wasn't exactly how she wanted to introduce herself. She hoped she didn't scare her too badly.
Once the colorful pegasus had calmed down and realised it was a pony standing in front of her and not something scary, the cyan mare started questioning Pinkie. She flared her wings angrily at her to try and make herself look angry, but all Pinkie could think of was how cute she looked while doing it.
At the end of the pony's speech Pinkie giggled in response and stepped forward, still a distance away from the mare so she wouldn't become scared again. "Sorry. My name's Pinkie Pie." She spoke with a sudden glee in her eyes and her voice as she sat neatly on her rump.
Pinkie explained how she was coming to say good-bye to the spectral-maned pony and throw her a 'getting all better party' to celebrate her quick recovery. When Pinkie was done, the cerulean mare's eyes lit up in recognition of something. She gestured to the pink mare with a careful forehoof. "You were that pony that was with me the night the dragon-"
Pinkie nodded in quick response, cutting the cyan mare off with a pleased grin. "Yep, I was there. I was wondering how long it would take you to figure it out." She didn't really think that. She was too busy thinking of what to say when she actually met this pony to wonder about that, but it seemed like the right thing to say at the moment. Honestly, Pinkie hadn't figured out how they were together that night any more than the maroon eyed pegasus had. In fact, she almost forgot those visions all at once when she saw the cyan pony. It was all a blur to the pink pony.
Pinkie found herself thinking back on the last week, but came up with nothing. She began squirming in her seat, becoming frustrated with not being able to remember. Another thought crept into her mind and the magenta maned pony tilted her head at the pegasus in front of her. "By the way, you haven't told me your name yet." Now I can finally know who it was that made that beautiful rainbow all those years ago. This is so great, somepony pinch me.
"My name?" Came the cyan pony's reply, breaking Pinkie from her reverie. "Oh, sorry. It's Rainbow Dash."
Upon hearing the mare's name, Pinkie rushed forward and hugged the shocked pony to the bed, still squeezing the poor creature tight as she shouted, "Oh my gosh! That is so awesome. You're the one that did the sonic rainboom right? Who am I kidding? Of course you are!" As Pinkie's muzzle blabbed on about Dash's feats as a high-flier, Pinkie's inner mind was having a much more intellectual conversation. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh! That's such a cute name. Just right for somepony as pretty as her-
But before her mind could think of anything more to say about the colorful pony, a forehoof quickly lodged itself inside Pinkie's still flapping mouth. This silenced both conversations and allowed Dash a chance to get a word in. "Whoa there. You know, I've kinda gotta be somewhere. So if you're gonna keep talking can we at least walk and talk?" Dash was smirking slightly as she muffled the pink mare, almost like she was enjoying having stopped her from speaking so easily.
Pinkie just stared back at her for a while, new thoughts beginning to take shape in her bouncy mind. She's just smiling. No pony has ever smiled AND stopped me from talking before. Does she…actually like me? She doesn't seem to be annoyed with me or anything. Pinkie's eyes lit up as she realised Dash had asked her something. She tried to respond, but all that came out was, "Mm hmm mmph hm mmm?" At hearing her voice sound like that, Pinkie's face contorted in confusion.
Pinkie stared down at the hoof covering her mouth and looked back up at Dash. The blue pony seemed to recognise she was the cause of her inability to speak. "Oh, oops. My bad." Dash removed her hoof from Pinkie's mouth and trotted lightly out the hospital room door.
Pinkie turned her head to watch the mare leave and looked back into the room. I wonder what she was looking for in here. Maybe she's lost something too. The little pony spun around and bounced through the door. Oh well, She thought. I'm sure we'll find what we're looking for eventually. It's always in the last place you look.
The pink pony caught up to Dash and apologized for getting excited. To Pinkie's surprise, the spectral maned pony didn't even seem to mind. In fact, she kind of seemed interested in hearing those compliments more from her.
She's so nice about it too. Oh, I wish I could remember her. Pinkie lowered her head and stopped walking all together. She noticed the flooring tile of the hospital ended just at her fore-hooves. Pinkie gulped and heard Dash stop in her stride once she knew she wasn't coming anymore. Pinkie looked up from the floor and tried her best to smile at the blue pegasus. "Well, um, I'll see ya later okay?" Pinkie closed her eyes and hoped to Celestia that Dash wouldn't ask what was going on.
"Later?" She heard Dash ask. "What do you mean? Don't you want to get out of here too?"
Yes, more than anything I…just want to remember you. Pinkie opened her eyes again to see the pegasi's beautiful magenta eyes again. "Oh yes, definitely…but I can't yet." She felt tears welling up in her eyes, but she blinked them away. Seeing Dash's questioning look, Pinkie thought to continue with her explanation. "I'm not allowed yet. I'm actually not even supposed to be walking yet. Not for a few more days."
"What? Then why are you?" Came Dash's quick response.
Pinkie managed a slight smile on her face as she answered. "I wanted to see you go." She didn't know why, but suddenly Dash reminded her of her mother…before she passed away. Pinkie could see visions now of her foalhood and visions with the cyan mare. One in particular had the two ponies hugging tightly, deep within the Everfree Forest. How…? How had I forgotten that? When Pinkie looked up, her tears faded again and she could see the hesitation on Dash's face.
"O-oh well, I'm sure it won't take too long before you can leave too. Then we might bump into each other again." Dash smiled awkwardly at Pinkie and her wings ruffled uncomfortably.
Pinkie suddenly felt like her whole world would fall apart if this pony left. She felt butterflies in her tummy. In her Pinkie mind she remembered leaving a colorful cake-house, being chased out of the city by ponies, and hugging Dash inside the Everfree. The visions all came to her in an incomplete blur and left as soon as they had come, but Pinkie could see bits of it. "Will you come back and see me again?" Pinkie whispered hopefully to the cyan pony, just enough for Dash to hear as she let a gentle smile onto her face.
The question seemed to shake the pegasus for a moment. The two stood there, silently staring at one another as Pinkie's thoughts collected in her mind. "Well uh, I do have training…for the Wonderbolts…" Dash responded, a little awkwardly Pinkie imagined.
Pinkie dropped her hopeful gaze on the cyan mare and hung her head. Her mane deflated along with it and dropped in front of her face. "Oh." She said dejectedly. Pinkie thought about turning back around and walking into the hospital again, but she couldn't bring herself to move. She's…probably already gone anyway. I should have guessed she didn't want to actually talk to me. I just don't learn fast enough to tell.
"But maybe, after…" Came a low ringing in Pinkie's perked ears.
In a split second, Pinkie's mane and tail went from sleek and straight to poofy and curly as she tackled Dash to the ground in a huge hug of relief. "Oh, thank you Rainbow Dash! Thank you!" Pinkie let go to raise herself off slightly from holding the blue mare to look down at her as she continued to speak rapidly, "You know what? I'm gonna come up with a nickname for you while I wait for you to come back. Ooh, how about Dashie? That sounds pretty good." Pinkie's face dropped. "Darn it, now I have nothing to do until you get back to see me and- Ow ow ow!"
"What? What's wrong?" Dash's voice echoed in Pinkie's ears as she held her stomach tightly.
I…I don't know. Pinkie clenched her teeth together ever tighter as the pain grew. She was lifted off the ground and heard Dash's voice shouting, but she couldn't hear what the pony was saying. I've never hurt like this before. Did the dragon do this?
Suddenly a familiar voice rang out and Pinkie's ears perked. "I've got an injured pony here, she's already checked in. Pinkie Pie," It was Rainbow Dash. She sounded worried.
Pinkie wanted to respond; tell her she was fine, but she couldn't. It hurt too much for her to make any words. She only groaned and felt herself lifted up again. The wind whipped through Pinkie's mane as she struggled to stay conscious.
Pinkie succeeded in pulling her eyes open to squint at her surroundings as she was carried. Dash was holding her tightly against her chest as she made her way down the hall back to her room, flapping her wings wildly. As she looked up at the cyan pony, her imaginings blurred into one thought as her vision faded to blackness.
She thought of the past week. Pinkie's visions came clearly to her out of the blurriness of her conscious. Pinkie remembered the night with the dragon. She lay in front of the cerulean mare, with tears beginning to flow from her baby blue eyes.
The smoke had cleared and the injuries of both the mares sustained shown through in the darkness, but Pinkie didn't care. She only wanted to get Dash out of here and all better. She was crying, "Please…Dashie…don't go, I need you."
The blue pony smiled back weakly. "Don't say that, you'll be fine. You're a really…strong pony Pinkie."
Pinkie hiccupped miserably and more tears stained her pink face. "But…I can only be strong…when you're with me." She collapsed onto the cyan pegasus, who cradled the little pony in her hooves as best she could.
As Pinkie saw these visions pass by, she felt herself lowered onto a fluffy bed.
She couldn't tell what was happening. The only thing Pinkie could hear was yelling ponies and the loud beating of her own heart against her chest.
"I have to save you…Dash. Just like you saved me th-that day with the cobra." The pink pony raised herself shakily off the pegasus. Pinkie locked her watery eyes with Dash's and gulped thickly as she saw the extent of the cyan pony's wounds for the first time.
The pink mare couldn't hear what the ponies were yelling as she lay half-awake in her hospital bed, but she heard somepony whisper to her. It was a familiar voice; Dash's, cracking with surprising worry in the tone she spoke to her with. "Please be alright, Pinkie. Okay? I'll come back and…and see you." Her ears perked at the pony's words. Pinkie moaned in pain at not being able to respond and turned in her bed, but her eyes stayed shut.
Dash shook her head in response. "You already did Pinks…"
The earth mare tossed in the bed and she finally managed to open her eyes slightly. They seemed to have been closed forever; Pinkie could barely see anything anyway, but she could make out the multi-colored mane that belonged to the cool pegasus.
Pinkie knew the blue mare was still standing there, staring fearfully at her in bed. Pinkie could see the dreadful expression on Dash's face as she looked up. So the pink pony smiled at the upset high-flier and whispered back, "Have fun Dashie. I'll be here next time you come visit."
She shut her eyes again and heard no more from the outside world. Pinkie's visions still played through in her head and her ears stayed open to hear more.
The blue mare gulped and finished her sentence to Pinkie, "It must have been cold there in my shadow,
to never have sunlight on your face.
You were content to let me shine, that's your way.
You always walked a step behind.
So I was the one with all the glory,
while you were the one with all the strength.
A beautiful face without a name for so long.
A beautiful smile to hide the pain.
Did you ever know that you're my hero,
and everything I would like to be?
I can fly higher than an eagle,
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.
It might have appeared to go unnoticed,
but I've got it all here in my heart.
I want you to know I know the truth, of course I know it.
I would be nothing without you.
Did you ever know that you're my hero?
You're everything I wish I could be.
I could fly higher than an eagle,
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.
Did I ever tell you you're my hero?
You're everything, everything I wish I could be.
Oh, and I, I could fly higher than an eagle,
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings,
'cause you are the wind beneath my wings.
Oh, the wind beneath my wings.
You, you, you, you are the wind beneath my wings.
Fly, fly, fly away. You let me fly so high.
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.
Oh, you, you, you, the wind beneath my wings.
Fly, fly, fly high against the sky,
so high I almost touch the sky.
Thank you, thank you,
thank Celestia for you, the wind beneath my wings."
Dash's song came to an end and she smiled up at the pink mare, blushing brightly and happily. "I love you."
Pinkie opened her eyes suddenly; she felt her entire body flow with warmth and tenderness. As her eyes focussed she realised she was lying on top of the cyan mare. Her eyes started pouring with tears as she saw the extent of Dash's injuries. "Please Dash…don't leave me here all alone." Pinkie's eyes stung sharply. She shut them and tried to imagine herself back in her hospital bed, but she didn't move.
"That has yet to be decided, little pony." A regal voice called from beside Pinkie Pie.
The earth pony perked her ears curiously and gazed into the shimmering eyes of a tall alicorn pony with a flowing mane and tail. Pinkie knew who it was and knew why she was here, but her voice lingered in her throat for a moment. She wasn't sure of what to say; this was all happening so quickly, Pinkie couldn't figure out how she was suddenly in the Everfree Forest. Why Dash was injured and why this new pony was even here.
The elegant mare only smiled back kindly and patiently as she allowed the pink pony to gather her thoughts on the situation.
Pinkie stood up and stepped carefully off Dash, standing before the princess and bowing low. "Princess Celestia…"
Celestia shook her head at the little pony and spoke sweetly. "That is unnecessary at the moment, dear child. There are more pressing matters to attend to." She stepped closer to Pinkie and looked down at Dash.
Pinkie sniffed gently and looked to the cyan mare as well. "Dash…I don't know what happened; or why she's hurt." The little pony shook her head and turned to the princess next to her. "She doesn't deserve this."
"What do you mean?" Celestia asked carefully, tilting her head to hear Pinkie's reply.
Pinkie swallowed and held back her tears. "It– It should be me lying there…not Rainbow Dash."
"Think about what you say, little one. I do not think it would make the situation any better if your friend Rainbow Dash was looking down on you instead, do you?"
Pinkie shook visibly at the thought, but her tears kept falling. "I just…I want her to be alright. She's my best friend."
Celestia nodded her understanding. "I see." The princess opened her mouth to speak, but the pink earth pony interrupted her.
"Princess Celestia, please don't take Rainbow Dash away. It's all my fault for doing this to her. I want Dash to be better. Please just make her forget she ever knew me. It's better for her to forget than it is for me to be her friend anymore. She'll…She'll be happier that way. And she'll get to join the Wonderbolts…without me to stop her."
Celestia smiled sympathetically and shook her head. "No."
"But…but why–!" Pinkie shouted, looking at the princess desperately.
"I did not come here to take Rainbow Dash away."
At this Pinkie looked confused. She tilted her head to the side slightly. "You didn't, then what did you come here for?"
Celestia smiled proudly and raised her head up to gaze down at the pink mare. "I came here to save your friend. Therefore, you will still be with her."
"I can't." Pinkie replied, shaking her head slowly. She looked at Dash lying unconscious against the tree and felt her heart ache for her friend.
The princess gave the small pony a confused look, but waited for what Pinkie had to say. They stood in silence for a while, feeling the breeze rush through their manes and hearing the night continue on around them.
Pinkie saw what she had caused. Whatever it was that happened…it was her fault. She remembered what the doctors had said about the dragon as she looked over all the claw marks on the cyan mare. Her wings were broken and battered. Blood stained her coat and scorch marks were present along the grass beside the tree, but they didn't reach Dash's body.
Pinkie looked down in worry and saw that the burnt blades of grass parted to the sides at her hooves. She gasped softly, lifting a forehoof up and seeing the burnt fur all along it. She had stood in the way and blocked the flames from reaching Dash as she lay on the ground. Pinkie took another moment and nodded once at the decision she had made. She turned and stood firm in front of the regal mare. "Dash deserves to forget all this and be in the Wonderbolts…and I get to…never see her again."
The alicorn looked startled at the little pony's response. "But…Pinkie Pie–"
"Please Princess." Pinkie interrupted quickly. "I don't want to ruin her life any more than I have. Her whole life she wanted to be a Wonderbolt and now I've ruined that chance. I know she doesn't blame me for it, but…"
Celestia exhaled softly and smiled kindly at Pinkie. She had made her choice, whether it was right or not. "Very well… you will both live and you will both forget." A light shown from the princess' horn and allowed Pinkie to see her friend revived one last time before the two ponies' memories of each other were hidden away.
Before her memories were gone, the pink pony spoke. She looked at the closed eyes of the pegasus mare and smiled softly. "Recall it as often as you wish…a happy memory never wears out. Good-bye Dash. I hope you get into the Wonderbolt's someday. You really deserve it…bestest friend." Pinkie shut her eyes and knew no more of that night.