Chapter 32.5 – Somepony to Hold

After a long, strenuous night at Ponyville General Hospital as well as from saying goodbye to their equally distressed friends, Twilight Sparkle and Trixie teleport to the former’s room in Canterlot. From the completion of Twilight’s teleportation spell, they arrive at the same spot where they originally teleported from in the first place. And upon their return, Spike rushes up to them before expressing his overwhelming concern over their visit.

“Twilight! Trixie! You’re back! So, what happened?! Is Rainbow Dash okay?!”

From Spike’s questioning, the two mares share a meaningful, heartwrenching look with each other before the reluctant Twilight steps forward and answers in a quiet, disheartening voice, “Spike… I’m… I’m sorry. Sh-she didn’t make it.”

The subtle news hits the young dragon hard just like it did for the first time Twilight and the others had to handle that at the hospital earlier. Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t hold back some of his tears as he weeps in disbelief and anguish.

“N-N-No… no. It can’t be…!”

As Spike wails softly over the recent tragedy, Twilight walks up to him and embraces him sympathetically. With his figurative caretaker as his closest source of comfort, he pours out all of his sorrow into the young princess’s soft, purple coat.

Eventually, his self-misery begins to die down before he looks up and asks Twilight in a grief-stricken voice, “W-well… what about the twins? Are they okay at least?”

With a small smile, she reassures him softly, “Yes, Spike. They are alive and well.”

“Sigh… th-that’s good to hear.” he responds with a contented smile over the success of their births.

“Spike, why don’t you get some sleep?” she suggests gently. “We’ve got a lot to do, you know.”

“R-right, of course! I’ll be up bright and early tomorrow morning!” he assures with a brighter smile.

But before he heads straight to bed, Twilight suddenly calls out to him, “And Spike?”

“Yes, Twilight?”

And once he turns around, the Alicorn Princess wraps him in a motherly hug with one of her wings to pull him in closely before she whispers to him in a very tenderhearted tone, “I love you.”

A bit flabbergasted by this sudden embrace and her simple yet heartfelt words, Spike nevertheless returns the sincere affection as he hugs the compassionate mare once again whilst responding back in an equally gentle voice, “I love you too, Twilight.”

After their quiet exchange, Spike retreats to his bedroom as Twilight and Trixie are the only two occupants left in the vast living room. And from feeling pretty awkward in the disturbing silence of theirs, Trixie decides it’s best to say her farewells before leaving the castle.

“So umm… I should probably take my leave as well.”

But from the subtle touch of Twilight's fore hoof on her shoulder, Trixie freezes in places as she stares back at her friend, who bears a very beseeching look on her face before she implores in an hospitable manner, “You’re welcome to stay here if you like, Trixie. It’s already getting late as it is.”

Surprised at first, Trixie tries to decline the kindhearted invitation as mannerly as possible, “I don’t want to impose if it’s too much trouble for you.”

In response, Twilight shakes her head as she reassures the humble Unicorn, “It’s no trouble at all. Really. Besides, it will make me feel more at ease if you stay here for the night.”

Despite her hesitation and best intentions, Trixie couldn’t find it in her heart to turn down such a generous offer from the pleading princess as she timidly accepts it, “Well then… I guess I’ll help myself to one of the couches her--!”

“Actually, you’re more than welcome to share my bed with me.”

From Twilight’s sharp yet casual response, Trixie almost has a hard time to comprehend that before she lets the suggestion fully sink in, and almost right away, her completely startled face lights up with a massive, hot-pink blush. With a frozen, wide-eyed expression, various, raunchy fantasies flood from her wild imagination and play out in her mind.

And as the dumbstruck Unicorn remains lost in her faraway thoughts, the observant princess mistakes Trixie’s discomfort for something else as she rephrases her offer in a frantic, flustered state, “I-I mean… it’s certainly big enough for two ponies, but if you’re not comfortable with that, I can--!”

Quickly enough, Trixie reassures the equally flushed Twilight strongly, “No no, not at all! Why would I be?! Ahem! Well then, shall we?” she adds with a sheepish, witty smirk. “A princess needs her proper beauty sleep you know!”

Leaving it at that, they slowly make their way towards the princess’s bedroom and prepare their much-needed rest. And soon enough, the two mares are situated on opposite sides of the large, luxurious bed with their backs facing each other’s as the still flustered Trixie makes sure to give themselves enough space from each other.

But as she tries to get some sleep, Trixie begins to think back to a particular moment of their time together when they were at Ponyville Hospital. It was when Twilight Sparkle had to excuse herself to notify the princesses about Rainbow Dash’s recent death. And after she sent the letter, Twilight decided to wait outside for the Alicorn Sisters’ arrival.

And in the midst of their waiting, Trixie, who is standing alongside Twilight with nothing better to do, quickly noticed the silent Alicorn Princess shaking slightly to herself. Cautiously, she slowly approached her shivering friend before she stopped herself and stared in shock over Twilight’s sudden change in demeanor.

With her eyes tightly shut and a quivering bite of her lip, tears rained down her checks without any restraint. As Trixie observed this sudden, emotional breakdown, she was surprised by this in so many ways. Since the letter she received from Ford over Rainbow’s recent labor, Twilight has remained so composed and strongminded as others openly expressed their grief in this unfortunate night of theirs. But at that point, with nopony else around besides Trixie, she could finally push aside her own inner barriers to let all of it out.

At first, the observant Unicorn led herself to believe that Twilight Sparkle needed to act so collected to handle her friend’s death due to her status as an upstanding princess. But then she reconsidered that thought when she realized that she is just as much a pony as she was, even before her ascension. And it is because of that display of humility is one of the reasons why Trixie admires Twilight so much.

Unable to see the weeping Alicorn endure so much heartache, Trixie made up her mind and decided to step in to offer her sincerest sympathies. She could only hope that she wasn’t stepping any boundaries on what she was about to do. And without a single word, the hesitant Unicorn wraps a tender fore hoof around the melancholy princess before leaning a soft cheek against hers. In the midst of her crying, Twilight was a bit startled by the unexpected embrace from her friend. But as Trixie almost considered on ceasing her well-meant affection, Twilight surprisingly returned the heartfelt gesture by wrapping her trembling fore hooves around the sympathetic Unicorn as a small smile spread across her grief-stricken face. Seeing how the embracing mare is feeling more at ease, Trixie smiled to herself and continued to carry out her task as Twilight’s only comforter.

From that recollection, Trixie turns her head to look at Twilight, who still has her back facing her, and she quietly calls out to her, “Tw-Twilight?”

Despite not receiving any response from the purple mare, whether she is still awake or not, Trixie continues to speak her mind in a bashful manner, “I know this has been a very rough for you. But just I hope you know that if there’s anything I can do, you can always count on me, Twilight.”

Once again, Trixie is met with silence from the seemingly unresponsive mare. But before the blue Unicorn is about to face the other way once again, Twilight finally twists her head back and catches the Unicorn off-guard by bearing not only an affected, purple gaze that is about to break into tears, but also a grateful smile for the thoughtful magician's consideration. And as Trixie remains bewildered by the young princess’s mixed reaction, Twilight twists her entire body around and wraps her hooves around the startled Unicorn mare before whispering in a heartfelt, appreciative tone.

“Thank you, Trixie. I’m so glad to have you at my side.”

With the now serene Twilight Sparkle snuggling closely to her newly acquaited sleeping buddy, Trixie, despite blushing like mad from such close tenderness, beams with satisfaction as she maintains the tenderhearted embrace between the two of them. She isn’t sure on where their future may be in their status as ongoing friends. But for her, to be seen as a personal consoler by Twilight Sparkle herself… this is more than enough for her.

Down the hallway, Rarity slowly makes her way towards her own bedroom. But along the way, she stops herself when she is about to pass by Fluttershy and Big Macintosh’s room as she notices a crack in their door. With but a peek, the purple-haired Unicorn takes a momentary glance to see how her yellow Pegasus friend is holding up recently. And as Rarity expected, Fluttershy is still not holding up so well over the death of their dear friend, Rainbow Dash, as she continues to cry softly while she is curled up in the strong yet gentle hooves her ever-so caring husband.

From resuming her stroll, Rarity thinks back to how overwhelming things have been since their emergency visit at the local hospital. Even when they make it back to their home, Sweet Apple Acres, they ended up being the bearer of bad news for Granny Smith and Apple Bloom. In their own way, the elder mare and little filly didn’t take it so well as they too shed tears over this unbearable tragedy of theirs. Sooner or later, when things have calmed done for the moment, they all retire to their respective chambers for some much-needed sleep.

Upon entering her own room, Rarity is briefly startled when she sees her wife, Applejack, staring silently at a golden horseshoe. Along with that, the seamstress detects something watery in those soft, emerald green eyes of hers. But when the subtly distraught farmpony notices her wife’s presence, Applejack panics all of a sudden as she anxiously hides the horseshoe in the drawer next to her.

“O-o-oh! Rarity! Ah-Ah didn’t hear ya comin’ in!” Applejack greets with a very sheepish grin.

“Sorry, Applejack.” the Unicorn apologizes sweetly as she joins the orange Earth Pony’s side. “I didn’t disturb you, did I?”

“No, not at all! Ah was just… surprised, that’s all!”

As Applejack maintains her unusual awkwardness, Rarity sits next to her wife on their bed and delicately asks out of concern, “Darling, is everything okay?”

Feeling mighty unease from the subtle inquiring, Applejack replies with a very sour expression on her face as she averts her guilt-ridden eyes away from Rarity’s soft yet piercing gaze, “A-Ah’m… Ah’m fine, sugarcube! R-Really Ah am!”

Of course, from knowing Applejack for so long, especially on how bad of a liar she is, Rarity places a caring fore hoof on her wife’s hind leg as she responds in a mild, sympathetic tone, “It’s okay, darling. You don’t need to hide your feelings like that for my sake. Please, let me be your rock this time.”

A bit surprised by Rarity’s gentle-toned advice, Applejack can clearly understand the weight of Rarity’s thoughtful words, and gradually, she reveals her true emotions by allowing her eyes to fully express the immense grief that she has been holding back for so long. As earnest tears flow out of her eyes, the sniveling Earth Pony lunges forward and pulls Rarity in for a hug. In the midst of the strong embrace, the kindhearted Unicorn continues to hold her weeping mare in place as the Earth Pony carries on with her own melancholy.

“Ah still can’t believe that she’s really gone.” she admits in a tear-stricken whisper.

“I know, darling… I know.” she replies softheartedly as she tenderly strokes the farmpony’s back.

After Applejack finally lets it all out, she begins to calm down before bearing a small smile to show her token of appreciation over Rarity’s comfort. Then, she reaches the drawer and pulls out the shiny horseshoe she was looking at earlier. With the horseshoe back in her hooves, she slides closer to her wife and shows it to her.

“You know, RD gave this to me during our trip at Cider Fest.”

With a closer look, Rarity smiles at the polished trinket before sharing her own thoughts on it. “It’s a very lovely memento.”

“Heh. Yeah, it is.” she comments simply.

On AJ’s prized horseshoe it still reads the engravement that Rainbow Dash personally wrote to her: “For the 1st Annual Iron Pony Champion in Ponyville, Applejack.” From re-reading that lasting momento, the farmpony broadens her smile a little more as she softly caresses the engraved letters while the seamstress smiles as well over her wife’s more positive demeanor.

With a slight smirk to herself, Rarity remarks in a witty manner, “I certainly hope you don’t plan on using that for your next game of horseshoes.”

With a grin of her own, Applejack replies in a hearty chuckle, “Trust me, Rarity. This one’s earned a special place in my trophy room.”

Once things have settled down between the two of them, AJ places the engraved horseshoe back in the drawer as Rarity brings something else in mind, “Say darling, I’ve been thinking… I know Rainbow Dash’s funeral is only two days away. But maybe for tomorrow evening, we can invite Ford Mustang and Turbo Dash over for dinner and commemorate it as a tribute to our dearest friend, Rainbow Dash.”

“Ah think that’s sounds dandy, Rarity.” she concurs with an approving smile. “We should also invite Scootaloo to come along. Goodness knows that lil’ filly loves the blue daredevil more than anypony else.”

“Agreed. Plus, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom will be there too, so at the very least, she’ll have somepony to associate with in this troubling time of ours.”

“Then it’s settled. Thanks for the idea, darling.”

“Anytime, sugarcube.” Rarity returns the lightheartedness with a welcoming grin.

After that, they seal their agreement with a goodnight kiss before tucking themselves into bed. And as they get themselves nice and cozy together, Applejack then says with a somewhat shy yet appreciative smile, “Oh, and uhh… thanks for being my rock as well.”

“Glad I could help.” she giggles warmly as she snuggles against her mare.

Then, AJ’s grin shifts slightly to one side of her cheek as she inquires in a witty tone, “Let me guess. You got that idea from yer fling with Tom, didn’t ya?”

At first, Rarity is unamused by that clever remark as she lightly scolds her wife for bring up that embarrassing reminder over their past confrontation with Discord, “I thought we agreed to never speak of that again.”

Ignoring the subtly threatening tone from the glaring mare, Applejack shrugs it off as she playfully strokes her chin while responding in an all-knowing tone, “Funny. Ah don’t recall agreein’ to anything like that. Do you?”

And seeing how she can’t stay mad at the sassy farmpony for too long, Rarity eventually breaks into a subtle smirk and commends AJ in simple fashion, “Hmph. Cheeky.”

After freshening herself up, Octavia leaves the restroom and heads straight to bed. And surprisingly enough, her more nocturnal wife is already in bed as Vinyl Scratch stares aimlessly at the ceiling with frozen, deadpan eyes. Noticing on how the Unicorn mare is more absent-minded than usual, Octavia gingerly approaches her preoccupied wife, and she lays next to her before she asks in a delicate tone.

“Are you okay, Vinyl?”

“I don’t know.” she simply responds in a very faint voice.

“Do you wanna talk about it?” she inquires in a cautious manner.

“I guess.” she answers quietly with a mild shrug.

“Is it something to do with Rainbow Dash?” Octavia inquires even further.

“More or less.” She replies as cryptically as ever.

“Vinyl, please. Talk to me.” the Earth Pony pleads softly while nuzzling against her disturbingly hushed mare. “It may help you cope with the pain.”

As Octavia patiently waits for her wife’s response, Vinyl Scratch takes a moment to inhale a deep breath before she lets it out as gently as possible, and soon enough, she gradually confesses her fears to the attentive mare next to her.

“I’m scared of what may happened to us… to you.”

“To me? What do you mean by that--?” But her confusion is but a fleeting moment as she quickly figures out on what has gotten Vinyl Scratch so shook up recently. “Wait… you’re afraid that the same thing could happen to me, don’t you?”

Reluctantly, the mute Vinyl is able to confirm that fear by nodding in a shaky manner. Once she receives the Unicorn’s silent response, Octavia pulls the subtly whimpering mare closer to her warm, gray chest before she tries to ease her wife’s growing concern.

“Vinyl… I know what happened to Rainbow Dash recently is truly unfortunate, but the chances like that to happen for another pregnant mare are relatively slim.”

But stating that simple statistic didn’t to do well to diminish the Unicorn’s fears as she frets uncontrollably, “And what if it does happen?! What if my magic will be the cause this time?! What then?!”

From exclaiming out her unanswered questions, Vinyl breaks down hard as her sobbing intensifies. Like a sniveling foal, she tightly wraps her trembling fore hooves around to her closest source of comfort, namely Octavia. And just like any caring mother would, the Earth Pony embraces her weeping partner as she tenderly caresses Unicorn’s vibrant, blue mane.

“I just… don’t wanna lose you, Octavia.” Vinyl whispers in a tense, quivering voice.

“I know, dearie.” the cellist acknowledges in the same volume as her softly panic-stricken mare.

In the middle of this quiet moment of theirs, Vinyl continues to pour out her soft-spoken sorrow onto the Earth Pony’s soft, warm coat as Octavia carries out her delicate, soothing brushing. And after a short time has passed, Octavia is able to gather her thoughts before she does her best to set her wife’s mind at ease.

“Vinyl, I know it’s difficult for you to accept this, but please believe me, you shouldn’t worry yourself like that. Instead of thinking of the worst thing that could happen, try thinking of the more positive things that could happen. Like you… me… and our baby.”

As Octavia finally gets Vinyl’s attention with that heartwarming recommendation, the smiling Earth Pony brings one of Vinyl’s fore hooves close to her belly so she can feel the developing foal from within. From feeling the growing foal within Octavia’s three-month pregnant belly, a hopeful smile begins to stretch across her face as Vinyl Scratch is liking the idea with each passing second.

“Like… sharing our love of music with the little tyke?” Scratch suggests in a cute, timid manner.

“Mm-hmm.” Octavia warmly nods to that claim.

Then, another question comes to mind in a more upbeat attitude. “Or… seeing our foal playing his or her first instrument?”

“Yes.”

“Or sneaking him or her into their first rave party?”

“Exactly--! Wait no!” she screeches in an instant over the grinning DJ’s shrewd suggestion, which causes Vinyl to chuckle out loud over her wife’s swift dismissal over that idea.

And from having a good laugh over getting Octavia so flustered up, the hearty, Unicorn mare pulls her somewhat groaning wife in for a lovely embrace as she says with a giggling yet sincere smile of gratitude, “Thanks, Tavi. I’m feeling better already.”

Pushing aside her own gripes from her wife’s teasing nature, Octavia bears a relieving smile over Vinyl’s restored optimism as she affectionately snuggles against the grinning mare’s plushy cheek while responding back with an amusing smirk as well, “Happy to be of service.”

As they recline back on their cushiony mattress, Vinyl gives a tender stroke of the cellist’s cheek whilst saying with an affectionate grin, “Love you, Tavi Bear.”

In return, she replies with the same lighthearted tenderness as her mate with a pet name as well, “Love you too, Cat Scratch.”

And after sharing a heartwarming kiss together, Vinyl Scratch turns her attention towards Octavia’s curved belly and offers a meaningful kiss for the baby sleeping inside mommy’s womb before the grinning DJ expresses her love for their foal in her own unique way, “And of course, much love to you as well, Cubby Bear.”

At Sugarcube Corner’s guest room, Gilda lays on her bed as she aimlessly stares at the ceiling with her forelimbs behind her head. It’s not like that there is anything wrong with the bed that was provided by Pinkie Pie and the Cake Family. It’s merely because she has too much on her mind to sleep right away; more specifically, dealing with the death of her best friend, Rainbow Dash.

However, that’s not the only thing that’s keeping Gilda up at night. Ever since she got into her own bed, she’s been listening to a soft yet dreadful cry next door, and she has a good feeling on where that might be coming from.

Seeing how she’s already wide awake, Gilda decides to step outside her bedroom and investigate the slight disturbance herself. After small stroll down the hallway, she stops in front of the room next to hers before she gently opens the door and takes a peek inside.

As the griffon suspected, she spots her pink pony host curled up in her bed and on top of the covers. As Pinkie Pie lies there in a fetal position with her back facing Gilda, she carries on with her renewed gloominess as she sniffs repeatedly while countless tears rain down from her tightly shut eyes. And of course, her once-curly pink hair resumes its depressing straightness that strongly reflects with the whimpering mare’s emotions.

Once she steps closer to Pinkie’s bed, Gilda asks in a quiet yet concerning tone, “Pinkie Pie? You okay over here?”

From hearing the voice of her friend, Pinkie Pie sharply turns around and stares at the griffon with a frozen, tear-stricken gaze before she apologizes in a blubbering tone while she desperately tries to wipe away her watery eyes. “Oh! S-s-sorry Gilda! Was I disturbing you?”

“Uhh… a little, yeah.” Gilda answers with an awkward smile. “Do you… want me to get you something or do you wanna talk about it or what?”

“No no, I’m good!” Pinkie replies shamefully with a broad yet fake smile. “I’ll try to be quieter! I promise! Oh, here! These might help you!”

Hastily, she reaches for something in the drawer next to her and pulls out two ginormous corks. Bewildered as ever, Gilda stares at the amusingly large objects for a minute or two before she eventually points it out the obvious.

“Umm… Pinkie Pie? Griffons don’t exactly have ears, you know.”

And to demonstrate that, the slightly smirking Gilda points it out with a tilt of her neck and gently taping the side of her head with a one of her talons. From that simple yet sly gesture, Pinkie Pie is dumbfounded by such an obvious fact before she breaks into a sheepish giggle.

“Oh, oops! Must have slipped my mind! Here! Let me fetch you some earmuffs instead!”

“Ugh! Forget about them!” Gilda snaps out loud as she smacks the corks out of mare’s fore hoof.

Completely startled by the griffon’s sudden, sharp outburst, Pinkie reacts in tremendous fear for unintentionally angering her friend like that as she winces upon instinct before apologizing in a panicky tone, “I’m sorry, Gilda! Did I do something wrong--?”

But Gilda didn’t want to hear that as she quickly grabs the thunderstruck mare and pulls her toward her thick, fluffy chest. With the staggered Earth Pony caught in Gilda’s tuff of feathers, the griffon then wraps up Pinkie Pie with her large wings as they lay on the same bed together.

In the midst of this unexpected snuggling, Gilda carefully embraces the wide-eyed mare as she clarifies in a somewhat pushy attitude, “Here. If you’re going cry all night long, you can do it through here. Plus, it will keep your sniveling down so I can sleep much easier this way.”

Without question, Pinkie Pie eventually gives in and submits to the griffon’s extraordinarily soft plushness. From succumbing to such softness, the preoccupied Earth Pony sighs in a pure bliss as her expressive hair inflates some of its curliness due to the amount of joy she’s feeling right now.

As the smiling mare continues to snuggle against the griffon’s pillowy chest, Pinkie Pies murmurs with a more tranquil smile spread across her cheeks, “Thanks, Gilda. I’ll try not to cry so much. You really have such soft and pretty feathers, so I’d hate to have them drenched in tears because of me.”

From that strange yet casual remark, it literally and figuratively causes the blushed griffon to get her feathers ruffled as she responds in an extremely flustered manner, “Wh-wh-why do you gotta say idiotic things like that?! Just go to sleep already, you big doofus!”

With a slight giggle to herself, Pinkie Pie complies right away, “ ‘Kay.”

Despite feeling embarrassed for what she’s putting herself through, it didn’t stop Gilda from breaking up from their cuddling. And sooner or later, sleep finally takes hold of them as they still remain in each other’s embrace.

But before the heavy-eyed Earth Pony enters her deep state of sleep, she lets out a soft yawn and mumbles with a goofy, sleepy smile, “Heh, you know, Ford’s right… you really do have such nice breasts.”

As Pinkie finally goes into sleep mode, Gilda’s eyes widen in shock by that random tidbit of information as she couldn’t believe she just heard that. It’s been almost a year since she met Ford Mustang when he too mentioned her chest like that. So she finds it hard to believe on how her normally happy-go-lucky friend would repeat the same thing in such a nonchalant manner like that as questions begin to plague the extremely flustered griffon’s mind, starting with the most obvious one of them all.

Why do ponies keep saying that?!

Author's Notes:

Basically, this Bonus Chapter would give a glimpse on where Twilight and Pinkie Pie may find love for themselves since this would not be fully development as with the previous subplots from the 1st story, "The Arrival of Ford Mustang." Also, given the title of this chapter, I thought it would be best to explore some of the other couples with how they handle the death of their friend. So I figure this chapter would serve as a collaboration of four short stories into one.

8/16/15 - I mistakenly hit "Publish" when I was editing this chapter, so from noticing that mistake, I quickly "Unpublished" it as it was not ready yet. Sorry for the confusion if people caught that in their alerts.