The Hope of Happiness

Fire burned in Inkie’s eyes. It didn’t matter if these were Pinkie’s friends. Once she learned what Twilight did to Trixie, she was sure that Pinkie would have stood right there next to her. In Inkie’s mind what Twilight did was completely inexcusable and deserved punishment. To what degree she wasn’t sure of yet.

Inkie would just keep going until she felt like enough was enough.

Twilight met her fiery gaze with her own. Her heart was an inferno. Nothing mattered more to her than exposing Trixie for the horrible pony she was. She wanted to see Trixie cry, weep, hurt herself, be alone without comfort, anything to pay for what she’s done. Spike’s abandonment was fresh in her mind and Twilight was already making Trixie the culprit.

Coincidentally, exposing Trixie would be the one thing that’d save her from this fight.

The boulders had been sent skyward, popped into the air like bouncy balls. Twilight didn’t want to know what Inkie planned to do with them when they came back down. So she thought as quickly as possible. She needed to catch Trixie in a lie somewhere.

Then the obvious hit her. The lie was right in front of her face threatening to murder her. Twilight would have to base her last defense off a guess,  but she learned one thing after living through the last week of her life.

Love makes you do crazy stupid things. And everypony right now was being crazy and stupid.

Trixie had never gone into great detail about her time on the farm and now Twilight knew why. She had fallen in love with Inkie. She hid that from Twilight for obvious reasons. Her hatred compounded in that moment, knowing that Trixie had ruined the life of yet another pony.

“You know what’s funny Inkie?”

“That you’re talkin’ instead of runnin’?” she snarled.

“That Trixie never said a single thing about you to me.”

“Yeah? How many more lies you gonna tell today?”

“Think about it, why wouldn’t she tell me about you? Seems like an awfully big detail to leave out. Also we both know she’s not stupid, she’s actually very smart. Don’t you think she would have noticed if I was making advances on her and then told me about you to throw me off?”

Twilight smiled, satisfied, as Inkie looked to Trixie in a moment of hesitation. She was already one step ahead though.

“You must be the stupidest mare in the world Twilight. How can you have known what would throw you off without Trixie telling you? She told you all about Inkie and you still did what you did... You sicken Trixie...”

Twilight was completely baffled by Trixie’s lightning response. Her lie was so complete, so perfect. She admired it as if doing so would save her from the fight incoming in less than a second.

Then she remembered how pissed off she was. She wouldn’t hurt Inkie, only Trixie.

“Time’s up!”

Inkie swung her back legs around and spiked one of the rocks at Twilight. She barely had enough time throw a shield up to prevent her from being completely crushed. The shield shattered and sent her magical backlash.

Adrenaline set in, letting her shake off the splitting migraine she just acquired. She moved on instinct, thinking and reacting quicker. Inkie’s assault was relentless as she acrobatically spun and flipped around, unleashing her full force on the rocks in rapid succession at the unicorns..

Twilight casted quickly in perfect response, teleporting out of the way of the majority of the rocks. Even though was kept on her toes, she was reading into Inkie’s attacks an planning her own response.

Rarity wasn’t so lucky. She was left using a combination of clumsy dodges and weaker gem magic to try and deflect Inkie. More than a few times, Twilight had to teleport both of them simultaneously, setting back her ability to gain an advantage. All she needed was two seconds to think and she’d have.

Unlike Twilight though, Rarity was actually trying to fight back. She threw storm of smaller, sharper gems at the grey mare. Inkie blocked most of them, but some made it through, grazing and cutting her.

Inkie began stomping the ground in almost a rhythm as she methodically would pop a rock into the air and punch or kick it at them. In way her movements were a beautiful dance. Each movement followed a strong pattern of force and as time went on her attacks grew in intensity.

“Do you know who gave Trixie that getup?!” Inkie yelled.

Her only response were the grunts and shouts of the unicorns as they tried to find some sort of opening.

“Her ma did! And you threw it out in the rain!”

In her rage, she stomped up a dozen boulders and mercilessly knocked all of them at Twilight. Twilight saw the opening she was looking for. She was going to hate herself later, but she hated Trixie more.

She chained together enough teleport spells in rapid succession to close the gap between her and Trixie. Without having to protect Rarity, she had her moment. She grabbed the mare’s neck in her telekinesis, making her intention clear.

Twilight felt an immense satisfaction watching Trixie squirm and gasp for air, having complete control of the mare who had ruined so many other’s lives.

All of them stopped, Inkie face was so twisted by anger that even Twilight gulped, wondering if her move had been a smart one.

“Ok Trixie, you want to tell Inkie the truth?” she said nervously. “There is no reason for anypony to get hurt. I know Inkie will forgive you if you just tell the truth.

Trixie choked under the magic, but Twilight released just enough to let her talk.

“Unhand Trixie you monster!” she choked. “Trixie did tell the truth!”

Twilight couldn’t believe it. Even with her life on the line, Trixie still wouldn’t admit a thing. She wanted to just be rid of her. It would have been as easy as snapping a twig, but only the grace of Celestia stayed her hoof.

“You bucking coward! You wanna play that way?! We can play that way!” Inkie snarled.

She stomped up a rock and sent it hurtling towards Rarity. She was too busy watching Trixie and Twilight to see it coming. None of them saw such a cheap shot coming.

Twilight only watched in disbelief as she heard the second most sickening noise she’d ever hear.

*

“I can’t ever forgive myself Fluttershy...”

“Cadance, you’ve made so many ponies happy. Nopony is perfect, you included. We all have flaws and you need to forgive yourself.”

“I don’t know what happened!” Fluttershy cried, tears streaming down her face. “I was just talking to her and she started crying really hard, and then she just fell over!”

Foam had begun sizzling in from the side of Cadance’s mouth as she laid there lifelessly with a glazed look in her eye. She wasn’t breathing.

“Luna, get in her dreams now! You two, I want a full medical staff here five minutes ago!” Celestia shouted to her two guards.

Celestia’s horn glowed, momentarily returning breath to the dying Princess. Her eyes sparkled with the faintest glimmer of life. She looked around from face to face as she started hyperventilating.

Her heart rate skyrocketed, her eyes moving from face to face so quickly it looked as if she had been possessed. Before she spasmed again and her eyes went dead. She was still breathing, but very shallowly. Celestia frantically kept on casting spells while Luna toppled over going into a deep stupor. Never in all her days did Fluttershy hear Celestia swear so profusely.

“WHERE IS THAT BUCKING STAFF? I SAID FIVE BUCKING MINUTES AGO.”

Cadance’s heart rate continued to spike spastically. She began choking up blood and twitching, her eyes becoming bloodshot.

Fluttershy couldn’t help but cry profusely. Cloudy was crying too and proved to have either the worst placement or worst sense of humor as he downpoured right onto Fluttershy’s head.

The medical staff teleported in, primed and ready. Without wasting a second, they scoured the princess with every instrument in their arsenal, identifying a terrifying number of issues. They set her up to an the IV and vitals monitor.

The head physician shook his head as he spoke.

“Nurse, oxygen, 50 mm of beta blockers, a check on all her magical leylines...” he said calmly, worry seeding his face.

Everypony already knew what to do, and they worked in an abrupt silence for about minutes. The head physician looked her over carefully. His face turned grim.

“Oh sweet mother... she’s also having a heart attack...”

Everypony began barking orders immediately. None of them took a second to be surprised, their training taught them that they had just been put on a short clock.

Fluttershy watched the terror of the scene unfold, wondering if she had somehow done this. No less than a dozen doctors were now scrambling around the Princess. More and more equipment continued to teleport in as Cadance’s room quickly turned into an makeshift ER.

“I need a complete sedation! Aspirin, nitroglycerin, morphine in that order! I want my entire surgery staff in here, primed!”

”There has just been this tightness, squeezing in my chest... Like all the love in my life is gone.. I can’t even tell Shining Armor I love him anymore...”

“Oh Cadance... I know everypony you’ve ever met loves you.”

Luna snapped out of her stupor, quickly sitting back up. Entering the dreaming world of a pony having a heart attack had been a first, and hopefully last experience for her. She was dizzy and dazed, but still ready to help. She got up too quickly and tumbled around, crashing into Cadance’s dresser.

“Sister, what’s wrong with her?!” Celestia yelled

Luna got back on her hooves shook her head. She ran her hoof along the length of her face as she looked for the right words.

“How doth one explain this gracefully?” she asked herself. “Her soul is dying, Tia. Time Turner’s death hath created a rift in her heart that needs magical sealing. For one reason or another, it had been the worst possible timing. She hath also internal bleeding and could suffer a stroke at any moment.”

“You heard the Princess everypony! Time is muscle!” he shouted out. “Is that oxygen value on? Use a tube if you have to!”

“Doctor Redheart. Get her physically stable and we’ll take care of the rift,” Celestia dictated.

“What do you think I’m doing Princess?!” He was getting flustered.

“I’m going to stay here and do my best to mend her. Luna, I need you to go to the Everfree Forest and recover the Heart of Dreams. I believe it is the best chance we have. It returns the hope of love to a shattered soul.”

“I know of what thou speakest of. Dost thou know where it lies? That forest is a tangle...”

Celestia’s solemn, sad face gave her the crushing reality. Tears in both their eyes, Luna just nodded her head, ready to begin her teleportation. The futility of her errand would push her harder, faster than she’d ever pushed. She’d do everything but die trying to save Cadance. She took a moment to divine every location she could.

They had less than ten minutes.

Fluttershy perked her head at the mention of the term “The Heart of Dreams”. She also knew what Celestia speakest of.

“Wait! I know where that is! Take me with you!” she cried, finally happy to help. Cloudy leaped up too.

Seconds later they were gone.

Luna, Fluttershy and Cloudy entered the dreamspace of the cave, after Luna cleanly blasted a gaping hole in the entrance. They dashed through the cave, down to where Fluttershy remembered seeing the glowing ruby heart.

“Luna! There was a waterfall! The stone is in the center of it.”

Oddly enough, the slow, cool-coloured pulse she remembered from before, was instead replaced by a blazing red inferno. It beat quickly and then faster and faster as they ran. Each pulse standing as a reminder to whose heart was on the line.

”Celestia, I don’t know what crazy magic you have at your disposal, but I need you to--”

“What?! You need me to what?!”

He’d never imagine talking to the Princess like that, but he He shook his head faster and faster. Her line had gone flat. The room got a louder and busier.

“Doctor, she’s going into cardiac arrest!”

“Talk to me Redheart!” Celestia had never felt so helpless in her entire life

“Induce hyperthermia, give her some anticoagulants and get some Epinephrine on hoof,” he barked, “And for the love of Celestia, I know one of you has fantasized about give her CPR!”

Luna blazed past the majority of the cave, nearly crying of joy when she saw the waterfall. She dashed down to and let out a frustrated scream, causing Fluttershy and Cloudy to jump. Luna raced back livid.

“Fluttershy! It is not here! Where the hoof is it?”

Fluttershy trembled as the adrenaline kicked in, her heart and mind raced for an explanation. She retraced her steps. She came here with Rarity, they walked through the cave, they found the heart and then...

“Its... It’s at Rarity’s!” she exclaimed.

In that moment, the cave stopped pulsing red, leaving them in complete darkness. A horrible, darkness that disturbed her to her very core.

Why did you stop?

After Rarity took it, she remembered the pulse had changed to red and gotten faster. Like it was somepony else’s heart beat...

“R-rarity...?” she trembled.

Without wasting another moment, Luna and her were in the boutique.

*

Inkie intensity faltered a slight as the unicorn fell limp to the ground. The rock had hit her square on her crown. Lighter hits would have easily killed a pony.

“Rarity!!!”

Twilight had dropped Trixie and ran over to her love that laid lifelessly on the ground. She threw herself over the body and listened for vitals. Rarity’s eyes had rolled in the back of her head as she struggled for her last breath. Twilight heard only the faintest heart beat. She struggled to breathe herself as she failed to find any signs of life.

She whimpered quietly, defeated. Any will to fight had vanished. Anger wasn’t the answer anymore, anger should never had been the answer.

Her friend was almost dead and was going to die in her hooves. The friend whom she’d fallen in love with.

Inkie looked to Trixie for answers, for what to do next, hoping that Trixie would take responsibility. Trixie threw her an accusing look that she took as an expectation to continue.

She mercilessly popped up another rock and punched it at the two. Twilight conjured a shield she knew wouldn’t be able to hold back Inkie’s rage. Maybe this would be the end for her too and she wouldn’t have to be without Rarity for very long.

“ENOUGH!”

Clyde Pie stomped the ground and around the unicorns a wall of rock appeared, effortlessly deflecting Inkie’s attack.

Throughout the fight, he had watched carefully, unsure of what to make of it. He loved Trixie dearly and decided that it wasn’t his place to enable or impede what was transpiring. That all changed with Trixie’s last words.

In her terror, her ability to mask her lies had waned and Clyde, being the only calm one in the situation, saw right through her. He felt the subtlest, nervous vibrations of her heart as she lied. His good common sense put the rest of it together. At first Clyde thought it was the other way around, but Twilight hadn’t been lying, she had been trembling over losing her dragon friend.

As if transformed, Inkie looked to her father with dazzled innocence. In that one word he communicated her guilt to her flawlessly.

“Pa...?”

“Inkie, go get your ma and sis and tell them to bring the first aid kit...” he ordered with of heaviness that would have broken lesser ponies. “After that, go to your room... I will deal with you later.”

Inkie’s lips trembled as she looked from Trixie to Rarity to Twilight and back to her house. She stared at Trixie the longest, as if asking her what she did to make Inkie lash out so hard. She refused to make eye contact with her father with such shame in her soul. She’d might have become a murderer today. That truth sent her running back home with silent tears.

Clyde galloped over to Rarity and a crying Twilight. She just hugged her head, gently stroking her dirtied mane as she wept. Her body was limp and lifeless. She wasn’t breathing, but her heart was still pumping very slowly. Clyde looked at her grimly. The inevitable truth was about to become the only truth.

Rarity didn’t have much time left. Twilight could only hope that Rarity would hear her last words to her as her warm tears speckled her face.

“Oh nonononono...Rarity, please... please don’t leave me here alone...” she cried. “I don’t know what I’m going to to do without you...”

“Come on Rarity! The stupid gala is coming up and you know I can’t wear that same old dress! She tried to rationalize.

Her voice and reason broke down as her heart rate slowed.

“A-are y-you gonna l-let your Twilley g-go in l-last y-year’s fashion?!”

“P-please... we still have to g-go to the b-beach and make that stupid sandcastle! You can’t hoofing leave me!” she screamed. “Just wake up you stupid unicorn I love so much! I love you Rarity! I love you more than any stupid book or any stupid anything...!”

It felt like she was stealing Rarity’s remaining life. While Rarity’s heart fell flat, Twilight’s spiked. She knew Rarity was still alive if only just, so she decided to do the last meaningful thing she could in her last moments.

“... we have to at least have a sandcastle...”

Broken down and horribly lost for any composure, Twilight desperately starting gathering a pile of dirt in an attempt to make the only home they’d have together. Their sandcastle. She clumsily scraped in as much dirt as she could, pulling in armfuls to try and make it as grand as possible.

She stared at the pathetic mound, her heart breaking more and more as if it reflected the hope for Rarity’s life.

“L-look Rarity...” Twilight could barely see out her own eyes. “I-it’s our perfect castle... I k-know it isn’t much... but it’s just like you said... remember... we can be happy here...”

“...i love you...” she whispered with her last breath before passing on.

“I love you too Rarity! Please don’t go!!!” Twilight cried frantically upon hearing her love’s voice one last time.

Clyde watched holding in his own tears. He was lost for action or words, until a final, last idea crossed his mind. It would either be the cruellest or most beautiful thing he’d ever do in his life. It was something his daughter taught him.

“You know why I’m a rock farmer?” he asked quickly. He selected a nearby rock and begun grinding it up like it was the last thing he’d ever do in his life.

Twilight could barely hear him over her own sobbing. Honestly, she didn’t really care, but she bit anyways. “Why..?”

“Since everything comes from the earth, you can make all things if it is your craft.”

Twilight just listened, a little dumbfounded by this stallion’s complete lack of social skills.

“I used to think I had everything I could ever ask for until a little pink filly came into my life and showed me I was wrong,” he frantically ground up the rock, his words coming quicker as he raced time. “She brought me and my family the hope of happiness even after I’d become a tired old farmer.”

“Most importantly, she showed me I was still a little colt myself, that only a child wants to make and have all things. That I should seek to make all things possible.”

“To have all things become possible.”

Once the powder was fine enough, he inhaled it and then forced it back out into Rarity’s gaping mouth, filling her lungs deep with the dirt of hope.

In the next few minutes Twilight never cried harder in all her life. Next Chapter: The Worst Day Estimated time remaining: 15 Minutes