DAiE Ch. 8 P. 1 - The Fall, Revisited

>You are floating.
>You are not sure where, or how.
>In the distance, you hear a strange sound, high in pitch, but percussive. Like the beat of a drum.
>Boom.
>You are floating.
>Are you... dead? Dying?
>Boom.
>It's very probable, given your last conscious memory.
>Boom.
>It's odd. You expected something more climactic.
>Biim.
>Or... final.
>Beem.
>How long will this last?
>Beem.
>And what the hell is that noise?
>Beep.
>Is it.. getting closer?
>Beep.
>Or just louder?
>Beep.
>Wait.
>Beep.
>You know that sound.
>Beep.
>Slowly, and with great effort...
>Beep.
>You open your eyes.

>A hospital room.
>At the foot of your bed, like a dog, lays Albert, his optics lazily scanning a book.
"H..."
>He suddenly perks up.
"H-h.."
>You hear the actuators in his neck working as he turns his head to you.
"H... hey.. Al..."
>Talking is painful.
>He looks at you, carefully watching.
>"...doctor?"
>You do your best to nod, letting out a chuckle.
>OW.
>Chuckles hurt.
>No chuckles.
>In a flash, your assistant is on you, his tiny arms wrapped around you in an ecstatic hug.
>Hugs.
>Also hurt.
>You are Doctor Anonymous.
>And right now, you are very much alive.

>Before long, you're in a wheelchair, being ported through Ponyville Medical by Albert and your unicorn doctor.
>Talking is much easier after a glass of water.
>"Mr. Anonymous, I must still insist that you need much more bedrest before-"
"I don't mean to disrespect you, Doctor, but really, my repair cycles will take care of this."
>He sighs, shaking his head. "Anonymous, when the Princess and Ms. Rarity brought you and Ms. Pie in here, you were little more than a mess of metal and burned skin. I'm still astonished you're in one piece, much less awake and talking."
"How IS Ms... Pie?"
>He raises an eyebrow at you. "Her recovery was fast. We've treated her here before, and it always goes... oddly."
>You smile.
>That's Pinkamina, alright.
>"She's visited you every day, y'know."
>You look to Albert, still floating beside you as you're wheeled around.
>"Doctor... is everything between you and Pinkie... okay?"
>You sigh, swallowing your saliva.
"I don't know, Albert."
>"She's been... different."
>He pauses to process data for a moment.
>"Oh! She told me earlier this week that if you woke up, she wants you to come to the lab when you're able."
>"Absolutely not. I cannot allow a patient of mine who was in such condition to go waltzing of-"
"Doctor, please. Watch this."
>With great effort, you push yourself out of the chair and onto your feet. The doctor stammers out a few syllables, and you take a step. Then another.
>Then, you fall onto your face.

>As much as he tries, the doctor cannot convince you not to leave.
>You do borrow the wheelchair for a while, after having Albert make some slight adjustments to it for you.
>You wheel yourself through Ponyville, and it takes a while before you notice something odd.
>Everyp0ny is staring at you.
"Albert.. do I have something in my teeth?"
>He smiles. "I wasn't going to tell you so fast, but... you're a bit of a hero now, doctor."
>What.
"What."
>"You beat Discord. And for good, this time. The ponies don't usually like violence, but after what happened with Princess Celestia..."
>The names cut you deep. You may not have been on the best of terms with Celestia, but you feel as though things might have gone better if you were faster.
>You're drawn from your melancholy as a pegasus filly flies gingerly up to you.
>"Uhm... are you Doctor Anon'?"
>You blink, not knowing what to say.
"...why, yes. Yes I am."
>She inches closer, before extending her arms and wrapping them around your neck, giving you a soft hug.
>As she pulls away, you give her a look of confusion.
>"My mommy was at your party. If you dinn't stop Discord, then..."
>You place a finger on her snout, silencing her, and offering a knowing nod.
>She blushes, and smiles, whispering a 'thank you' before flying off.
>You've made a decision now. Or come to terms with a decision you already made.
>You don't want to leave this place.
>You never want to leave this place.

>You're filled with a sense of great trepidation as you approach the workshop.
>You slide your keycard, and watch as the door pistons itself open.
>The lights are off.
>As you enter, you feel around for the lightswitch.
>Click!
>"SURPRISE!"
>You don't know what you were expecting.
>But this certainly isn't it.
>Twilight, Rainbow, Fluttershy, Applejack and Rarity are all here, standing in front of a massive machine.
>A new machine.
>A familiar machine.
>The mares swarm you, all uttering well wishes and voicing their excitement that you're okay.
>Even Twilight, who carries an aura of sadness about her. You suspect silently that Celestia's death hit her pretty hard.
>You try, in vain, to get a word in edge-wise with these ponies.
"Oh, yes, hello gi-"
>"You put us through quite a scare, sugarcube."
"Well, yes, but I-"
>"I felt so helpless watching you and Pinkie fight him, but we-"
"Thank you, bu-"
>"Oh, Anonymous, you're so strong and brave."
"Fluttershy, wha-"
>"It's good to have you back, egghead."
"You too, Das-"
>"Thank you, Anonymous."
"Twilight, will you please-"
>They keep talking.
"GIRLS!"
>That finally gets them quiet.
"Thank you. Really, thank you."
>They all smile warmly at you.
"But... how did you know I was coming?"
>The mares share a series of confused looks between each other. Finally, Applejack speaks up.
>"Pinkie told us you'd be out of the hospital and visiting today."
>"'said she wanted to throw you one last party a'fore you left Equestria."


>What.
"What? Oh, girls. I'm not leavi-"
>"Hello, Anonymous."
>You crane your neck around to see her.
>Pinkamina steps into the room from a periphery storage.
>Her mane is still straight, and the adorable, sweet grin you're so used to simply isn't there.
>She's... empty.
"Pinka-"
>"Save it. I have a few more preparations to make. Just, try and enjoy your party. You can still do that, right?"
>She turns and leaves the room. You call out to her again, but she doesn't answer.
>You turn to the rest of the girls, some of whom have branched off to their own discussions. Rarity remains.
>"She's been different, since that day Anon."
"I know. But I haven't even got a chance to-"
>"Darling, you hurt her. I... I don't know how to feel about you right now."
>Damn.
>It.
>Will NOP0NY let you speak today?!
>She offers you a sad smile before trotting off.
>You sigh, looking up at the machine.
>You thought, when you saw it in real life, you'd be happy.
>Elated.
>Ecstatic.
>But you know how this happened. Your stomach churns even thinking about it.
>You defeated Discord. So of course your fundraiser was a success.
>Who WOULDN'T donate to help you after that?
>You turn to Albert, who offers you a sympathetic look.
"Albert... how long was I out?"
>"...a month, doctor."
>A month.
>Pinkamina worked and toiled on a way to send you home, alone.
>For a month.
>You fight back the tears of sadness and anger.
>She's got to hate you now.
>You've. Got. To. Make. This. Right.

>The party continues on. Derpy, Spike and the Cutie Mark Cruasders show up, all expressing their happiness at your recovery.
>You're grateful, but you can't show it right now.
>Right now, you've got to think.
>Think of what you can say.
>Think of what you can do.
>What you can do to make this right.

>Later, a conversation with Scootaloo about the basics of heavy-than-air crafts is interrupted by the clearing of a throat.
>Everyone looks up towards the main chamber of the machine, where Pinkamina stands on the control platform.
>"Mares and gentlecolts."
>Oh, no.
>"After a month of hard work in its construction, I give you, the Anonymous Arcanoeletric Reality Distortion Field Amplifier."
>You hear the clopping of hooves as everyone else applauds. All you can do is stare up at her, trying to think of something.
>"This device, among other things, is capable of amplifying a pony's magical abilities, or their 'reality distortion field'."
>She begins turning knobs and flicking switches.
>"Which I will now demonstrate for you, on myself."
>She takes off her goggles, and tosses them aside as she steps into the main chamber.
>No, no, no.
>This is NOT good.
"PINKAMINA!"
>You shout out to her, but the door to the chamber closes.
>There is a sound that you have not heard in a long time.
>Not since you were first sent to Equestria by that fateful experiment.

>Time seems to stand still as you watch the machine work.
>An impossibly bright pink light shines out from the main chamber. You and the rest of the ponies have to shield your eyes briefly.
>You hold your breath as the cycle finally ends, and the light fades.
>Did it not work?
>Were your calculations wrong?
>The main chamber decompresses slightly, with an audible hiss, as the door opens again.
>No.
>Your calculations are never wrong.
>Pinkamina steps out, bathed in a similar, if much less intense pink light.
>She jumps down from the platform, landing sharply on her hooves.
>She looks up at you, with those blue, blue, eyes.
>The beginnings of tears are forming in them.
>"Hello again, Anonymous."
"...Pinkamina, I-"
>"You hurt me, y'know."
>You sigh.
"I know. But-"
>"You were the first po-... person. Who I ever really felt comfortable with. Felt I could be... weird around, and not get judged."
"Pinkamina, if you-"
>She continues to ignore you, stepping closer.
>"Isn't this what you wanted?"
"It -was-, but-"
>"You go home, and I get left here, alone, broken hearted?"
>Everyp0ny is staring, some of them confused, some of them angry, all of them silent.
"No! That's not what I-"
>"Shut up! I know what you wrote. I know how you feel."
"No you don't, Pinkamina! I-"
>A single tear falls from her eye, and she turns, hiding her face from you.
>"I trusted you, I LOVED you, and you..."
"Pinkamina!"
>"You stole it from me! You took my love, and my trust, and you tore it away!"

>Your stomach starts to turn.
>Oh, god. The reaction.
>It's linked to h er mental state.
>F
>U
>C
>K.
"Pinkamina, please, I-"
>"And now, even after you hurt me, I'm still willing to give you what you want!"
"PINKAMINA!"
>"AND STOP CALLING ME THAT, MY NAME IS-"
"PINKIE!"
>There is a dead silence.
>Utter dread crawls into your core.
>You're too late.
>The light is getting bright.
>She turns around, tears, streaming from her eyes, as the growing magical force in her causes the still air of the room to stir.
>"Y.. you called m-me..."
"Pinkie."
>You feel the hot, salty sting of your own tears, as you watch, helpless, as the pink mare's powers, supercharged by your machine, start to work in exactly the way you had intended.
"I don't..."
>She raises a hoof towards you.
"I don't want to go."
>And with that, the room goes black.
>You let the tears and horrid, painful sobs come freely now.
>It doesn't matter.
>You're falling.