Popped

Part IX - Sleeping Beauty

The familiar smell of Cloudy Quartz's cooking drifted into the air from the center of the table, giving a warm greeting to everypony present. A single, white candle slowly burned nearby, drops of molten wax racing towards the base before they were stopped in their tracks by the cool air around it.

The six members of the Pie Family, Cloudy Quartz, Igneous Rock, Limestone, Marble, Pinkie, and Maud sat around the dinner table, hooves linked together in preparation for their pre-dining ritual.

"Limestone, would you like to say thanks?" Cloudy said, gesturing as well as she was able to with her occupied hooves.

Limestone nodded. She closed her eyes and looked down, and the rest of the family followed suit. "Thank you, Celestia and Luna, for these gifts which we are about to receive from your day and night." Opening her eyes, she looked across the table to Pinkie. "Thank you for granting our beloved sister, Pinkamena, with good health and a speedy recovery during these hard times."

The rest of the family nodded, save Pinkie, who remained still.

Next, Limestone looked to her left. "We humbly ask you to bless our eldest sister, Maud, with good fortune as she prepares to leave for her final year of school tomorrow. Long live Celestia, and long live Luna. Amen."

"Amen." The five other ponies repeated in unison, putting their hooves back at their sides and opening their eyes.

Pinkie Pie looked down at her plate. Rice, mashed potatoes, and green beans. It was a simple dish, but then again, she was from a simple family. Skewering a few of the beans with a fork, Pinkie brought them up to her lips.

She slowly chewed the mouthful of green beans, crushing them to pieces with her new false teeth. They had been a little difficult to get accustomed to, but now that she'd been using them for a while, she was beginning to feel a little more comfortable with them. At least it was better than the feeding tube.

Ugh... Pinkie gagged, remembering the feeling of having the thin, plastic tube jammed down her throat. Luckily, she was able to stop herself from making a scene, though the intrusive thought ushered in a flurry of similar memories of her three-week stay at the hospital.

Most of these memories were a total blur. Not because she didn't remember anything. Rather, she recalled far too much of the mind-numbing ordeal. It seemed like every single day was exactly the same. Wake up too late, skip breakfast, get bugged by a nurse, barely touch lunch, get bugged by a nurse, scarf down dinner, get bugged by a nurse, go to bed too late.

With barely anything to do, Pinkie Pie was confined to the same bed for weeks with nothing but her thoughts. This, however, was a problem, as Pinkie's thoughts weren't what they used to be. While her mind used to be filled with jokes, pranks, recipes and party plans, it now seemed to be occupied only by fear, sadness, and horrific memories of pain and suffering.

Thankfully, her stay was frequently punctuated by visits from her family, who brought her all sorts of stuff. Balloons, cards, stuffed animals, and of course, plenty of rocks from the farm. A few other ponies came to visit her as well, but Pinkie's family were the only ones who made her feel the slightest bit better.

Not very much, though.

Over that month, Pinkie's body slowly repaired itself. Though she ate very little, it was better than nothing at all, and her muscles soon grew back to full strength. Her left eye had been replaced with a false one, which, despite not helping her see any better, made her prettier to look at. The burns she had received were healed by skin grafts, and all her minor wounds healed up nicely.

As much as she had been rehabilitated, however, scars were left over, both inside and out. Deep, painful scars that not even the most powerful of healing magic could even begin to repair. Though Pinkie had tried time and again to feel happy again, to make the horrible pain go away, it only seemed to get worse as each day passed.