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Laugh, Laugh
I think Ponyacci wanted me to find him. I didn't realize until long after the investigation, the mourning, the tears, but I think that's what he wanted.
Funny ol' thing, this world, where somepony you met only twice in your life asks you to do something like that. I mean, yeah, the first time we met was just super. I really helped him a ton. The second time was just as great: he remembered me, and we had a blast. Still, you don't expect a pony you were never really friends with to ask you to do something like this.
You don't expect a pony so full of life and energy and fun to do what he did, either.
Most ponies wouldn't believe me, but I get death. My first experience was when Granny Pie died. I was devastated. My mane went flat again. I'd only just learned how to smile and have fun, and it felt like all that had been sucked out of my life. I couldn't find a reason to keep smiling, because she would never smile again.
My older sister, the one who's quiet and sees everything totally different from me, told me to think about what did matter. It was the best advice I ever got in my entire life! I had started out feeling like I was in a hole with a big house over it, blocking the sun. Suddenly, I knew how to make a ladder and climb out. I thought of all the times Granny had made me smile, all the things she taught me to do after seeing that Rainboom.
From that day, I vowed death wouldn't leave me down. There were some kinks to work out, of course — wakes should be subdued parties — but I got it. Death was the full stop at the end of a marvelous story, and the only thing you can do is read it again once it's over.
So I was prepared for Winona. And Rarity's dad. And Cranky Doodle Donkey. And Mr. Cake, and my mom, and Twilight's mom, and Mayor Mare, and...
Gosh, I know an awful lot of dead ponies. It's a lot of stories to have to remember sometimes.
But Ponyacci's story should have kept going. There were so many more pages left unwritten. He was older than any of them and still doing two shows a night. There was something behind his smile, though, some kind of sadness nopony wanted to see. I can't blame them. I would have ignored it too, I think, if I'd been there. All anypony wanted to see was the fun and the joy in Ponyacci's story.
Dear Princess Celestia, if I've learned anything today, it's that you can't skip the bad parts of the story. You either get the whole kaboodle, or a big, wet, cold noodle. A noodle that looks like a zero, that's what I'm getting at. No cheatsies, no takebacks, no calling firsts. You get into that story and you stick it out to the end.
No, you can't skip the bad parts, but you can bring everything to an end too soon. I understand death, but I don't understand this. The story of life is so precious, I just can't understand why anypony would want to cut it short. Even if he was in pain, there was always a chance things would get better.
Maybe he didn't see that. Maybe all those blank pages, to him, were filled with the same words over and over again. It makes me wish I was there, that I saw him just one more time before the end. He brought so much meaning to my life, I can't even explain it. I don't think I'd be the pony I am today if it weren't for him. But all I can do is remember his story, remember him.
They let me keep his last note. "Thank you for one more laugh," it said. That's how I know it was meant for me. I think...
I think none of us are getting any younger, even if I do still have all the spring in my step that I did when I first met my friends. And I think I've got so many friends that I've been neglecting a few. I think I'll take this note with me when I visit Fluttershy, and I'll tell her the story of Ponyacci, the greatest clown Equestria ever knew.
Funny ol' thing, this world, where somepony you met only twice in your life asks you to do something like that. I mean, yeah, the first time we met was just super. I really helped him a ton. The second time was just as great: he remembered me, and we had a blast. Still, you don't expect a pony you were never really friends with to ask you to do something like this.
You don't expect a pony so full of life and energy and fun to do what he did, either.
Most ponies wouldn't believe me, but I get death. My first experience was when Granny Pie died. I was devastated. My mane went flat again. I'd only just learned how to smile and have fun, and it felt like all that had been sucked out of my life. I couldn't find a reason to keep smiling, because she would never smile again.
My older sister, the one who's quiet and sees everything totally different from me, told me to think about what did matter. It was the best advice I ever got in my entire life! I had started out feeling like I was in a hole with a big house over it, blocking the sun. Suddenly, I knew how to make a ladder and climb out. I thought of all the times Granny had made me smile, all the things she taught me to do after seeing that Rainboom.
From that day, I vowed death wouldn't leave me down. There were some kinks to work out, of course — wakes should be subdued parties — but I got it. Death was the full stop at the end of a marvelous story, and the only thing you can do is read it again once it's over.
So I was prepared for Winona. And Rarity's dad. And Cranky Doodle Donkey. And Mr. Cake, and my mom, and Twilight's mom, and Mayor Mare, and...
Gosh, I know an awful lot of dead ponies. It's a lot of stories to have to remember sometimes.
But Ponyacci's story should have kept going. There were so many more pages left unwritten. He was older than any of them and still doing two shows a night. There was something behind his smile, though, some kind of sadness nopony wanted to see. I can't blame them. I would have ignored it too, I think, if I'd been there. All anypony wanted to see was the fun and the joy in Ponyacci's story.
Dear Princess Celestia, if I've learned anything today, it's that you can't skip the bad parts of the story. You either get the whole kaboodle, or a big, wet, cold noodle. A noodle that looks like a zero, that's what I'm getting at. No cheatsies, no takebacks, no calling firsts. You get into that story and you stick it out to the end.
No, you can't skip the bad parts, but you can bring everything to an end too soon. I understand death, but I don't understand this. The story of life is so precious, I just can't understand why anypony would want to cut it short. Even if he was in pain, there was always a chance things would get better.
Maybe he didn't see that. Maybe all those blank pages, to him, were filled with the same words over and over again. It makes me wish I was there, that I saw him just one more time before the end. He brought so much meaning to my life, I can't even explain it. I don't think I'd be the pony I am today if it weren't for him. But all I can do is remember his story, remember him.
They let me keep his last note. "Thank you for one more laugh," it said. That's how I know it was meant for me. I think...
I think none of us are getting any younger, even if I do still have all the spring in my step that I did when I first met my friends. And I think I've got so many friends that I've been neglecting a few. I think I'll take this note with me when I visit Fluttershy, and I'll tell her the story of Ponyacci, the greatest clown Equestria ever knew.