To Higher Grounds

I sighed as I scanned the items in front of me, bored out of my mind due to the events of last night. It wasn't all that often that something different happened in my life; having nothing but monotony and stagnation being my companion. Personally I wondered what exactly Richard would think about Pinkie; he was very awkward when it came to people coming over, and even more awkward towards females. Luckily he works the night shift, so he has yet to actually meet her. In all honesty though, it would be more bearable if he wasn't so obsessed with My Little Pony.

Now, that's not to say that I think 'bronies' are some kind of sexual deviant, it's just his personality about it in general. It's almost as if he is incapable of having fun with anything else. Granted, maybe he and Pinkie would get along; they have something in their personalities that seem... familiar with one another. It's hard to explain and I can't quite put my finger on it though.

I brushed my hair out of my fact and let out a soft sigh, allowing my mind to drift. Today was going by exceptionally slow, most likely due to the change of pace in my life right now.  All I wanted to do was just head home, meet up with Pinkie, and see if she was doing any better. Make no mistake though, I don't have any romantic feelings for her, but more of a bizarre curiosity about her. Just who was she? Where was she from? How did she-

"Ehem," An elderly lady freed me from my wandering with a clear of her throat.

"Oh, sorry!" I spoke in apology, quickly scanning her items, "I kind of zoned out there."

She simply let out a kind laugh and nodded, "Oh, I understand my dear; I used to do that all of the time when I worked here 20 years ago. Sure there were more people then, but this job was still enough to put you to sleep."

I gave her a half-hearted chuckle, more just to be polite than out of actual humor. Now that he thought about it, Pinkie Pie really was a strange name for a strange person. Yeah, she was kind, but she definitely had something strange about her. Who am I to question though? I wanted something different in my life and I definitely got someone different, both in personality and name. I was already spaced out again after that elderly woman, being snapped out of it again by a younger teen again.

And so, my work day proceeded like this for all 8 hours of it.

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I found her sitting on a park bench, her hair completely flat like the day I found her. She was curled into a small ball with an uncharacteristically sad expression on her face. It looked like she had a really rough day for some reason. I knew I should have stayed home and made sure she really was okay.

"A frown like that really doesn't suit you, Pinkie," I spoke out to her from behind the bench, giving her a kind smile as she turned around to see who was calling her. She seemed almost disheartened when she saw it was me, as if she was expecting someone else.

"I..." She spoke softly, "Can we go somewhere to talk? I'm not normally like this, but I just feel like I need to talk to somepony."

Somepony? She really does sound like Richard now. I nodded to her though, "I'll gladly be here to talk to, Pinkie. I know just the place too." I continued and held out my hand towards her with another kind smile.

She hesitated for a moment before uncurling herself enough to take my hand, a slight smile forming on her face, "Thank you, Alex." Her voice still seemed down, but at least she was smiling again. Something told me that she was being out of her usual character; that is to say if last night was how she normally acted. First impressions always are the strongest, after all.

I offered her my arm and poked my tongue out at her, just being a bit playful to cheer her up. Well, at least I was trying before I noticed her expression, as if she didn't really understand what I was offering her. Warmth filled my cheeks from her obvious ignorance, no matter how endearing it actually came off as, "Have you never held onto someone's arm, Pinkie?"

"Hold onto an arm?" She spoke, pausing before awkwardly grabbing my arm with her hand, "Like this?"

I laughed softly at her attempt, at least I can't say that she didn't try, "Not quite, Pinkie." My hand guided her arm to wrap around mine, "More like this, silly."

She blankly looked at me before tightening her grip around my arm, smiling widely in spite of her completely flattened hair. We walked down the road, guiding her to my usual hiding spot for when I was upset and just wanted to relax after all of the trouble in my life. It was just my get away that for some unbeknownst reason I was revealing to some girl I had just barely met a day ago. Something about her though made me want to legitimately help her, whether it was just her personality or my own selfish curiosity.

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We sat on the second floor balcony of an old bakery that was abused harshly by time. It was my mother's old store that I inherited the building to, but just never did anything with. I suppose I could have sold it, but the problem is that there is no one in Whisper that even has enough money to buy it for what it's worth, let alone with the sentimental value I have attached to it. She had used to take me to work and let me help her with the delicious cakes that she used to bake. My memories flooded me as we sat in two chairs that faced the setting sun, both just watching it.

"I can't help but wonder, Pinkie. Where exactly are you from? You definitely don't act like you're from Whisper," I asked after a long while, avoiding the problem right now, just trying to cheer her up a little bit.

That question marked the beginning of an unbelievably long conversation that easily lasted for hours on end, until the moon had risen high into the night sky. She told me such unbelievable tales of her home and how apparently she was not even from Earth, let alone Whisper. Pinkie was apparently from a world known as Equestria, and she wasn't even a human back in that world. Apparently she was sent here after some freak accident with something known as the 'Elements of Harmony'. Although she didn't understand the science behind it, she remembered what happened with before she woke up in my house that night in a dark place and not being in her own body.

I really had a hard time believing any of this, but she seemed so sure about it; as if it were true or at least what she believed to be true. Her personality that she had before becoming so upset definitely gave off an almost inhuman vibe about it. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not saying I particularly believe her, but it's all I have to go off of. Apparently she and her five friends were all caught within the accident as far as she could tell before blacking out, so she thinks that they could all easily be here. That's why she went wandering around the town, more to find them rather than to explore, and truth be told? That explains her being so depressed about not finding them. She could be the only one of her kind here. A person from a world of peace sent to a world with rude, cruel, and emotionally crippled humans; it would be enough to upset anyone.

After she finished explaining, we were at least quiet for another half hour before I finally spoke up, "Pinkie, I've decided something important." I spoke before turning my head towards hers, which to my surprise was met with my eyes meeting two deep blue eyes, silencing me for a moment before I snapped out of it, "I was thinking... I think I'm going to help you look for your friends."

She blinked before shouting happily, "Really?!" Her hair suddenly exploded out into her wannabe afro; joy flooding over her face as she sat up, "I'm so excited now that I can finally see them! Well, maybe not see them, but it'll be so much easier to find them if they're here if I have someone coming along and helping me all day to look for my friends!"

"I-" I started to speak before being cut off by her continued rambling.

"I'm so nervouscited to see them! I want to throw an awesome party for them when we all get back together again!" She squealed, putting her hands to her mouth to cover her ear-to-ear grin that probably is going to get stuck on her face if she keeps it up, "Ooh! Wait, I just realized I haven't thrown you a party yet! I love throwing parties for my friends!" She said before jumping up and bouncing happily in place, "Can we throw a party tonight?! Wait; it is a little late; maybe tomorrow?!"

I was genuinely happy to see life being breathed back into the pink haired girl; upon seeing that, my bluff to help her look for her friends suddenly became truth. I can't believe I realized just how much I actually found myself wanting to help her out. Truth be told, it scared me simply from how different it is from my usual routine; which ironically was what excited me about it. Maybe that's that her word 'nervouscited' meant? In any case, it was definitely what I was feeling.

She seemed genuinely happier being here at the bakery, just like how I used to feel when spending those days here with my mother all of those days ago. I stood up and stretched to get the uncomfortable feeling out of my muscles before I was met with a huge tackle-hug that only caused me to topple back onto the seat, "Gah!"

"Alright Pinkie, we'll have to throw a party tomorrow, I have the day off so we can have a long one too," I spoke with a smile, giving her a light, awkward hug back. Honestly I found myself a little excited for the party too, wanting to actually let loose after a long week at work. I can't forget my promise though, where I have to find her friend's tomorrow, so I'll probably have to throw her the party to cheer her up if it comes up fruitless. It'll definitely be a busy day tomorrow.

I swallowed nervously at realizing if she was this energetic, what if the others were too. I might just end up losing my mind over it; sadly, there is no way to tell until I meet anyone else: If I meet anyone else.