"Pinkamena Dianna Pie." I look up to see my mother standing above me." How many times have I told you, there isn't anything in this world that can make you happy."
"But, Mom." I began.
"No, I'm sorry, but you can't go." She says.
I look down at the invitation in my hooves." Yeah, ok." I say gloomily. I imidently put it into the trash bin. And with that I move outside. I look around and I see Dad working in the rock garden. Now I look left and see Mom hanging towels on the clothes line. How did she get out here so fast? Maude had been out in the town picking up any supplies we needed. I walk out to the rock field, where our helper,Cosmos, was breaking rocks. He noticed me as I walked up.
"Oh, hi Pinkamena. How are you today?" He asked with his usual dopey grin.
"Just as I'll ever be, gray." I say and this must have put a dampiner on his day, because his smile completely falter.
Poor Cosmos, he is stuck with such a dreary family, on a dreary rock farm, earning dreary minimum wage. And yet he goes about smiling and happy, as if nothing is wrong.
He must have noticed that, I saw him and he smiled again, just less happy. "Oh, well I'm here to help all you have to do is ask." He said.
"Thanks." I say with a gloomy, sarcastic tone. He returns to his work. "Wait, Cosmos can you help me?" I ask quietly.
"Anything." He says.
"Could you help me sneak out tonight?" I ask.
"I don't know, why?" The gray earth pony asked suspiciously.
"Don't worry I just wanted to go to a party." I say.
"Party, who's party." He asks now with a large smile.
"Oh, just a girl named Starlight gave me an invitation to the party. I remember it very clearly this morning." I say." She caught me on my walk this morning. She said she really wanted to see me there. But, Mom said I couldn't go, she said it would be a bad idea. What do you think?" I say finally.
"I don't know. Do you even know her?" He asks.
"I've seen her in town before. But surely she was trying to be nice right?" I say confidently.
"Yeah, nice." He said." But I will help you out so don't worry." He finishes with a smile.
"Thanks" I say as I through my hooves around him." You're my best friend." I say.
"Cosmos, Cosmos are you awake?" I whisper outside his room.
As so the door cracks and he pokes his head out." Yeah, come on in." He says and retreats from the door.
I sneak in quietly. The clock in his room reads 11:05. I look at him. He has tied a knot in some of his clothes." So how is this suspose to work?" I ask him.
"Oh, no worrys I've done it many times before." He answered with his usual dopey grin.
So we moved over to the window."Ok, the plan is we sneak out, and make the party by eleven-thirty, we mingle, have fun, drink 'punch', and by twelve we need to be back home, understand?" He says.
"Clear as crystals" I say.
"Good, you go first." He says.
I look at him with a kind of spite." Fine." I say finally.
I take the clothes up in my hooves and look at him. He smiles and motions for me to go.
I climb out of the window sill, as I do I looked down and imidently wished I hadn't the ground was so far away. I swallowed with a big gulp. It all happened so fast. I lost my hooves and imidently let go of the clothes/rope. I fall for a second before I hit the ground on my stomach. This knocks the wind out of me. I look up to see Cosmos climbing out himself. As he came out though, the pair of worn pants he had at the top tore into two, he fell the way down.
"Great, now how will we get back?" I say slightly irritated.
"Oh, don't worry Pinkamena. I have a key." He held up a key in his hoof." So lets go." He says.
As we walk to Starlight's house he keeps mumbling on about some fancy pegasi team called the Wonderjolts or something.
"And I saw Twirlspin fly up and do an actual twirlspin and I kind of thought this was ironic, because-" He must have noticed I wasn't paying attention, because he started poking me with his forehoof in my face." Hey are you even listening, Pinkie?" He said.
"What did you call me?" I asked.
"Oh, sorry Pinkamena, I mean Dianna, I mean-" He blurts out quickly.
"No, its okay, what did you call me?" I ask.
"Pinkie." He replied.
"I like it, do I look like a Pinkie?" I say.
"Aaaah, you look more like a Martha." He says.
I look at him with a bit of confusion." Martha?" I say to myself.
"Awwwwww, I'm just kidding. Pinkie sounds great for you." He says.
We keep chatting till we come upon a house. With lights on and pony shadows dancing in the windows.
"I guess this is the place." I say aloud.
"Yep." He responds.
We move towards the door and Cosmos knocks.
"Hello, anypony home?" He yelled.
A young filly comes to the door." Oh are you here for Starlight's party?" She asks.
"Yes, we are." Cosmos said. As the filly moved out of the door." Come on, Pinkie." He said.
As we moved inside, I looked around and saw multiple activities, apple bobbing, pin the tail on the pony, dancing, and even sweets.
"Ooooo, what should we do first?" Cosmos asked.
"I don't know about you, but I'm getting a drink of punch." I say.
"Okay, I'll go and get a snack, then meet you there." Cosmos said.
As we split up, I moved over to the punch table. "Wow, punch I've never had any. I wonder what it tastes like." I said to myself. I took a big gulp of punch. "Pffffttt." I spit the punch out imidently." Ewwwwww, that was horrible, it was as if it burned, but it wasn't hot." I said and I guess Cosmos overheard.
"Oh yeah, you haven't ever had sugar Hmmmm, maybe you could just drink water." He said.
"Could everpony gather round?" A voice carried over the small roar of talking and laughter.
As I looked up I saw a pony standing in a chair. "That's Starlight, you know the one who invited us." I say to Cosmos.
"I'm so glad to see you all here." She waves to all of us. As she looks through the crowd, she notices me and smiles, passing through the crowd.
As I arrived I turned to the crowd." And to welcome you, we have a little present." She says, and reaches for a rope hanging down beside her.
The crowd completely silent, as if they waited for something to come and break my world apart. I see her pulling the rope down. As if by chance, I hear a click from the ceiling. I see hundreds of balloons fall over the crowd. I turn back at her. She is smiling. I begin to turn my lips, my mouth forming a shape of a cresent. When I hear another click. From the ceiling a huge blob of green paint covers me and then a bunch of feathers fall over me. I look out at the crowd. They are laughing, at me, all but Cosmos. He just stood there, with a frown and a tear in his eye.
"Oh, now that is one ugly chicken." Starlight says over the laughter.
I imidently start pushing through the crowd. All the laughing ponies around me made me start to tear up. I move past Cosmos." I'm so sorry, Pinkie." I look at him for a second, then turn and run out, with tears streaming down my face.
Cosmos follows me as I start my way home running as fast as I can. I run my way into the front lawn of the house. He stops me and turns me around."Pinkie, stop." He commands me.
I'm hunched over with a tears hitting the ground underneath me. I wipe my nose."No more." I say.
"No more? No more what?" He asks wrapping his hoof around me.
"No more parties, no more sweets, no more... no more friends." I say.
"Friends, they aren't your friends." He says.
"Really, I couldn't tell, what do you think gave it away." I say with spite."When I say no friends, I mean no one, not them, not you, not anypony." I see the pain in his eyes.
"I don't care if you say I'm not your friend, I will be your friend wither you like it or not." He says with a strongness.
"You have to remember Pinkie, this world will bring you down. But when it does, you must be the one to better yourself, to show the world that you can't be hurt." He says with tears in his eyes.
"Thanks for everything." I say.
As this happens, Dad comes out on the lawn." What's going on out here?" He sees us together."I knew it." He says.
"Get away from her." He grabs a stick.
"No, Daddy it wasn't him." He keeps moving towards them.
"What did you do?" He says to him.
"It wasn't me, the ponies at the party-" He was cut off.
"Party? The one you were not suspose to go to?" He asks me.
"Yes, but it wasn't him." I say.
"And you," He motions toward Cosmos." You're fired." He says.
"What, no, this is the only job I can get." Cosmos yells." He move in front of Daddy." Please don't fire me, hit me, don't feed me, dock my pay, I don't care, but please don't fire me."
"Fine, but no dinner tomorrow night." Daddy says.
"Oh thank you, you won't regret it." Cosmos says." Wooo, that was close."
"Again, thanks." I say.
I look up at him again and he is laughing." What?" I ask." What's so funny?"
"Have you noticed, that your green?" He asks.
Look at myself and for the first time in my life.
I smile.
