All She Wanted was a Nap...

Chapters

Preceding the Problematic Problem
The Problem that's Problematic
Things and Stuff

Preceding the Problematic Problem

Terra rushed across the dimly lit carriage lot of her father's Hay-Fil-A to the restaurant's large dumpster, towing a large, plastic container--aptly named the 'Whale' for it's shape-- full of garbage. She dragged along her slender, lavender Hippopotamus friend and co-worker holding the whale with her.

"C'mon M!" Terra exclaimed, nearly breaking into full gallop. "This is the last job! Then we can clock out!"

"Hey, slow down Terra!" the Hippopotamus, M Warn, huffed, "You'll drop the trash!"

"Psh!" Terra waved, "We'll come back for it if we have to!"

"OHHHH!" M 'retorted' with a strange noise.

"OHHH!" Terra shot back.

Needless to say, it wasn't long before they reached the rather large, steel dumpsters.

The two co-workers gave a collective moan as they discovered that the dumpsters were already containing near-max occupancy. Terra sighed, "Well, you know the drill:"

"Toss 'em in?" M asked.

The pegasus nodded, "Toss 'em in."

One by one, Terra and M began tossed trash bags over the top of the azure dumpster. As the mare grasped a bag with her hooves, she asked, "So, we've worked together for a few years now, but tell me again, what's the deal with your name?" She tossed the bag into the dumpster. "I'm sorry, I forget things easily."

M chuckled as she grabbed two relatively small bags and threw them overhead into the trash bin. "It's simple, actually. Hippos only use one letter for their first name." She explained, "Like, I'm M, my dad is W, and my cousin is L. Oh, Fun Fact: L has issues with notebooks. Dunno why. And you know our friend Jonathan Jean? Yeah, she's actually V."

"Hmm." Terra nodded in understanding. "Cool."

M smiled a smirk-ish smile, "OHHH! Is it now?"

Terra chuckled, tossing yet another bag into the dumpster, "Yeah. It's intriguing."

"Hey," M asked as she tossing up trash bags. "are you working tomorrow?"

"Nah," The pegasus employee shook her head, "I've got the next two days off."

"Oh." The hippopotamus employee replied, "Good for you."

"Mm-hm." Terra yawned, "Oi... I'm tired."

"Long day?"

"Yeah. Started at 2:00 today." She glanced at her watch. Reading 11:17, she sighed, "We should hurry and finish up." M agreed as Terra reached into the whale for the last trash bag. But the bag was WAAAYY heavier than she anticipated and nearly dragged her into the black container. "OHGOSH." she grunted.

M crossed her purple forelegs and giggled. "OHHHH! Is that bag being a peckerwood?"

The pegasus chuckled at her friend's strange 'Oh's' and huffed, "Just a bit." Taking a deep breath, Terra pulled at the bag with all her might, but lifted it only a few inches. She gasped as she dropped the bag back into the whale.

"Need help?" M asked.

The mare, determination now burning in her eyes, shook her head, "Nah. I got this." She wrapped both her forelegs and her wings around the bag and lifted with her legs. With spastic breathing, Terra slowly carried the bag--filled with what seemed to be tightly packed powder--to the dumpster.

"You can do it!" M cheered.

With sore muscles and even worse breathing, Terra smiled as she attempted to throw the bag into the dumpster. However, her attempt fell short as the bag merely slammed against the side of the trash bin. She sighed as she tried again only to witness it plop to the concrete of the carriage lot.

With a disgruntled sigh, she once more grasped the bag, and, with every once of strength she could muster, she heaved the bag nearly over the dumpster. She held it above her head as it teetered on the edge of the metal container. But it wasn't far enough, as she knew that if she let go, the heavy, powder-filled trash bag would fall right back to the ground. M immediately rushed to Terra's aid, but alas, it was all too late: Terra's hoof had punctured a hole in the bag, causing the powdery remains to cover Terra's face and entire right side. "ACK!" she yelled, "HAY COATER!!"

M fought with every ounce of her being just to stifle a laugh. Beginning to nearly climb the wall to finally do away with the trash, she joked, "Heh, if only we were bit taller, huh?"

Terra laughed while spitting the coater off of her lips, "I know, right?" The mare heaved once more and yelled, "HWAAAAGH!", chucking the bag over the dumpster.

With heavy breathing and shocked wonder, the mare slowly raised her front hooves in victory.

"We did it!" M beamed. "Yay!"

"Woo!" Terra smiled. "Thanks M."

The hippopotamus nodded, "Mm-hm. Helpin' a sister out." She then gazed down at the mess the bag had made. "But, um..."

Terra's smile faded slightly as she noticed not only was her face and entire right side tainted ivory, but the area surrounding the dumpster was as well. She chuckled and sighed, "...Crap."

M chuckled as well, still examining the powdery mess, "You may want to get the Manager."

The mare nodded as she carefully trudged inside the restaurant's back door. She cautiously dragged herself through the kitchen (with many kitchen staff members asking what had happened) and brought herself to the managers' office, presenting herself to Surefire, the Team Leader on staff that night. "Um... Surefire?"

The brown-maned, tan unicorn mare wearing a black blouse turned to face Terra, only to sigh in disbelief. "Oh, Terra..."

The pegasus nervously smiled, "I, uh, had an accident..."

"I see." Fighting back a small giggle, Surefire straightened her eyeglasses to better see the ivory stain left on Terra's body. "Where is it?"

Terra scratched the back of her short, crimson mane. "Kinda... all around the dumpster..."

The unicorn leader shook her head and sighed, "...Aye... Alright Terra, I think you're good for tonight. Go ahead and clock out."

Terra's nervous smile remained stuck to her face, "O-Oh, um, alright."

Surefire let out a smile as she replied, "Have a good night, Terra. Be safe. Oh, and take a shower!"

She nodded, "Gotcha. Bye!"

____________________________________________________________________

In a dim room lit only by the light of her her TV screen, a warm blanket snugly caressed Terra's silver fur as she stared breathless after just finishing her most recent anime, Shingeki no Pony. To calm her excited emotions, she gulped the remainder of her fourth Hilltop Mist can--which was, in hindsight, probably counter-productive--and threw it in the pile with the other empty cans and two empty Doritos bags (Doritos, by the way, are WAY too awesome to be changed from dimension to dimension).

Terra glanced at her wrist-watch. Reading 3:26 A.M., she sighed, "I should probably sleep..." But her gaze shifted over to her Ybox 720, complete with Tartarus Souls 2 and a Ybox controller. "...Nah." With little effort, she grunted as she reached across her bed for the controller. Pressing the Golden Y in the center of her controller, she powered up the console and loaded up the game. To her momentary happiness, her good friend, Itch the Panda, had gotten online. She added her Ybox Usertag--Invisibl3 Panda-- to a private chat. She joined soon after and greeted somewhat lazily, "Hello.~"

"Hello.~" Terra tiredly responded .

"How are you?" Her voice asked over the microphone attached to Terra's ear.

Terra sighed, "I'm fine. Worked tonight."

"Coo. Making them bits, yo."

"Mm-hm." Terra nodded as she loaded up the first Tartarus Souls 2 loading screen. "How are you?"

"Alright. Simply and I watched anime all day." The panda replied.

"Oh, cool." The mare approved, "I spilled coater all over myself tonight."

"Coater?"

Terra, now moving her character through the town of Jamula, answered, "Y'know, like hay breading."

"...Did it burn?"

"Wait, what?"

"Well, you gotta fry the breading, right?"

"It wasn't in the fryer!" Terra exclaimed as she had her character quick travel to the Old Steel Castle. "It was in a bag. And raw. The bag broke. Lots of powder spilled all over the place."

"Fun times." Itch affirmed.

"Oh yeah." Terra chuckled. "Hey, wanna have a movie night tomorrow night?"

"Meh... Sounds fine."

"What about Ben and Simply?"

"They'll probably be okay."

"What about your parents? Will they be alright with it? Since we usually have it at your house, I wanted to be sure that we weren't, like, doing something against them, y'know?"

"Yeeaaah... My family left for two weeks. As long as we behave competently, we should be fine."

Terra smiled, "Cool. Hey, you wanna help me fight the Old Steel Queen again? I wanna trade her soul for that one pyromancy."

"Eh..." Itch paused, "Sure."

"Cool. Thanks."

"Yerp. Where are you?"

"I'm by the third spawn waterfall."

"Steel Impasse?"

"Yeah."

"Alright."

It didn't take very long for Terra to find Itch's turquoise in-game summon signal. When she entered her world, she sang out almost melodiously, "PRAISE the moon!~"

Terra responded, "PRAISE the moon!~" She smirked, "Alright, let's do this."

_________________________________________________________

Terra mindlessly stared at her watch.

6:18.

She took in a deep, tired breath, "Hey, Itch?"

"Yeah?" Itch replied in an equally tired voice.

Terra moaned as the sun's first rays started leaking through her blinds, "The sun's coming up... I'm gonna go to bed."

"That's-" She yawned. "That's a common problem. I'm gonna sleep too."

"Alright." The mare yawned herself, "See you later."

"Later."

With that, Terra powered down all her devices and laid her head on her pillow and attempted to sleep.

After an undeterminable amount of time, the sleeping mare had forcibly been awoken by a blinding blast from the sun. "ACK!" She covered her face with her forelegs, "THE SUN! IT BURNS!!!"

"Terra," a topaz mare with a crimson mane tied back in a ponytail glared at her, a wing grasping her window blinds, "time to wake up."

Terra rolled over, covering her equally crimson eyes more tightly. "Back... you foul spawn of Tartarus..."

"I am your mother," The older mare, Caela Nova, frowned, "and It's 11:32, far past time to be awake. Time to say good morning to Ponyville!"

The younger moaned, "I hate mornings."

Terra's mom rolled her sapphire eyes, "Too bad it comes every twelve hours." She walked to the door and stopped, "Wake up."

After she heard her mother's hoofsteps descend to the lower level of her home, Terra sighed as she began her valiant efforts to beat the morning. But alas, they had all failed, as her bed had won another twenty minutes of her life. She muttered, "I have a feeling... that today is going to be bloody horrible..." Eventually, she mustered enough willpower to roll out of bed and plop onto the floor. From there, she crawled her way into the shower. After cleansing herself, she was able to function, if only at least minimally.

"Y'know," Terra mumbled as she stepped downstairs for food, rubbing her black-rimmed eyes, "I think I'm gonna take a nap today at some point."

"No you're not." Her mom called out from the kitchen.

Her jaw dropped as she hopped down the last few stairs, "How did-"

"I'm a mom. I do these things. Anyway, Terra, can you come here please?"

Terra shot her head up and moaned, "Crap..."

She entered the kitchen to see her mother already making lunch. Mrs. Nova began with a sucker punch, "Terra, you're going to go outside today." Terra gasped, but her mother raised a hoof to stop any protests, "You're always inside playing Ybox or watching anime. You need to go out and make some friends."

"I have friends!" Terra slammed her hooves on the counter, now able to protest, "In fact, the four of us are doing a thing tonight!"

"At Itch's house?"

"Yeah."

Mrs. Nova continued, "With Simple and Ben?"

"Mm-hm."

"Is it your guys' all-night thing?"

"Yep." Terra smiled.

"I see." Mrs. Nova stood up. "But, don't you have any other friends?"

"Well, not exactly..." Terra's her smile twisted nervously, "But what's wrong with those three?"

Her mother answered, "I don't have many qualms about Ben and Simple Conundrum, but you know how your father and I feel about Itacchi." Terra rolled her eyes. "So, we decided that you should at least TRY to reach out and make more friends."

"Mom!" The younger mare complained.

"What about your foalhood friend, Chill Breeze? You two haven't talked to each other in ages!"

"He got all into sports and stuff." Terra shrugged. "Then we kinda just grew apart."

"Well, that's a shame. You two used to get along so well together." Mrs. Nova started nudging her daughter towards the front door, "At any rate, I want you to attempt to make friends with SOMEpony today."

"But Mom!" Terra firmly planted her hooves on the hard wood floor. "I hate everypony!"

Mrs. Nova stopped and forced Terra to look her square in her eyes, now two pools of complete seriousness, "Now, Terra, you know what the Creator's Book says about true hatred, right?"

Terra sighed as she recalled the specific passage her mother was referring to, "Yes... It's like murder... Fine then. I extremely dislike everypony."

Mrs. Nova raised a concerned eyebrow, "Now, why do you say that?"

Terra heart sank slightly, knowing she just accidentally trotted into deep waters. Attempting to avoid her mother's gaze, she answered, "Ponies are generally just idiots."

"How so?" Caela cocked her head slightly.

She sighed, "Y'see, I've discovered in my experiences at Hay-Fil-A that ponies generally don't care about anyone else's well being. Now, they're not out to hurt anypony, but they're far more concerned with their own agenda. And the rude way they carry that agenda out utterly astounds me. They always do what they feel is right in their own eyes, regardless of others."

"I see." Mrs. Nova replied. Terra could see her mother's mind running like clockwork. "Is that all?"

Terra retreated slightly, unwilling to proceed any further. But, not wanting to lie, she fought her own will and spoke, "N-no... I've also discovered that ponies aren't very accepting..."

"Can you explain what you mean by that?" Caela further questioned.

Terra remained silent, until realizing she wouldn't be able to leave until this was resolved. "...Well, you know the stuff I like to watch and do: Doctor Whooves, rock music, anime, video games, et cetera. That's not..." She paused and rubbed her chin, trying to find the right words to explain, "...those things aren't exactly the norm for our small town. Once they catch on that I enjoy those things, they label me as 'that one weird mare' and write off anything else I have to say as 'stupid'. They just don't care."

Caela nodded, "And so, they don't understand your preferences. Let me ask though," She began rubbing her chin as well, "does this also have anything to do with you not having a Cutie Mark?"

"Mom, you know I don't care about that!"

"I know, sweetie," Mrs. Nova placed a hoof on her daughter's shoulder, "but you also know that having one is important to the townsponies. And it's fine that you don't have one, but just know that ponies will find it a bit strange."

Terra turned away and mumbled, "They don't have to treat me like an outcast, though... They don't have condemn my opinions like they don't matter..."

Tears began forming in Caela's eyes. Her lower lip began to tremble, "Come here." She embraced her daughter. "You are NOT an outcast."

"Mom... Don't do that... Don't cry..."

"Well," Mrs. Nova wiped her eyes, but to no avail, "it hurts me to know that you think that way. I'm your mother and I care about you, honey. I don't want you feel like an outcast just because you didn't figure out what you wanted to do for the rest of your life at ten years old. Just because other ponies have the immaturity to judge a book by it's cover, doesn't mean no one cares! You're father and I love you, and we care. Your sister and little brothers love you, and they care. You even have decent friends who I'm sure care to some extent as well, few as they may be."

Terra sighed as she returned the embrace, "...Thanks Mom."

Caela sniffed and pulled away, "Why didn't you tell me you were dealing with this?" Terra shrugged. "Please, if you have any more problems like this, please tell me! I love you sweetie, and I want to help."

The daughter gave a relieved chuckle, "Okay, I will."

Wiping the last of her tears away, Mrs. Nova patted Terra's back and sniffed, "Now, can you promise that you'll go out and try to make some friends? The more ponies you can truly depend on later in life will help you in the long run."

Terra nodded. "I'll try."

"Thank you." Mrs. Nova smiled. She gave her daughter one last push towards the door, "Now, have a good day!"

"Right." The 17-year old mare replied sarcastically as she rolled her eyes. She took a deep, defeated breath as she slowly trudged across the slick, wooden floor of the foyer towards the door. On her way out, she grabbed her jPhone, WEMT Headphones, and Friendtendo 3DS and placed them in her pockets (which everypony knows are located in the Cutie Mark area). She called to her siblings on the upper floor, "Hey, I'm going out for a while; I'll see you guys later!"

An older female voice called back, "Later Sis!"

Two younger male voices followed in unison, "Bye Terra! Love ya!"

She smiled and nodded. Stopping at the door, she stared back at her mom with pleading eyes, hoping that she had changed her mind. She had not. Defeated, Terra gave up the ghost and opened the door.

"Wait honey, one more thing!" Terra returned her gaze to her mother, some hope still gleaming in her soul. "Don't go to the Everfree Forest; it's very dangerous."

The daughter groaned at her false hope. "Kay... Wait, what if I get jumped when I'm in town?"

"Bye!"

"But the description even says-"

"Love you!"

"Mom!" She tried to object, but was no use. There was no turning back. She sighed, "Love you too..."

With that, Terra slammed the door behind her, now somewhat-except-not-really-at-all-ready to face the outside world that was Ponyville. She covered her eyes as they adjusted to the noonday sun. She moaned "Oi... the outside... I hate the sun..." It was then that a wave of exhaustion washed over her, as her body finally remembered the night before. "Y'know, I think I'll take a nap and attempt to make friends later." She reasoned, "I mean, nopony likes an irritated, intolerant, introvert."

As she hopped off of the stoop of her porch, she felt something odd and relatively large object bulging out of her left pocket. With a raised eyebrow, she reached in and pulled out her military orange Limited Edition Haylow Reach Ybox controller. She chuckled, "Did I forget to put this away last night?" She pondered whether to take it back to her room, then shook her head, "Nah. Effort."

She then trotted away from her house as she slipped on her headphones and started playing one of her favorite bands, Seventh Hour Power Nap. It wasn't long before she felt the stares of the townsponies weighing down on her. She sighed in irritation, "...AAND, there it is." She shook her head and sighed. She began singing along just to ignore them, "...Their perfect ways and your mistakes... All the plastic smiles from a thousand fakes... You're more than what they said that you could be... So believe."

Then, something pink blurred past her vision. But since most of her hometown was pretty much drenched in pink, she paid no heed to this particular blur. She simply continued to sing while watching out for a decent napping spot. "We are the Brok-"

But her singing had been interrupted by a damp, sweet-smelling cloth that smothered her muzzle. She struggled for only a few moments before passing out.

The Problem that's Problematic

Terra awoke to an abnormally large smile hanging in front of her face, blocking her view. "Look who's finally awake!" The smile--attached to an eerily happy pink mare with a cotton candy-esque mane--exclaimed. Terra jumped--or would have, if all her appendages weren't strapped to what seemed to be some kind of a torture table. "Hiya!" The pink mare greeted.

The pegasus moaned as she dropped her head on the wooden table she had been attached to. "I KNEW I shouldn't have gone outside today..."

The mare backed out of Terra's face, revealing a dim, candle-lit room. "I'm SO super-duper excited that you're finally awake! I just couldn't wait to test my cupcake experiment!"

"C-Cupcake experiment?" Terra stuttered, slight terror beginning to well within her soul.

The mare--now seen to be an earth pony--turned to what the pegasus believed to be a work bench. She giggled as moved around something metallic on the table. "Yeppers! I'm making a new type of cupcake!" She heaved up something heavy and turned to face the strapped-down mare. With a smile of pure insanity and a chainsaw in her hooves, the mare exclaimed, "And your my assistant!"

Terra's eyes widened and ears dropped. "You gotta be-" Her words were interrupted by a revving of the chainsaw. She froze as the pink mare (who Terra deduced should definitely have been in an insane asylum) slowly stepped closer with the jagged, spinning blades that would surely be Terra's demise. Terra finally choked out a cry, "Help..."

As the pink mare grew ever closer, the pegasus' screams grew ever louder, "Help! HELP!!! SOMEONE! ANYONE! PLEASE!! HELP!!!! I! AM! GOING! TO! DIE!! HEEEELLLLPPPPP!!!"

But no one answered. Terra's screams became hysterical and unintelligible as the chainsaw approached her left wing. With only mere inches between the wing and the spinning teeth of the motorized death machine, lights illuminated the room. "Hey Pinkie, did you find what you were-"

The mare turned towards some now-enlightened wooden steps and waved at a lavender unicorn mare standing in front of a door at the top. "Oh, hi Twilight!"

'Twilight' gasped as her jaw dropped. "PINKIE!" She dashed down the stairs, unfurling some wings to aid her speed, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?"

'Pinkie' answered, "I'm just freeing my assistant, silly! Duh!" As the unicorn hit the dirt floor after the last stair, Terra flinched and shrieked slightly as 'Pinkie' swung her chainsaw deftly and swiftly. To her surprise, her torture table splintered and collapsed under her.

"The name's Pinkie Pie!" The mare powered down the chainsaw and rested it on her shoulders. She held out a hoof in greeting, "Party Pony Extraordinaire!"

Shocked at nearly no injuries to her body (aside from minor soreness in her rear from hitting the ground), Terra sat dumbfounded in the wooden wreckage of the torture table. Glancing around at the various shelves filled with old knick-knacks and dusty tomes, she absentmindedly answered as she rubbed her flank, "Ter...ra..."

The one called Twilight dashed to where Terra sat and nervously apologized, "OMIGOSH! I'm SO sorry Ms. Terra! Pinkie Pie usually doesn't behave like this..." The unicorn extended a hoof to aid the pegasus to her feet, "Are you alright?"

Returning to herself, Terra's face twisted in anger and ignored the hoof. Her tail swished angrily as she indignantly stood up, giving a heated glare to the winged unicorn, "Alright? ALRIGHT?!? I was kidnapped, strapped to a torture table, and had the living crap scared out of me... WITH A FREAKING CHAINSAW. Does that sound alright to you?!?"

Pinkie gasped, "Assistant! Language!"

"AND YOU," Terra's burning eyes shifted to their pink persecutor, "You keep quiet! How could you have the gall to just kidnap a random pony?"

Twilight stood, jaw ajar, "PINKIE! You KIDNAPPED her? You said she had passed out in the middle of the road! You said that you need my Cloranthy Ring so she could recuperate!"

"Now, Twilight," Pinkie smiled as she laid the chainsaw on her workbench. "I never said I needed the Cloranthy Ring for my assistant to help her recuperate." She turned back to Twilight and placed her front hooves on her hips. "I just said I needed it for her."

Terra barred her teeth, "You still KIDNAPPED me!" Just then, her legs wobbled like jelly and she felt a nauseating feeling well in her stomach, "Oh gosh..." She was then slapped by a fact that her chemistry class had taught her, "WITH CHLOROFORM!" She glared at Twilight, "She used freaking chloroform!" She returned a slack-jawed face of disbelief to the pink captor, "You used freaking chlorofor-" Terra blocked her now nauseated mouth with a wing. "OH CRAP..."

"PINKIE PIE!" Twilight gawked.

Pinkie rubbed her chin quizzically, "So wait, kidnapping ponies to party with is wrong?"

"YES!" Terra and Twilight resounded.

"Even if they look super-duper lonely?"

Terra challenged, trying to keep her balance, "Who are you to decide that for me, whether look lonely or not?"

Without warning, Pinkie placed her two front hooves on Terra's face and wriggled them around as she smiled, "It was totally written all over your face! It was all like," she started moving Terra's mouth to form words, "'I'm Terra, I don't like anypony, l'm lonely, rawr!'"

"Oh, I'm gonna be sick..."

"Wait, you knew her name already?" Twilight asked.

Still mushing Terra's face, Pinkie replied, "Of course I knew my assistant's name, silly! I AM Pinkie Pie after all! Now," she placed her hooves on the temples of the pegasus' cranium and stared with utmost seriousness, eyes mere inches apart, "assistant, are you ready try the most delicious cupcake you have ever tested in your life?"

Fed up with this menace of a mare, Terra growled as she batted the hooves away from her face, "Get your nasty hooves off of me!" She wobbly stomped heatedly towards the wooden stairway. She spat, "Pff! You're no different... You only care about you want."

That immediately silenced the two mares as Terra ascended the stairs, the nauseating feeling now completely dissipated. Then, another realization hit her. She stopped and looked down at her chest to find her WEMT Headphones were not dangling around her neck as they should have been. She felt all over body to find that none of her belongings were on her person.

She gasped with wide eyes, "Where..." she turned to Pinkie and Twilight, "Where did you take my things?"

The two mares remained silent as they tried to avoid Terra's glare. Pinkie, whose mane had somehow straightened itself, dolefully replied as she sat down, "Through the door... On a table in the corner..."

Terra nodded as she resumed her ascent. She stepped through the door at the top and stopped. The smell of paper and ink infiltrated her nasal cavities as she noted the hundreds of books lining the shelves along the walls of this new room. "Huh," she commented, "Golden Oaks Library." She gazed out the window near the front of the building and smiled, "Just across from Hay-Fil-A." She smiled waved at M working across the street, "And here I thought I was gonna be somewhere far away."

Soon after, she found the table that Pinkie had described, with all of her possessions neatly placed on it. Terra chuckled slightly as each had a little laminated note card under each item telling what it was. She began stuffing her belongings into her pockets when a quiet yet clear 'ahem' reverberated behind her. As she wrapped her headphones around her neck she barely glanced back to see Twilight standing at the door to the lower level, stirring her front right hoof against the hardwood floor.

"Yes?" Terra asked, slightly irritated.

Twilight took a quick breath, then spoke, "I have a feeling that we didn't exactly get off on the right hoof earlier..."

Terra rolled her crimson eyes as she replied sarcastically, "Oh really? How did you deduce that, Sherclop Pones?"

"Sherclop?" Twilight's face lit up instantly, "You mean that famous detective created by Sir Arthur Coltnan Doily in late 19th century Trotland? I absolutely adore his work!" She winked, "And it was Elementary, my dear Terra."

Terra responded as she turned to face the alicorn, "Actually, I was referring to the famous TV show from Bittain, but that works, I guess."

"O-Oh..." Twilight blushed. She coughed, attempting the shoo away the ensued awkwardness, "Anyway, is there anyway we could try a do-over?"

Terra took in a breath to deny the request, but then she remembered her mother's request to make friends.

But Mom... You couldn't possibly--these ponies kidnapped me!

As if her mother had entered her brain, she remembered a passage in the Creator's Book about being kind to her enemies.

Dangit, Mom. Even when you're not here, you still remind of how to conduct myself. She shook her head and chuckled.

"So... is that a 'no'?" Twilight asked, disheartened.

I'm SO gonna regret this later. Terra sighed and raised her hoof. "Name's Terra Nova."

Twilight's face lit up again as she met Terra's hoof with her own, "Princess Twilight Sparkle. It's very nice to meet you! Now that we've properly acquainted, I've prepared a few questions to help us get to know each other better." She levitated a rather large stack of note cards with her magic.

Terra gasped slightly. Yep. Definitely a mistake.

Twilight cleared her throat and started her questions, "Where are you from?"

"Here in Ponyville," the pegasus replied nonchalantly. "About twenty minutes away, if you're walking."

"Okay..." Twilight nodded and shifted her cards, "How long have you lived here?"

"My entire life."

The alicorn raised an eyebrow, setting her notes on a nearby table, "Oh? I haven't seen you around before. May I ask, how old are you?"

Terra shrugged, "Seventeen. Other than going to work and studies on the Creator's Book, I don't get out much."

"Work?"

"Yep," Terra smiled, "I work at my dad's Hay-Fil-A." She pointed a wing out the window. "It's actually right across the street from here."

"Very interesting!" Twilight smile with a genuine interest. "I've actually never eaten there before. Is it any good?"

The pegasus raised an eyebrow, "Really?" she kept her wing pointing out the window, "It's across the street! How have you never been there?"

The pegaunisuscorn chuckled nervously, "Never really noticed it. I usually like to eat at WcDonalds across town." She closed her eyes and her mouth began to water, "Their horseshoe fries are to die for!"

Terra paused, utterly disgusted, "...Ew. That place is nasty." Twilight snapped her eyes open and glared as Terra shrugged, "Whatever. But, lemme tell ya, our waffle fries blow those gross horseshoe fries out of the water."

"I don't know..." Twilight answered unsurely. Then, she smiled, "but I will try them sometime!"

"Cool." Terra nodded, "But hey, enough of that. Tell me about yourself."

"Sure!" Twilight's smile widened a bit, "Well, I'm an Alicorn princess."

"Oh, fun." Terra interrupted sarcastically.

The princess rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Tell me about it. Anyway, I'm studying friendship under the tutelage of Princess Celestia, and-" Twilight was interrupted by a raised hoof from her listener, "Yes?

"Alicorn? Is that a thing that actually exists?"

Twilight paused, shocked, "...Really? You don't know what an Alicorn is? Princess Celestia's an Alicorn!

"Yeah, I kinda got a C+ in Biology, so I'm kinda sketch on some of this stuff. And who's this Celestia pony?"

Dumbfounded, Twilight almost wanted to make a snarky retort, but decided to roll with a facehoof instead. She replied in an irritated, monotone voice, "She's the princess of Equestria. Now-"

Terra interrupted again, "Woah, woah, woah, hold up. When did we become a monarchy? I thought we were a capitalistic government in which the economy is protected by our constitutional Bill of Rights. Y'know, the whole, "We the Ponies hold these truths the be self-evident that all creatures are created Equal, endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights. In this, we create this government for the ponies, of the ponies, and by the ponies that shall not perish from this planet."'

Twilight's jaw dropped, dumbfounded once again, "...What?"

"Isn't that what Equestrimurica is based on?"

A small twitch tampered with the Alicorn's eye, "I- I don't even-" she just facehoofed, gave up and sighed, "It's Equestria. We have two presiding princesses, Celestia and Luna--and before you ask, they are sisters-- and I'm a princess of I-dunno-know-what."

"Ah. Gotcha." Terra scratched the back of her head and chuckled nervously, "Hehe... I, uh, kinda got a D+ in history. I was great in Economics and Literature though."

Twilight shook her head, sighed slightly, then resumed her content smile, "Right then. Anyway, I was born and raised in Cantorlot by a family not necessary to this particular fanfiction."

"Wait, what?"

"I moved to Ponyville about two years ago for the aforementioned studies."

"Okay, that's fine. Just ignore the fourth wall."

Twilight covered a light chuckle with her hoof, "Here in Ponyville, I met those who I would be studying under: Fluttershy, a shy pegasus who takes care of the local wildlife; Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Ponyville and beyond; Rarity, the local seamstress; Applejack, owner of Sweet Apple Acres and supplier of the town's apples; And Pinkie Pie, the--Well, you already met her."

Terra shifted her gaze to the wooden floor and mumbled, sarcasm dripping from her words, "Because that wasn't absolutely horrifying..."

Twilight laughed nervously, "Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Pinkie is a wonderful mare and wants the best for everypony. She's not exactly the best at reading a situation, though..."

"Oi... Try absolutely terrible." Terra sighed with a slight face hoof. She then realized something and shot an irritated glare at Twilight, "Why in heck did Pinkie not ask some of these other friends of yours--or you for that matter-- for this cupcake experiment? The heck is this experiment anyway?"

Twilight cocked her head to the left, "As for the latter, I haven't the slightest idea. As for the former, Applejack and Rarity are out of town on business, and Fluttershy took Rainbow Dash to a camp to help various Ponytarian needs up in Phillydelphia. And I asked her if I could help, but she denied me with an answer that I couldn't ever hope to understand or try to repeat."

Terra sighed, "So, she picked me randomly."

"So it seems." Twilight replied.

A long, awkward pause crashed the conversation. The Alicorn started stirring her hoof again, "So... Will you do it?"

Terra brought a silver hoof to her chin to think about the request. Every fiber of her being screamed "OH HECK NO! BAKA, DON'T YOU DARE!"

After figuring denying the notion would be the best course of action, Terra smiled and made her decision, "Sure, why not." You idiot.

"That's great!" Twilight smiled and turned back to the door the lower level, "I'll let Pinkie know immediately!"

Terra continued to smile. I feel this was a mistake.

"PINKIE!" Twilight called down the stairs, "Terra changed her mind! She said she'd go through with your cupcake testing!"

An audible gasp resounded from the basement, "Really?" Just then, a pink blur whizzed up the stairs into a nearby kitchen, "OHBOYOHBOYICAN'TWAITOMIGOSHTHISISGONNABESOGREAT!"

Terra just kept smiling. I am so afraid right now.

Twilight turned around and returned pegasus' smile with her own. An awkward anvil of silence fell as the two mares awaiting the earth pony's concoction. Terra took this time to take a better view of her surroundings, although aside from the shelves of slightly musty books, there wasn't much to see. She did notice a loft with a bed on an upper floor, but beyond that, it was a pretty simple building-tree hybrid.

She then focused her attention to her phone, which displayed a message from Simply.

"So, we're doing a thing tonight at Itch's?"

"Yeah." She typed, "Dunno what we're gonna do yet. Got any movies?"

It didn't take long for him to respond, "Eh, probably Ponynormal Activity. You finish Pony Geass yet?"

She replied, "Almost. Got like three more episodes."

A few seconds passed before he responded again, "Alright. We'll probably finish that off. I swear, one of the best ending in anime ever."

Terra smiled, "Coo."

Twilight coughed, shifting the pegasus' attention back to the real world. Terra slipped her jPhone back into her pocket as Twilight asked, "So... what do you like to do?"

Terra replied with a shrug, "Meh, play video games and watch anime mainly. I do little fanficiton writing sometimes..." she paused, "Oh, a few friends and I are actually in the process of abridging the anime 'Equa Magi Madoka Magica'. It's pretty fun."

Twilight cocked her head, "Abridging?"

Terra shrugged, "Y'know, taking the audio out of a video and replacing it with our own, making the characters say what we want them to. I just recently finished the script."

"Oh." Twilight replied awkwardly, "That's cool, I guess."

Awkward silence had been in abundance that day and decided to descend once more on the two mares. Twilight returned to stirring her hoof on the wooden floor while Terra checked her phone once again.

"So..." Twilight tried to break the silence, "you mentioned studies on the Creator's Book. Are you a follower of the Creator?"

Terra gave a genuine smile, "Yep. He's the God of the Universe, y'know. What's even cooler, He even came down to Equis in the form of pony and died to save us. Even cooler than that, He's not dead anymore;" she reclined both her front hooves behind her head. "As if death could keep it's nasty clutches on the Creator." she chuckled, "Yep, my God's not dead. He's alive."

Twilight frowned slightly, "That's... interesting I guess..."

Terra raised her eyebrow, "I don't like this vibe you're giving off..."

"Well... You see..." Twilight furrowed her brow, "the Creator's just a myth. He doesn't exist, just a legend for ponies who aren't... Academically Advanced. It's an idea that just gives ponies false hope."

Terra fell back on all four hooves, displaying a scowl, "Wait, what?"

"I mean," the Alicorn continued, "belief in an All-Powerful Creator being is simply illogical! There's no evidence. Even 'his' book is wrought with discrepancies."

Terra's scowl deepened, "Prove it."

"What?" Twilight asked, taken aback slightly.

The pegasus took a step and challenged, "Your claims mean nothing without proof to back it up. So, prove it."

The Alicorn sighed, "Fine. It's simple, really-"

"AAAANNDDD here we are!" Pinkie suddenly appeared between the two mares with a strange cupcake in her hoof, "What'd I miss?"

After Twilight and Terra exchanged glances, Terra affirmed, "It's nothing."

Pinkie smiled, "Okie, doki, loki then!" she presented the cupcake to Terra, "Alrighty, assistant! This is assignment: Eat the cupcake and tell me whether it tastes wonderful or absolutely-scumdoodily-irresistably-amazingfullly-delicious!"

Terra examined the cupcake momentarily, noting the chocolate cake adorned with frosting that seemed nearly identical to grass. "I really don't want to." She sighed, "But I said I would..." She grasped the cupcake with her wing, "I may be lazy and indifferent, but let no pony ever say that Terra Nova doesn't keep her word."

With that, she tossed the pastry up in the air, catching the entire thing in her mouth. She started chewing, only to taste bitterness and a gritty texture, with other horrifying tastes that she couldn't even describe. She quickly swallowed the bitter mess in her mouth, only to nearly throw it back up again. She covered her mouth with her wings, "NYEH!" She opened her mouth and tried to scrub the awful taste off of her tongue. "GYEH! BLEH! HNGGHGGGEHH!!!"

"So?" Pinkie smiled, "Was it wonderful? Or was it-"

"It was bloody freaking terrible!" Terra exclaimed, spitting in an attempt to remove the taste. "The heck did you put in it?"

Pinkie brought her hoof to her chin, "Oh, nothing special really: just some salt, sugar, a +2 Cloranthy Ring, eggs, et cetera."

Both Terra's and Twilight's jaws dropped as Terra growled, "YOU PUT JEWELRY IN THE-" she threw her hooves in the air, "You know what, I don't even car- OHGOSH..." Just then, tiny green dust particles began emanating from her gut. Once again, she brought her wings to her mouth, "Oh, I feel sick... This was a mistake..."

Twilight's face twitched in uncontrollable anger, "She... She didn't... That... That ring was... Was a gift from a faraway land... it was... given to Celestia... and she gave it to me... and now..." the Alicorn's face twisted in absolute burning rage, "PIIIINNNNNNKKKKIIIIIEEEEEEEE PIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!!!"

"Hello!" The eccentric earth pony giggled, "How can I help ya?"

"Do you understand what in Tartarus you've just done?" The princess fumed.

"Not really," the pink mare smiled, "but those dust particles REALLY like Terra! They've completely surrounded her now!"

"Wha-" Twilight turned her attention to the pegasus, whose torso had now been completely encompassed by the strange green particles. The Alicorn sighed, "Oh no..."

Terra sighed, "I freaking knew this was a bad idea..." she then noticed she was a full head taller than both the other mares. "Oh, you've gotta be kidding..."

"Are you..." Twilight took a step towards Terra, her forehead now only reaching the pegasus' chest. She sighed and growled, "Great. You're growing. Rather rapidly too. Absolutely wonderful. I have no idea how to fix this."

Terra replied, irritated, "Well, crap." With the mares shrinking before her, Terra slipped on her headphones--thankful that they were growing with her, as well as everything else on her person--pulled out her phone and sighed, "Well, this seems like a good time for music." Just before putting on a song, she saw Twilight mouth, 'Really?', to which she simply shrugged, "Hey, music is wonderful for all occasions."

With her head just growing past the loft she saw earlier and her backside squeezing against a wall filled with bookshelves, she set her music playlist to her favorite band, Pans. She sat down in order to conserve space, but it didn't last long as her rear hooves stretched from once end of the room to the other. This didn't phase her, though; she just nonchalantly started singing along with her music.

"The walls between... You and I, always squishing us inside, nothin' left but scars, fight after fight." Terra head had finally squished against the ceiling. Figuring Twilight would figure something out, she rolled herself into a ball to buy her more time. However, it wasn't very useful since, even in the fetal position, her body was easily taller than the loft, and it pretty much covered the entire bottom floor. Thank the Creator that Twilight and Pinkie climbed onto one of her legs before that happened. Bloody messes aren't fun to clean up.

Her head had once again reached the ceiling, her body being squeezed by every inch of the building. "The space between, our calm and rage," Terra found it growing increasingly more difficult to breathe as the confines of the building compressed her body ever tighter. "started growing smaller, disappearing slowly day after day." Even through her headphones, she could hear the creaking and groaning of the wooden building-tree around her. It wasn't gonna last much longer. Well, Twilight better do something, or this building's gone.

"And I was sitting there, waiting in my room for you." Now completely immobile, Terra figured she'd grow out of the building in approximately seven seconds. Or sooner. She was always pretty horrible with math. "You were waiting for me too. And it makes me wonder..."

Just then, Terra's eyes were assaulted with a blinding light, and in the next moment, she was outside, still growing. Surprising to her though, the shrinking Golden Oaks Library was still intact, meaning she hadn't grown out of it. She pulled out her phone, paused her music and dropped her headphones around her neck.

She looked down at the Library's entrance as Twilight and Pinkie Pie exited. As the tips of the treetop reached up to about Terra's stomach, the green dust particles finally dissipated and she stopped growing.

She gazed back to the mares on the ground and cocked her head to the left, "Well, this seems slightly problematic."

Things and Stuff

Terra cast her gaze across the expanse of Ponyville, noting the locations of a few places that were of any worth to her, such as her house, Hay-Fil-A, and the houses of her friends, Ben, Itch and Simply. She shook her her head, looked down at the two ponies on the stoop of Golden Oaks Library and sighed, "Looks like somepony dun goof'd, and I know for a fact that it was not me. Wait," She gasped slightly when she another fact hit her--which was actually becoming painful at this point-- and stared down at Pinkie Pie, "did you say that the jewelry you put in the cupcake--that I ate--" she emphasized, "was a +2 Cloranthy Ring?"

Even from her new height, Terra could see Pinkie's giant smile beam as she replied, "Yepperooni!"

Terra's eye twitched, "...Where the heck did you even get a +2 Cloranthy Ring?"

"I can answer that." Twilight irritably growled, "A King from a Faraway Land gave it to Celestia as a gift," Anguish washed over her face as she brought her front hooves to her head and lamented, "and she entrusted me with the task of learning more about it!"

"Well, I don't mean to state the obvious, but," Terra poked her stomach, then returned her gaze to Twilight, "I don't really think that's a possibility at this point."

"Well, thanks for rubbing it in!" Twilight moaned.

Terra shrugged, "Meh. It's not like it was my fault."

The alicorn shot an icy glare at Pinkie, who merely continued to smile. Her eyes then shot open and stared at Terra in shock, "Wait, Terra, how... do you know what a Cloranthy Ring is?"

The pegasus rolled her crimson irises and smirked, "Easy. Tartarus Soul 2. It's a fairly common ring that increases stamina regen. I've got like four of th-" She gasped as her face suddenly filled with panic, "Twilight? Exactly who gave your princess that ring?

Twilight tapped her chin, "Hmm... I didn't really catch his name, but Celestia mentioned something about a V-something of Drakeleic. Why?"

Horror, dread, and dismay all but drowned Terra's face as her heart began beating unnaturally fast. She nervously quoted, "She warned our lord of the looming threat across the seas--of the Giants. The King crossed the ocean, and defeated them with his queen at his side. The King commandeered their power... and created the golems... The King crossed the seas and pillaged the land of Giants, and brought back a prize." She picked up Twilight, "I don't want be the cause of the Age of the Dark, Twilight!" She cried and shook the princess violently, "I DON'T WANNA GO HOLLOW!"

"WOAH, OKAY THEN." Twilight gagged at her rising nausea. Her horn flared as she cast a stasis spell to stop the giant, incessantly shaking hoof. While trying to keep her nausea to a minimum, Twilight rubbed her chin in thought, "Hmm...The prize then must be the Cloranthy Ri- Wait a minute!" She looked up and scowled at the pegasus, "Tartarus Souls is just a game, right? It's just a fantastical, virtual, experience, therefore, it isn't real! I can assure you, Terra, you won't die."

"Not die; Hollow. You CAN'T die. You just lose all sanity."

"Whatever!"

The pegasus, all semblance of fear now gone from her face, shrugged and gently placed the Alicorn next to Pinkie, still standing on the Library's stoop. "Meh, you're probably right. At any rate," She pulled her phone out of her pocket and started scrolling through her music, "I don't have to work again until next week, but seriously, this needs to be fixed before then. I kinda need my job, y'know? Gots to make them bits, yo."

Twilight sighed, "Alright. If you just wait here, we'll-"

"NOPE." Terra announced as she leaped over to the other side of the Tree Library. "I'ma take a nap. Got a movie night tonight."

"But," Twilight scowled and yelled, "I need you so I can run some experiments! I may not be able to fix this otherwise!"

Terra replied, "Eh, there's like, a bajillion books in the library. I'm sure you'll find something. Wait, quick question--" she glanced over the tree at Twilight, "how come I can hear you so clearly from up here? Shouldn't the further away my ears are from the sound, the less I should be able to hear it? I mean, I AM failing Physics, and didn't do so well in Physical Science, so correct me if I'm wrong, but..."

Twilight stared in disbelief, "How did you... even make it to Highschool?" She gave a disheartened sigh and rubbed her head, "I don't--I don't even know... Maybe the Ring amplifies the stamina of your eardrums?" She shook her head and stated as she entered the Library, "I just don't know."

Terra went back to scrolling through her music, until she noticed Pinkie Pie staring at her quizzically with her head cocked to the side. The pegasus raised eyebrow and commented, "I'm almost afraid to ask..."

"You don't have a Cutie Mark!" The tiny pink mare exclaimed.

Terra brought a wing to her forehead and grumbled, "Of course. Why should have I expected anything else?"

Pinkie continued without missing a beat, "I mean, I can't believe I didn't even notice at first! I was just so excited! Not even the normal excited, but the super excited that's CRAZY! But, you're so super-duper big now that it's impossible to miss! I mean-"

"That's it. I'm leaving." Terra growled, frustration and anger finally winning over her. She began walking in the opposite direction of the library

"Well, alright! See ya later, assistant!" Pinkie smiled and waved, "I Pinkie Promise that we'll definitely, absolutely, positively, without-a-doubtedly fix this!"

With that, the pink mare did a strange motion with her hooves and zoomed into the Tree after Twilight. Slight fear dropped into Terra's chest, quickly replacing her anger, "I... am now absolutely terrified." She shuddered thinking about accidentally ingesting another Cloranthy Ring, or something similar.

She shook the thought away and hopped over another small building. "Then again," she thought aloud as she walked through the streets, careful not to step on anything or anypony, "if I could fight giant robots in the 10th dimension by throwing whole galaxies around for a standard attack like in Tengen Toppa Maren Lagann, that'd be fun!" She shrugged, "Meh."

She then pulled out her phone and saw that Itch had sent a group message over Facehoof to her, Ben, and Simply.

"So the thing's at my house tonight, right?"

"So I've been told" Simply popped.

Terra typed, "Actually, not so sure. Something's popped up on my end."

Itch questioned, "so were not doing a thing? ... *we're"

The pegasus replied, "Well, we could POTENTIALLY still have it, but... We'd just have to talk in person first."

"When did they build giant gray pillars outside my house?" came from Simply's end.

Terra looked down to her left, noticed Simply's house, and chuckled, "That's actually apart of what popped up for me. Kinda had a run-in with a pink earth pony, and stuff happened and things and... yeah."

"..." Simply sent, clearly figuring out what had happened, "...How?"

"I don't even know." She responded, "But, hey, I'ma find a decent place to nap. So, just, like, come find me or something and we can attempt to plan an alternative movie night." Terra continued her search for a good napping spot while staring at her phone.

"*sigh*" Simply wrote, "Fine."

"wait whats going on" Itch asked.

"apparently we're meeting with terra somewhere" Simply replied.

"Meh. effort. can you pick me up?"

"Why?"

"Lazy"

"Eh. Fair enough." There was pause. "Where the heck is Ben?"

Terra laughed, "Where is the heck Ben ever?"

"Good point" Simply agreed.

Terra smiled as she slipped her phone into her pocket. Her eyes scanned past all the buildings to the outskirts of town. She then unfurled her wings to take to the sky and sleep on a cloud, but then decided against it for various reasons: First and foremost, none of her friends, being a panda, unicorn, and a bipedal cat called a Cait Sith (pronounced Ket She), could even fly, let alone stand on a cloud. She also didn't want to create tornadoes and stuff by flapping her wings haphazardly attempting to take off. Flying also wasn't her forte, so crashing into the earth was definitely a possibility. She figured earthquakes were probably frowned upon in society.

Instead, she continued walking, stepping over various buildings and such whilst ignoring the gawking townsponies below her. She eventually saw a nice valley on the other edge of town. She slipped on her headphones, scrolled down to her anime music playlist, and started with Mares' Dead Monster from the anime Alicorn Beats!

She hummed to the tune of her music as she laid herself down in the valley, instantly succumbing to her exhaustion.