Something Pink This Way Comes
Chapter 1
Something Pink This Way Comes
The small group of foals ran down the dirt road, laughing excitedly as they gazed over their shoulders at Pinkie Pie. With her tongue sticking slightly out of her mouth in concentration, Pinkie reared up on her hind legs and launched the large, red rubber ball after them, pelting Pipsqueak in the back of the head.
"Darn," Pipsqueak said with a hoof stomp before making his way to the side of the road where the other foals that had already been tagged out were sitting.
Pinkie quickly snatched up the ball, and aiming carefully, threw it again.
Within minutes, she had tagged out all of the foals except for Featherweight, who began jumping up and down, shouting triumphantly. "I win! I win!" Featherweight pranced proudly toward Pinkie and took the ball. As he turned toward the others lined up on the side of the street, he raised the ball threateningly. "Ready, set, go!"
A gale of laughter erupted on Mane Street as the fillies and colts darted in every direction. Pinkie laughed with the foals as she glanced up at the sun and felt a thrill of excitement.
Twilight had paid an early visit to the Sugarcube Corner the day before, and in a very apologetic tone, told Pinkie that she wouldn't be able to make their lunch appointment that afternoon. She explained that she had received an assignment from Princess Celestia, and that it would most likely take all day and most of the night to complete.
Pinkie had been looking forward to their lunch together all week, and had been very disappointed by the news, but understood how difficult Twilight's studies were. With one of her most brilliant smiles, Pinkie had assured her that that was fine and told her friend that she would pay her a visit at noon the following day.
Although she had spent the day at Sweet Apple Acres helping Applejack with her chores and playing with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, she had missed Twilight's company and had thought of her often. Now, with noon only an hour or so away, Pinkie looked forward to seeing the Unicorn once again.
As Pinkie turned away from the playing foals, she caught sight of Rainbow Dash landing on a rise outside of town. Rainbow was always great company, and Pinkie quickly decided to spend the remainder of the morning with her.
When Pinkie had first moved to Ponyville after leaving her family's rock farm, she had caught a glimpse of the Pegasus as she was bringing in storm clouds for the town's scheduled rainfall. Being the curious Earth pony that she was, Pinkie had followed the annoyed Rainbow around the rest of the day, asking various random questions about the weather until the Pegasus had resorted to threatening her with a lightning charged storm cloud. After that, Rainbow had avoided Pinkie at all costs for several years, but all that changed with Twilight's arrival in Ponyville.
Giggling at some of her most early memories of Rainbow, Pinkie started up the hill. As she neared the top of the rise, she heard a voice that she immediately recognized. "Wow, what is it?" Scootaloo asked.
"It's a catapult," Rainbow answered. "I built it myself. See all those bales of hay? I'm gonna blindfold myself, then have you hide these three eggs inside one of them. Then you're gonna pull that lever over there, and I'll have to bust through them, still blindfolded, and return the eggs to this box." She indicated a small wooden crate on the ground beside her. "I gotta have all three eggs unbroken inside the box before the bales hit the ground."
"That would be so cool!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "Do you think you can do it?"
"Pfft, in my sleep!" Rainbow replied with a cocky smile.
"That would be cool," Pinkie said from behind them, causing the two to start. "Mind if I stay and watch?"
"Oh, hey, Pinkie," Rainbow greeted, brushing her rainbow hued mane out of her face. "Of course you can stay."
Pinkie gazed at the large wooden contraption, then at the twenty bales of hay that were stacked on a wide platform at her feet. "You really built this? I bet it took a while."
"Kinda," Rainbow said with a shrug. "I've been working on it on and off for a little over a month. I got the wood from Sweet Apple Acres. Applejack had just finished repairing the stables for the cows and I offered to take the extra wood off her hooves." Turning to Scootaloo, she continued, "Anyway, hold onto these while I blindfold myself. And Pinkie, you mind stepping back?"
Pinkie slowly backed away as Rainbow pulled on the blindfold. "All right, Scoots, now hide those eggs in the hay."
"Yes, ma'am!" Scootaloo exclaimed excitedly. The little filly hurried over to the hay and started stuffing the eggs deep into the bales.
Gripped by the thrill and anticipation of the moment, and wondering if Rainbow could actually pull this stunt off, Pinkie stepped around the side of the contraption and leaned against it. She gasped as the lever depressed beneath her, and seconds later, the bales of hay, as well as Scootaloo, were suddenly launched high into the air. With a shriek of terror, Scootaloo began to flap her wings desperately as she hurtled across the sky.
With a start, Rainbow quickly removed the blindfold, and spotting Scootaloo tumbling through the air, rocketed after her. Smashing through three bales of hay, Rainbow spun in the air and caught the terrified filly against her chest.
Rainbow swooped back down to the rise and set Scootaloo gently on the ground. "You okay, squirt?" she asked worriedly.
"That was so totally awesome!" Scootaloo shouted, grinning from ear to ear and jumping up and down. "You were so fast! And you blew through those hay bales like they were nothing!"
Rainbow smiled and ruffled the little filly's mane, then turned an intense glare on Pinkie. "What the hay was that, Pink?! You need to be more careful, Scoots could've been hurt!"
"Oh, Dashie, I'm so so sorry. I didn't mean to—"
"What if I hadn't been quick enough?" Rainbow demanded. "What would you say then?"
Pinkie simply shook her head as her eyes brimmed with tears.
"Just get outta here, Pink," Rainbow snapped with an angry snort as she turned her back on her.
Her head hanging low, ears drooping, and her fluffy tail dragging the ground, Pinkie wordlessly headed back down the slope. She was mortified by what she had done. If Rainbow hadn't reacted as quickly as she had, Scootaloo could have been seriously hurt, or even killed. Pinkie shuddered as she recalled the little filly's terrified scream.
Upon reaching the bottom of the slope, she glanced regretfully back up to the top. With a heavy sigh, Pinkie trotted toward the woods, staring at the ground shamefully without paying attention to where she was going.
Before long, Pinkie found herself on the small wooden bridge that led to Fluttershy's cottage. She stood in silence and listened to the whispering babble of the river beneath her, and inhaled the fresh air deeply as she let the peaceful serenity envelop her. A small smile crept onto her face as she watched several chipmunks tumble and play on the well-maintained lawn, and as she started forward, a pair of blue jays swooped down and landed on a perch on the roof, singing happily.
A talk with Fluttershy was exactly what Pinkie needed right now. She knew that she could share her feelings with Fluttershy; she always listened to her and was always understanding and sympathetic.
Inside, unbeknownst to Pinkie, Applejack stood on a stool in front of the door with a hammer sticking out of her mouth. "Well, that just bout does it. One more nail in this here hinge and your door will be right as rain again."
Fluttershy smiled from her coziest chair as she sipped from her teacup. "Oh, thank you so much for your help, Applejack. That door has been giving me so much trouble over the last week. I really must ask Rainbow to open it more gently from now on." She indicated the teapot. "Are you sure you don't want any tea?"
"Nah. I ain't the tea drinkin' sort of pony, but thank ya for the offer," Applejack declined as she removed a nail from the bucket sitting on the table directly behind her.
"Okay, then." Fluttershy turned to Angel. "Would you please go get my money pouch? It's on the floor over there against the wall."
Angel nodded enthusiastically and scampered across the room.
"Y'all know better than to try and pay me, Fluttershy," Applejack stated as she carefully held the nail in place and raised the hammer.
Fluttershy rubbed her foreleg as her gaze fell to the floor. "I know...but I thought maybe just two or three bits...just to say thank you?"
"Your thanks is enough, sugar cube," Applejack said with a warm smile. "I'm always willin' to help a good friend."
Without warning, the door unexpectedly flew open.
Thrown from the stool, Applejack slammed into the wall, causing a birdhouse hanging above to fall. As the terrified residents flew to safety, the birdhouse crashed down onto the table, launching the bucket full of nails across the room and right toward Angel.
With a shriek of fright, Angel pressed himself against the wall as the nails struck all around him, forming a perfect silhouette. The little bunny remained still for a moment, gasping for air, and then slowly moved away from the wall. Hesitantly, he ran his paws over his body and sighed with relief upon finding himself completely intact.
Fluttershy rushed forward, and scooping up the trembling bunny, hugged him tightly as she began speaking to him soothingly.
Turning, they all found a stunned Pinkie standing in the doorway. "I-I'm so sorry..."
"What the hay is wrong with you, girl," Applejack demanded angrily as she climbed back to her hooves. "Ain't ya ever heard of knockin'?"
Pinkie's eyes lowered as she poked at the floor with a hoof. "I-I was just distracted. I didn't even think—"
"Well, you need to think," Fluttershy suddenly interrupted, flying forward and landing on her hind legs. Holding Angel out before her, she yelled, "Just look at what you've done to poor Angel! He's terrified! Look at those nails in the wall, he could have been seriously injured! All because you didn't think!" Shocked and hurt by Fluttershy's shouting, Pinkie backed away and cowered from her as she continued. "These animals are completely helpless! They rely on us to keep them safe! You've got to be more careful around them, Pinkie!"
"I-I..." Staring at the angry faces of two of her closest friends, Pinkie suddenly burst into tears as she turned and fled the small cottage.
Pinkie galloped away for several minutes before stopping to hide beneath a giant bush. With tears streaming down her face, Pinkie hiccupped as the words of her two angry friends repeated in her mind.
You need to be more careful, Scoots could've been hurt!
You've got to be more careful around them, Pinkie!
What was wrong with her today? Why was she being so careless? It seemed like everything she did, even something as simple as opening a door, ended in disaster for her friends.
She thought of Scootaloo falling to the ground far below and of Angel being struck by numerous nails, and began to cry harder. What would she have done if things had ended differently?
Swallowing hard, Pinkie wiped her eyes. She understood that she had been very lucky so far, and resolved to be more careful from this point on. If she could prevent herself from causing any more trouble for her friends, then there still may be time to make it up to them.
Finally regaining control of her emotions, Pinkie climbed out of the bush and headed back to Ponyville.
Unsure of what else to do before meeting Twilight at the Golden Oaks Library, Pinkie's eyes suddenly landed on a red flag flapping in the distance.
Rarity always enjoyed her company, no matter how stressful her day was, and Pinkie always enjoyed watching Rarity work. She loved the raw passion that was always present in Rarity's eyes as she contrived and created new designs, and liked to think that she had a similar look whenever she was setting up a party for somepony. Pinkie also loved helping her friend, and was always thrilled when Rarity asked her to take a measurement or to cut a piece of fabric. Still, Pinkie wasn't convinced that even spending time with Rarity would cheer her up, but figured that it would be better than moping around town.
Pinkie trotted down the dirt road gloomily, and was only able to offer a small smile to Noteworthy's cheerful greeting as he passed. As the Carousel Boutique came into view, she immediately noticed that the second floor windows were opened, and realized that Rarity must be upstairs, perhaps already creating new dresses.
Without warning, Pinkie experienced an ear flop, followed by an eye flutter, and then finally a knee twitch just as she reached the door, and quickly jumped back as the bottom diamond swung open. Opalescence, Rarity's fluffy white cat, pushed her way through the pet flap, and upon seeing Pinkie, hissed and swiped her paw threateningly. Satisfied that she had properly intimidated the pony that had so foolishly gotten in her way, Opalescence pranced away and disappeared into the bush beside the building.
Pinkie entered the shop and immediately caught sight of Spike as he was exiting Rarity's inspiration room with a roll of fabric in his arms. Hearing the ring of the door bell, he turned and said, "Hey, Pinkie, how's it going?"
"Not too well," Pinkie stated unhappily as she crossed the room, passing by the mannequins wearing the week's featured outfits without even a glance. Ordinarily, she would have stopped and admired Rarity's latest creations, but today she just wasn't interested.
Spike knew this as well. "Uh oh. You really are having a bad day." When Pinkie nodded her agreement, he added, "Well, Rarity is upstairs, why don't you talk to her? She always makes me feel better when I'm down."
Even though she was feeling sad, Pinkie couldn't help but smile at Spike's words. She had always found his crush on Rarity absolutely adorable, especially the fact that he still seemed so blissfully unaware that they all knew about it.
As she watched the dragon awkwardly climb the stairs with the large roll of fabric, Pinkie hurried forward and helped him reach the top.
"Phew," Spike said as he wiped his brow. "Thanks, Pinkie."
"You're welcome!" Pinkie said happily as she patted his head.
She opened the door and allowed Spike to carry the fabric in, then followed him inside. Rarity was standing in the center of the room next to an ironing table, her horn glowing with a bluish light as she concentrated on ironing a strip of yellow cloth.
"Here's the roll of red fabric you wanted, Rarity," Spike said as he placed the roll of fabric on her large, four posted bed.
"Oh, aren't you just the most helpful little dragon?" Rarity replied affectionately as she tilted the iron on its side. "Thank you so much, Spikey. It is always so splendid having you around."
Spike beamed with pleasure and began to rock back and forth on his heels as Rarity's eyes fell on Pinkie.
Her work glasses magically raising up and propping themselves against her horn, Rarity asked, "Pinkie dear, whatever is troubling you?"
Pinkie blinked. "Is it that obvious?"
"You came through my shop, up the stairs, and into my bedroom without my knowing that you were even here," Rarity stated as the yellow cloth floated across the room and draped itself over one of the mannequins. "That simply does not happen unless something is wrong."
"It's been a bad day," Pinkie said as she lay on the floor, her ears drooping as she gazed at her friend unhappily. "I've managed to make Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Fluttershy all really mad at me."
"Well, darling, there are some days when even a little bit of Pinkie Pie is too much," Rarity said gently.
"What do you mean?" Pinkie inquired.
"Sometimes you are rather...um...er..." Rarity hesitated. "How to put this delicately..."
Seeing his beloved at a loss for words, Spike enthusiastically offered his help. "Annoying, no...irritating? Wait! Destructive, or maybe fr—"
Suddenly, a balled up piece of fabric soared across the room and crammed itself into Spike's mouth, effectively silencing him. With a sympathetic smile, Rarity said, "What we mean is, maybe they just need some time alone to calm down. Understand?"
"Yeah, I guess so," Pinkie mumbled with a deep frown. "But it's no fun upsetting your friends. I really want to go back and bring them smiles."
"I'm sure that you will bring them plenty of smiles...tomorrow," Rarity reassured her. "Today, however, I think you should give them their space."
"Okay," Pinkie agreed with a sniffle.
Rarity flipped her mane. "Why don't you stay here for a spell? I know you enjoy my dressmaking, and your cheerfulness has always been a great source of inspiration for me."
Charmed by the compliment, Pinkie stood back up. "All right, but only for a little while. I promised Twilight I would visit her at noon."
"That sounds like a marvelous way to spend an afternoon," Rarity commented warmly. "And I dare say, it will keep your mind off of your dreadful morning."
As Rarity turned back to her work, her horn began to glow as a needle and a spool of thread lifted out of a large wooden bucket sitting in the back corner of the room, and with a tilt of her head, she guided them toward the closest of the mannequins. As she threaded the needle, Rarity came to a slow halt as she frowned with deep concentration, and then moved forward for a closer look at her design.
"Actually, in order to get the effect I'm going for, I'm going to need to use a slip stitch," she muttered to herself. Then she turned to Pinkie. "Would you mind going to my inspiration room and getting a book for me? I would like to apply an appliqué, but it is mostly used in quilting and I haven't much experience. It would be nice to have a reference."
Although she had no idea what Rarity was talking about, Pinkie was happy to have a chance to help her friend. "Of course!"
"It will be in the bottom shelf of my desk," Rarity directed her. She studied the dress fitted on the second mannequin for a moment, then asked, "And Spike, downstairs near the pedestal is a small bucket of turquoise, could you fetch it for me?"
"Absolutely!" Spike replied eagerly.
Rarity gave him a stern look. "I need every last gem in that bucket, Spike. If you eat even one, I'll know it, and I'll have no choice but to extract it."
Spike swallowed hard as he placed both of his claws over his belly protectively and nodded.
Pinkie laughed at Spike's reaction as she left the room. As she descended the stairs, she began to find comfort in Rarity's words.
Of course my friends will cool off and forgive me. After all, I didn't mean to upset them. That whole mess had really just been bad luck, but things are going to be different now. I'm going to have a great time with Rarity, and then I'm going to visit Twilight and have a fun fun fun afternoon. Then, first thing tomorrow, I'm going to find the others and apologize, and we'll put this whole thing behind us.
Just as she entered the inspiration room, Pinkie tripped over a roll of fabric that had been left on the floor just in front of the doorway, and stumbling sideways, she stuck her hoof in a small trash bin that was overflowing with fabric scraps. As she attempted to kick off the bin, Pinkie stepped on a spool of thread that rolled under her hoof, causing her to crash to the floor.
Tangled up in a ball of yarn and lying on her back with a trash bin stuck on her hoof, Pinkie took a moment to reflect on her disastrous morning as she stared at the ceiling. Not even back when she had been working on the rock farm had there ever been a day that she wished that she had never gotten out of bed, but today was dangerously close to being her first.
After a brief struggle, Pinkie freed herself from the ball of yarn, pulled the trash bin from her hoof, and climbed to her hooves.
Pinkie turned toward the desk and stared for a moment at the chaotic mess that stood before her. There were numerous books piled haphazardly across its surface, as well as an overturned sewing machine and several spools of thread. The top drawer was hanging open and was overstuffed with sheets of fabric, and measuring tape hung from the handle of the bottom drawer.
"Yeesh," Pinkie mumbled, "and Mrs. Cake always complains that my desk needs to be cleaned out."
Forced to crouch to reach the bottom drawer, Pinkie pulled it open and dug through a pile of packaged sewing needles until she finally reached the book. She had to fully extended her neck to reach it, and as she gripped its spine with her teeth, she inhaled the dust that coated its cover.
Without warning, she sneezed violently and banged her head hard on the upper drawer as the book fell to her hooves. She took a moment to gingerly rub her head as a tear of pain ran down her face before gathering up a few scraps of fabric and using them to dust off the book. Finally, she picked it up and made her way back upstairs.
Hard at work attaching the turquoise to a stunning blue dress, Rarity's eyes were squinted with concentration behind her glasses when Pinkie returned.
Quietly, she crossed the room and sat the book on the desk next to Spike, who was sitting on the edge and slowly kicking his legs, watching Rarity unblinkingly as if he were in a trance.
"Thank you, Pinkie," Rarity said without looking away from the turquoise dress. "Now, would you be a dear and find the section on appliqués? I believe it is about halfway through the book."
Pinkie opened the cover and blew away the dust inside before she thought better of it. The dust swirled through the air and struck Spike full in the face.
With a terrible sneeze, Spike was thrown over the edge of the desk as a jet of flame shot over Pinkie's head. Struggling to stand up, he launched another stream of fire across the room as he fell back down.
"Spike, no! Not the dresses!" Rarity shrieked as the dragon turned toward her.
In desperation, Rarity reached out with her magic and shoved all of her mannequins into the far corner of the room. She then dove to the floor, hooves over her head, and waited for the next explosion of flame. After a moment of silence, she slowly raised her head.
Spike was sitting on the floor, panting and rubbing his nose. "Oh, poor Spikey-wikey," Rarity said as she approached him and affectionately toyed with the large green spine on his head. "You've got to be more careful, Pinkie," she lectured. "That could have ended disastrously." When Pinkie didn't respond, Rarity looked up.
Pinkie was standing on shaking legs, her face a mask of horror. "R-Rarity...I'm so...so sorry."
"It's okay, Pinkie," Rarity hastily said, "nopony is mad. I was simply expressing my concern. Spike here can be extremely dangerous when he—"
ACHOO!
Due to the large amounts of hairspray that she used in order to give her mane its buoyancy bounce, Rarity's hair ignited like a well oiled torch.
Screaming in terror, Rarity trotted in place. "Put it out! Put it out!"
Stunned, Pinkie's mind suddenly seemed incapable of processing a single thought as she stared helplessly at her panicked friend.
Spike rushed out of the room and quickly returned with a bucket of water that he promptly dumped over Rarity's head. With a loud hiss, the fire was extinguished. As the steam began to clear away, Pinkie found Rarity standing tense and rigid, dripping wet while the charred remains of her mane continued to smoke.
Dismayed, Pinkie cried, "Oh no! Rarity!"
Without moving a muscle, Rarity's eyes inched toward the mirror. Upon seeing her reflection, she wailed, "Oh, my mane! My beautiful mane! It's ruined!"
Rarity moaned as she raised a hoof to her brow and swayed for a moment before fainting. Placing her head in his lap, Spike began gently slapping her cheeks and softly calling her name.
Head hanging low and shoulders slumped, Pinkie slipped out of the room unnoticed. Outside, she looked up at the clear sky miserably, thinking that dark clouds and rain would be more suitable weather for this morning.
Slowly crossing the bridge that led to the Town Square, Pinkie wondered if any of her friendships would be able to survive this horrific morning.
Chapter 2
Bad Company
With a heavy sigh, Pinkie Pie slowed to a halt as the Golden Oaks Library came into view. She didn't even want to visit Twilight anymore; to risk ruining her final friendship. She'd much rather go back home, climb into bed, and hide under the blankets until tomorrow, but she had promised Twilight that she would be there, and knew that she couldn't break the promise. Besides, if she didn't go to Twilight's, and then Twilight heard from the others, she would worry about her, and the last thing Pinkie wanted was to make her friend worry.
She kept her head down as she walked, not even sparing a glance at any of the ponyfolk that waved and called out to her. The smiles dying on their faces, the ponies stopped and stared, several of them still holding a hoof in the air, all shocked at the sight of Ponyville's most lively and high spirited resident reduced to the moping, silent pony that was trotting among them.
Pinkie ignored the stares as best she could. She knew that she was creating a scene, but couldn't bring herself to care. It wasn't her fault that they all relied on her to brighten their day; maybe they should try doing it themselves for a change.
What's their problem, anyway? So what if I'm not all smiles today? I'm allowed to have a bad day. Whenever they're feeling down, I go out of my way to cheer them up, but when it's Pinkie Pie that's sad, all they do is stare.
Her sudden anger surprised her, but instead of shying away from it, she embraced it. It wasn't her responsibility to bring smiles to this town. She had always done it because she'd enjoyed it, but she didn't want to today. That was her right, and they could all get over it.
Fuming, Pinkie reached the library, but just as she reached out to open the door, she thought better of it and knocked. After a few short moments with no answer, she growled with annoyance and began banging her head against the door.
"All right, I'm coming," came Twilight's disgruntled voice from further within. "Why are you even knocking, anyway?" The door swung open, and Twilight blinked at her. "Pinkie Pie? What are you doing? This is a library, it's a public place. You don't have to knock."
"Don't tell me what I'm supposed to do," Pinkie grumbled as she pushed her way past Twilight and stormed into the library.
"Uh...Pinkie," Twilight hesitated. "Is there something wrong?"
"Wrong? Nothing's wrong? Why would anything be wrong? Does it look like something is wrong? I'm fine. Great even! I'm peachy keen jellybean!" Pinkie scowled at Twilight. "Can't you tell by my smile?!"
"Pinkie...you're not smiling..."
"Well, that's not my fault!" Pinkie yelled.
Pinkie saw Twilight shy away from her shout, her face a mixture of surprise and hurt, and felt a shudder in her heart. Why did I just yell at Twilight? She hasn't even done anything! What's wrong with me today?
"Pinkie," Twilight began slowly, "you need to talk to me. I can't help you if you won't tell me what's wrong."
For a long moment, Pinkie just stared at her friend, then her vision blurred. Blinking rapidly, she felt the tears trail down her face. "I've ruined all of my friendships!"
"What do you—"
"I launched Scootaloo over Ponyville, almost turned Angel into a bunny pincushion, and set Rarity's hair on fire!"
"On fire?!" Twilight gasped. "Oh my gosh, Pinkie, is everypony all right?"
"Yes, but they all hate me now," she blubbered. "They'll never forgive me and everypony in town won't quit staring at me because I'm not trying to make them happy, and I don't want to, even though I love doing it I don't want to do it and they expect it and soon they'll hate me too!"
"Pinkie, nopony is going to—"
"And then they'll talk to the others and find out what I've done today and hate me even more and then they'll start forming Pinkie Pie hate conventions!"
"They're not going—"
"They'll meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and once a month on Friday too! And soon they'll be chasing me through town with pitchforks, torches, and garlic and trying to drive a stake through my heart and...and...and..."
"What?" Twilight cocked an eyebrow as she watched her friend pant for breath. "Have you been reading The Vampony Diaries again?"
Pinkie nodded with a sniffle. "It's a good book."
She felt a flash of indignation as Twilight began to chuckle, but it was quickly forgotten as her friend engulfed her in a tight embrace. "Nopony is going to hate you," she spoke gently into Pinkie's ear. "Everypony is entitled to a bad day, especially you, and come tomorrow, this will all be behind you."
"You...you think so?" Pinkie asked unsteadily.
Twilight smiled as she released her. "I know so. I wouldn't even be surprised if they sought you out to apologize for their reactions."
"They shouldn't apologize." Pinkie shook her head. "They have every right to be mad."
"And you have every right to make mistakes," Twilight replied. "We all understand that, and will continue to love you no matter how badly you mess up." She gave Pinkie a playful wink.
Pinkie grinned despite herself, and her smile widened as Owlowiscious swooped in through the open window to land on her back and nuzzle her cheek.
Twilight laughed. "See, Owlowiscious thinks so too."
A stack of papers on the desk in front of the window caught Pinkie's eye, and she quickly spotted Celestia's name on the top page. "Wow!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Is that your assignment? It's like twenty pages!"
"Twenty six, actually," Twilight corrected with apparent pride. "It's a report on the fluctuations of oscillation in time travel and how they can affect perceived reality. Since I dabbled with that time spell last month, 'a bit recklessly' as Princess Celestia put it, she wanted me to do this research to ensure that I understand the dangers that accompany it."
Pinkie made a face. "Eww...sounds like you got in trouble."
Twilight dismissed her concern with a wave of her hoof. "No, she just wanted to take the opportunity to teach me something rather advanced." She headed toward the staircase leading to the second floor. "I'm going to make myself some tea. Would you like some? It's Zecora's special blend."
"That sounds great!" Pinkie exclaimed with an excitable hop. "I love Zecora's tea!"
As she landed, Pinkie's left hind hoof came down on a stack of books that promptly collapsed under her, causing her to stumble. Owlowiscious hooted in surprise and painfully tightened his grip on her back as he flapped furiously to keep his balance. As if in slow motion, the gust of his wings seemed to scoop up Twilight's twenty six page report and carry them out of the open window.
"My essay!" Twilight cried in dismay as she hurried toward the window.
Frantically, Pinkie rounded on the window, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw them sitting unharmed on the road. "It's okay, Twilight," she assured her friend as Twilight reached her. "They're right there, perfectly fine. I'll just go on out there and..."
She trailed off as Mr. Greenhooves galloped past with his wagon in toll and splashed mud all over the papers.
As Twilight moaned in misery, Pinkie shook her head. "No, no, we can fix this. I'm sure if we just wipe the mud off, they'll be good as new!"
No sooner had the words left her mouth than Cheerilee came into view, leading the schoolhouse marching band down the road. Twilight's mouth slowly opened wider and wider as she watched somewhere between forty to sixty little hooves trample her beloved report.
"Uh..." Pinkie spoke just above a whisper, "they could still be..."
A construction pony riding a steam roller passed by, smiling and waving to them as he went.
Swallowing hard, Pinkie turned to her friend. Twilight was staring out of the window with a horrified expression that Pinkie was sure could get no worse if a dozen zombies arose from the mud and began shambling toward them. Slowly backing away as Owlowiscious hopped onto the desk and began to wave a wing in front of Twilight's face, Pinkie silently exited the library and then broke into a gallop.
How could this be happening to me? This was the worst of all the worst days in all the history of worst days in the whole world! It was the baddest of the baddest of bad luck! This isn't my fault, how could it be? Why can't the others understand that? Why are they being so unfair?!
Pinkie came to a sudden halt. Her eyes widened as her breath caught in her throat. She knew what this meant, but never in a million years thought it would happen.
It was time.
When she had left her family's rock farm, Pinkie had intended to travel all of Equestria, and do her very best to spread smiles and laughter throughout the world. But when she had arrived in Ponyville, something about the small town had just felt right about it. The ponyfolk had all been so easygoing and pleasant, and the town itself had been so comfortable and peaceful that she had quickly decided to extend her stay. Soon after, she had landed the job at Sugarcube Corner and became a permanent citizen.
A sad smile formed on Pinkie's face as she recalled meeting Rarity on her first day in town. She had been going from store to store greeting all of the shop owners and had felt herself inexplicably drawn to the clothing store. It hadn't taken long for Pinkie's good humor and enthusiastic curiosity in Rarity's trade to charm the beautiful unicorn, and although Pinkie had been unable to remain still long enough to be fitted for a new dress, Rarity had nevertheless invited Pinkie to return the following day, stating that her marvelous disposition would undoubtedly bring endless inspiration to her work.
It had only been a couple of days later that she had met Applejack at the marketplace, and the two of them had hit it off instantly. Pinkie had been thrilled when Applejack had invited her to visit Sweet Apple Acres, the farm her mother used to journey to once a month to bring home those amazingly juicy apples, and the two of them had quickly become friends.
After befriending Rarity, Applejack, and with a whole lot of care and even more patience, Fluttershy, Pinkie had known without a doubt that Ponyville was her new home. Her real home. But all of that had changed now.
Pinkie understood that it was time to move on, to return to her previous plan of traveling Equestria. She had had some great years here in Ponyville, and would never forget the amazing friends she had made here, but she was sure that she would have equally great experiences in other places.
With a firm nod of her head to affirm to herself that she absolutely agreed with herself, Pinkie started off once more.
She needed to leave right away. She knew that any delay would cause her to stay, and she could not let that happen. Mr. and Mrs. Cake would get along just fine without her, and even though she felt a pang in her heart for Gummy, she knew that Mrs. Cake had taken a liking to the little gator and would take good care of him. Besides, this wasn't a permanent goodbye, she was certain she'd return to Ponyville in a year or so. She just hoped that she wouldn't be forgotten by then.
Rounding a corner, Pinkie caught sight of the First Ponyville Bank. A large, plain two storey building that barely stood out from the shops that surrounded it, the First Ponyville Bank was often a site of brisk activity in an otherwise easygoing community, and a favorite spot for Pinkie to frequent. There was nothing she loved more than bringing smiles to the faces of the overworked tellers.
Despite the fact that she visited the bank nearly every day, Pinkie actually didn't have an account there. Mrs. Cake kept a special ledger of how much Pinkie earned and whenever she needed some, she simply got it from her.
The two of them had agreed on this system after the fiasco of Pinkie's first check. Pinkie had taken her pay and spent all of it within twelve hours buying gifts for random ponies around town. She had felt elated as the townsfolk accepted her gifts with surprise and glee, but had quickly ran out of bits and fallen into a depression after realizing that she didn't have enough for everypony. Mrs. Cake had then given her a long talk about the value of money, and the two of them had come up with the current system. Even after she had learned her lesson and became responsible with her bits, she had continued to allow Mrs. Cake to care for her earning. After all, why change a system that was working so well for the both of them?
Pinkie didn't mind leaving her savings behind. In fact, she was already planning on writing a letter to the Cakes to tell them to use the money for the renovations they had been discussing for the last few months. She had left her rock farm with nothing, and saw no reason not to do the same here. A new beginning for a new town; it sounded just fine to her.
Just then, Pinkie spotted three stallions emerging from an alley behind the bank. Each of them were carrying three large money bags, and as Pinkie watched, the smaller red one that was bringing up the rear dropped one of the bags from his back. Pinkie's eyes widened as the red stallion continued hurriedly down the street, completely oblivious to the fact that he had lost one of his sacks.
"He's going to be missing that later," Pinkie said to herself. "I'd better take it to him." She giggled to herself as she imagined the look on his face as she returned his money. "Won't he be embarrassed when he realizes what almost happened!"
Humming happily to herself, she snatched up the bag in her mouth and hopped nonchalantly down the road after him. At the end of the street was a large covered wagon, and she could see the three of them quickly tossing the bags into the back. Wondering what their hurry could be, she picked up the pace, worried that they would leave before she could reach them.
"You've got to be the clumsiest dolt I've ever met," a blue stallion grumbled as he watched the red one toss his last bag into the wagon. "It's coming out of your cut."
"Hi there!" Pinkie greeted gleefully, causing the three of them to start. "I think you dropped this." She playfully poked the red stallion in the chest. "Could you imagine how silly you'd feel if you had gotten to your next stop and realized that you were missing this many bits?"
All three stallions stared at her as she dropped the money bag on the ground. An all black stallion with piercing blue eyes that was easily a head taller than Big McIntosh was the first to recover. "Yes...we definitely would have felt...silly." His voice was so deep that it made Pinkie think of rolling thunder. "Thanks for bringing it to us."
"It was no trouble at all!" Pinkie beamed.
The blue stallion stepped forward and eyed her up and down. "What's your deal, eh? You wanting a slice?"
"Oh, yes, I would totally like a slice! What do you have? Cherry pie? Apple?" Pinkie gasped loudly. "Is it cake? Do you have cake? I really hope it's cake! With lots and lots of icing!" She began to lick her lips. "I love icing."
The blue stallion blinked. "What are you, daft?"
"What he means is; are you expecting payment for bringing us this bag?" the red stallion said. He had very pretty green eyes that seemed to be soaking in every detail of her face, a blue silver mane, and a goofy smile on his face.
Pinkie would have frowned at the clarification, but found herself grinning at the silly smile on his face. "Oh, no no no no no." Pinkie shook her head violently. "It's your money, why would I expect any of it?"
"You're darn right it's our money!" the blue stallion spat. "So why don't you scram before I lose my temper?"
"Oh...okay...I'm sorry..." With her ears drooping and her tail dragging on the road, Pinkie slowly turned away. She'd done it again! She didn't even know what she'd done to anger them, but whatever friendships could have come from this chance meeting had somehow already been ruined.
"Do you wanna come with us?" the red stallion suddenly blurted out.
Pinkie froze mid-step, then turned and looked at his hopeful face. With a glance at his friends, she saw that the blue one looked outraged, but the black one looked indifferent.
"You really want me to come with you?" Pinkie asked hesitantly.
The red stallion nodded his head vigorously. "Yes, please."
"No," the blue one answered simultaneously.
The blue stallion turned on his friend. "What the hay is wrong with you, Red? We don't know who she is. She could be anypony!"
"I don't think it's a bad idea," the black stallion interjected. "Another set of hooves for our Manehattan job could be useful."
"That's two against one, Percy," Red stated.
"I've told you before, boy, do not call me that," the blue stallion growled. He scowled at Pinkie for a moment, then stomped his hoof in frustration. "Fine, she can come, but you're sharing your cut with her. She's not getting any of mine."
Red beamed at Pinkie. "Don't mind Percy," he said as the blue stallion hopped into the wagon, "he's not as bad as he seems." He held out his hoof. "So, you wanna join up with us?"
Still a little surprised by the proposal, Pinkie took a moment to mull it over. She had been planning to leave town, and it sounded like they were heading to Manehattan next. She had always liked Manehattan and it seemed as good a place as any for her to start anew, but then suddenly felt a twinge in her heart.
Frowning at her hesitation, Red asked, "You wanted to join us, didn't you? Isn't that why you brought the money bag to us?"
"Well...I..." Pinkie looked back at the looming branches of the Golden Oaks Library.
Just a few moments ago, she had been prepared to leave Ponyville, but now that she had a clear path laid out for her, she couldn't quit thinking of her friends. Did she really want to leave them? Sure, she was a little angry with them right now, but she knew that would pass, and it wasn't her anger, or even theirs, that had motivated her decision.
Maybe it was her destiny to travel Equestria as she had planned, and she wondered if her staying in Ponyville for so long had caused this awful morning to occur. Perhaps fate had gotten impatient with her and decided to give her a little push in the right direction. If that were the case, then she needed to be on her way, but how would she know if she didn't try? She didn't know if leaving Ponyville would help her fulfill her destiny, but she needed to find out. She needed to know the truth.
Pinkie suddenly smiled very widely at Red. And what better way to do that than to leave with a group of new friends?
Reaching out, Pinkie snatched up Red's slowly lowering hoof and shook it enthusiastically. "I would love to join your little group!"
Red grinned back at her, and for just a moment, she could have sworn that his cheeks became slightly more red. "That's great!" He cleared his throat and glanced quickly at the black stallion, who slowly shook his head and walked around to the front of the wagon. "Um...I mean, good. That's good to hear. Uh..." His eyes began to dart around, looking at anything but hers, then he gasped. "Oh, we haven't been introduced—"
The blue pony stuck his head out and glared at them. "Cut the jabber and get into the wagon," he snapped, angrily brushing his brown mane from his eyes. "They're gonna be all over us if we don't get going now."
"Right, right," Red agreed quickly. He lowered his body and smiled at her sheepishly. "Allow me."
With a slight giggle, Pinkie stepped onto his back and easily entered the covered wagon, then turned to watch him jump in and shut the hatch.
"About time," the blue stallion huffed from his spot lying on the bags of bits. "Now, if Loverboy here is finished with the flirting..."
"I wasn't flirting," Red mumbled weakly as he glanced at Pinkie and hastily looked away.
"Nah, of course you weren't." The blue stallion rolled his eyes. "Get us outta here, Torque."
"Right away, Bossman," Torque's thunderous voice replied, and then Pinkie was rocked off of her hooves as he took off at a dead gallop.
Carefully sitting up and bracing herself, Pinkie studied this strange group of stallions for a long moment, then asked, "So...your name is Red, then?"
"Yeah...well, no...uh..." Red scratched his head and laughed nervously. "Actually, my name is Roy G. Biv—" he pointed at his cutie mark, a palette of paint, "—but my friends call me Red. I'm a painter," he added, as though trying to justify his name to her.
"I guess I'll be calling you Red then." Pinkie grinned. "I'm Pinkie Pie."
"What a wonderful name." Red stared into her eyes for a moment, then shook his head and indicated the blue stallion still lying on the bags. "This is our fearless leader, Cut Purse, and the stallion who is the current source of our horsepower is Torque, who is also the pony that provides all of the tools we use for our jobs."
Pinkie made a face. "Cut Purse? What kind of name is that?"
"What kind of name is Pinkie Pie," Cut Purse countered.
Fair enough, Pinkie thought to herself. She turned and watched as they quickly left the small town of Ponyville behind. Bye girls. You truly were the best friends that I ever had, and I'll never ever ever ever ever forget you. And that's with four evers.
***
With a heavy sigh, Twilight began to pluck the scattered essay from the mud. Of the twenty six pages, Twilight could only see four of them, and they were not in good condition. This was going to be a very arduous task.
"Twilight!" She heard somepony shout from a distance. Turning, she found Rainbow Dash racing toward her, followed closely by Applejack and Fluttershy, all of whom were wearing expressions of concern.
"Has Pinkie been here yet?" Rainbow asked as she landed by Twilight's side.
Applejack skidded to a halt and studied the pages in the mud. "I'd reckon she has."
"Oh...the poor dear," Fluttershy said with a sniffle. Twilight noticed that her eyes were red and the fur on her face was streaked with tears.
"Is everything okay?" Twilight asked fearfully.
"We're not sure." Applejack fidgeted with her hat. "Pinkie stopped by Fluttershy's earlier and caused a ruckus, and the two of us said some things that we regret."
"Oh, Twilight," Fluttershy whimpered. "I was just so horrible to her."
"No, you really weren't all that bad, Fluttershy," Applejack gently disagreed.
"Anyway," Rainbow took over, "the two of them felt bad and were heading to town when they saw me. They told me what happened and then I told them that I'd kinda lost my cool with Pinkie too, and when we realized that we had all yelled at her..." Rainbow's ears drooped as she scratched her head. "Well, you know how Pinkie can get."
Twilight nodded. "Yeah, she was pretty upset when she came here, but I managed to cheer her up some. At least, until this." She indicated what was left of her report.
"What happened?" Rainbow asked.
Slowly shaking her head, Twilight replied, "A statistical impossibility."
Just then, they all turned to the sound of galloping hooves and watched Rarity, wrapped in a hooded cloak that hid her head from view, approach. Glancing at the pages in the mud, then at their worried faces, she inquired, "Pinkie?"
"You guessed it," Rainbow said unhappily.
Applejack cocked an eyebrow. "What's with the getup, Rarity?"
"I had a bit of an...accident." Rarity pulled the hood tighter around her head. "Ordinarily, I would never go out in such a condition, but I knew how upset Pinkie was and wanted to apologize to her."
Twilight grimaced. "You yelled at her too, then?"
"Oh, heavens no," Rarity answered. "But I did overreact just a teensy weensy little bit."
Applejack gave her a look. "You fainted, didn't ya?"
"Indubitably." Rarity poked at the ground as the others sighed. "I couldn't help it. Once I saw my ruined mane...it was just too much."
"W-what happened to your mane?" Fluttershy asked.
"Oh, it's too horrible to say!" She glanced around at all of their concerned faces. "Do you all swear not to ever mention this again?" She waited for them all to nod their agreement, then, after checking to ensure that there was nopony nearby, she pulled back her cloak.
The ponies gasped in unison as her charred and mangled mane was revealed to them. Quickly pulling the hood up once more, Rarity fell back onto her haunches as Fluttershy rushed forward to comfort her.
"So, Twilight..." Applejack said hesitantly, "did you overreact too?"
"I don't think so," Twilight replied with a frown. She hadn't said or done anything at all, she had just stared at her mud covered report in shock. "At least, I didn't until now."
"C'mon, Twi, I know you." Rainbow rolled her eyes. "You probably acted like it was your precious foal getting trampled in the mud."
Twilight hung her head. Rainbow was right; she had put her essay before Pinkie, and when she had ran off, she had tried to salvage it instead of going after her distraught friend.
"We've got to find her," Twilight said.
"I'll see if I can spot her," Rainbow called as she rocketed high into the sky. Almost immediately, she swooped back down to hover just above their heads. "Something's going on over at the bank. There's a crowd forming over there."
"Pinkie loves visiting the bank," Fluttershy stated. "It could be her. She may need our help."
Twilight nodded. "Let's go." As the others started off, Twilight glanced at Rarity. "I'm pretty sure I've got a spell that can grow back your mane. I'll look it up once we know Pinkie's okay."
"Oh, that would be ever so delightful," Rarity said gratefully.
The five friends raced through town, but slowed to a stop at the sight of the crowd milling around the street.
The bank was a scene of confusion. Everywhere Twilight looked were ponies straining their necks for a glimpse of the building while further ahead a line of police ponies were holding the crowd back. Above them hovered several pegasi who were busy shouting what they saw to their friends below, and she even caught sight of a small group of mares on the roof of a nearby shop.
"What do ya reckon happened here?" Applejack asked.
"I have no idea," Twilight replied.
Rainbow gave her a worried look. "I really hope this isn't a Pinkie Pie related incident."
"Miss Twilight Sparkle?" a police pegasus spoke unexpectedly from above.
"Umm...yes?"
"Mayor Mare has requested your assistance," the police pegasus said as he landed beside her. "She is just outside the bank. Please, follow me."
Twilight turned to her concerned friends. "Wait here, I'll be back as soon as I can."
She followed her escort swiftly through the crowd, smiling nervously at the line of police ponies as they broke apart to let her pass. She climbed the stone steps that led to the bank's entrance two at a time and came to a halt before the mayor just beside the door.
"Oh, Twilight, thank goodness you're here," Mayor Mare said as she turned away from a large police stallion wearing sunglasses. "I need you to send a letter to Princess Celestia, posthaste."
A wave of indignation washed over Twilight. "I'm sure that, whatever has happened here, Princess Celestia would prefer you to report it correctly and officially."
"Yes, yes, of course," Mayor Mare replied with a sheepish grin at the large police stallion beside her. "I actually had another reason for wanting to speak with you."
"What is it?" Twilight asked, unable to hide her annoyance. She wanted to get away from this mess and resume her search for Pinkie Pie.
"The bank was robbed about half an hour ago, and—" Mayor Mare began.
"Robbed?!" Twilight exclaimed in shock.
"Yes, robbed." The mayor nodded. "Now, there were several witnesses who spotted the thieves escape. There were four. Three of whom were stallions that nopony recognized, but the fourth...oh dear...you're not going to believe this."
"What?" Twilight demanded, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest. "What won't I believe?"
"The fourth bank robber has been identified." The mayor swallowed hard and adjusted her glasses. "It was Pinkie Pie."
