Red Crimson

Red huddles behind Pinkie who warps her face into a thoughtful complexion and rubs her chin, "There was a way through here, but where..." Pinkie looks up and down the door bound by chains and smiles, "There it is!"

Red sees nothing at the bottom of the door where Pinkie looks, but Pinkie just comes over to the door and pushes, revealing a secret smaller door within. A bright light comes from the other side.

"Come on," Pinkie says to Red. Red trails behind her into the room ahead, and when her eyes adjust Red sees that she is in a room made of wood walls filled with furniture, board games, toys, and a table at the center covered by a large tan piece of paper. There's a lamp beside the paper as well.

"What is this place?" Red asks in wonder.

"This is me and my sisters' playhouse!" Pinkie cheers to her, "It was our parents' before, but they gave it to us."

Red walks through the room and instantly notices the paper on the table. There are two chairs by the table and Red hops up on one. Seeing her friend being curious, Pinkie hops onto the other one.

"What's... What's this?" Red asks looking at the paper. The paper shows places and cities and landmarks.

"Oh, this? This is the map of Equestria."

"Equestria?"

"Yeah, that's the world we live in."

"I've never seen this before," Red's eyes scan over the map's plains, mountains, and valleys.

Pinkie notices a place on the map and points at it, "This is Ponyville."

"Ponyville?" Red asks looking back to Pinkie.

"Yeah," She begins, "Ponyville is a great place."

"You've been there?"

"Yep, and I've seen all the smiles there. I still remember every single one."

"How long ago did you go?"

"Not too long ago. I went there a few weeks back to learn a little from a certain baker."

"You mean like making cakes and stuff?"

"Yeah," Pinkie replies surprised, "I didn't think you'd know about that."

"My mom made me a cake once every year for my birthday."

"That's nice," Pinkie says.

A small nostalgic smile grows under Red's snout, "Yeah, I miss her."

"That's okay."

Red's smile gives, "How will I get back home?"

Pinkie's smile doesn't, "I don't know, but I'm sure we'll find a way. By the way, we should get back home. Dinner will be ready by the time we get there."

"Can I take the map with us?" Red asks.

Pinkie looks to the map, then back to her, "Sure. You can keep it if you want. Dad has another in his and mom's room."

____

When they reach back home, Pinkie asks her, "You should clean yourself in the bathroom upstairs. Dad might think you're a little dirty."

When Red heads into the bathroom, she looks to the mirror and realizes she'd forgotten about her tooth. Her sharp and irregularly long tooth. Did Pinkie not notice? If she did see it, why didn't she run away or make fun of Red? Red has to find out.

"Pinkie?" She calls, and as soon as she calls Pinkie appears with a wide smile.

"Yeah?"

Red is startled by how soon that was and the brush of wind Pinkie brought with her, but she says, "I have a long tooth."

"Oh," Pinkie simply puts, "okay."

"Isn't that... Don't you find that strange or even scary?"

Pinkie gives a confused expression, "No. Why?"

"Have you seen ponies with long teeth before?"

"No."

"What about my red eyes?"

"No," Pinkie says. "Why do you ask?"

Red looks away from her and bows her head, "Because every pony I've ever met thinks it is strange. All except my parents, you, and your family. In fact, ever since I fell from the cliff, the only thing anyone I've met has thought is strange about me is my name. That's it."

Pinkie's smile disappears and her mane droops down over an eye. She stands there, unsure how to react to this... She's never encountered such a self-loathing or depressive pony, "Well, you aren't like any pony I've ever met. I can say that, but it's not because of what's on the outside."

"Then why is it?"

"You get sad a lot. And I understand why you get so sad. Look at me, please."

Red turns back around.

"I help people be happy, but I don't know how to help you. You're the first pony I don't know how to help."

Red wipes a tear from her eye, "To be honest, I know you've been trying to help me, but I haven't been letting it affect me."

"Why not?"

"Because I have to be serious. It's what I was taught."

"Oh, I didn't know."

"That's all I needed, can you let me clean?"

Pinkie walks back to the doorway to leave and says glumly, "Yeah, I'll see you at dinner."

Once Pinkie leaves, Red trots over to the mirror and sees a washrag on the sink's counter and picks it up between her hooves. She flips it over her right one and presses a button to the side that turns on the faucet water when held down. She gets the rag wet and rubs it over her muzzle and forehead. Then, rinses the rag again to get out the dirt so she can place it back on the counter. After another look in the mirror, she hears a knock at the doorway and sees Maud there with a neutral stare.

"Dinner is ready, Red," she tells her.

"Alright, I'll be right down."

She blinks then replies,"Okay."

With Red following behind her, Maud heads down the stairs and to the dining room to sit down in her seat. In the dining room stands a long wooden table with the father and mother sitting at both ends. Pinkie and her sisters sit at the sides with an extra chair seeming old and used reminding Red of the bench that broke beneath her before she fell off the cliff. Strangely though, the seat stands beside the sisters' father.

The sisters' father sees Red and tells her softly, but firmly, "Have a seat next to me. I need to speak with you."

Red does as she is asked and sits in her seat beside him. After a moment, the sisters and mother start slurping their rock soup. There's a bowl in front of Red, but she isn't feeling too hungry for rocks. "What is it you wanted to talk to me about, sir?"

"Please, just call me Igneous Rock."

"Sorry, okay."

"I wanted to speak to you about where Pinkie told me you came from. She said you fell from a cliff into the Jet Black Forest."

"Uh, yes," Red senses in his tone that Igneous is leading to something.

"Well, I've explored the forest as well as Pinkie, but unlike her, I've been over that cliff."

Red feels a little interested now, "You... You have? When?"

"When I was a younger stallion," he tells her, "the cliff's side wasn't as smooth at the time, I could climb it. When I reached the top, I saw a seemingly rundown town and met some of its civilians. They told me about the town and its name, it's beliefs, and I left immediately because I was afraid of what they might've done to me," he looks to his soup bowl and sees his reflection, "It's not a town for anyone of Equestria. No pony anywhere else in Equestria acts and thinks the way they do. The way they think just doesn't seem prosperous." He looks back to Red, "I don't want to come across rude to you."

Red looks at him strangely, "Why would you mind it?"

"Because I don't want to hurt your feelings."

"Why do you care about a pony's feelings, and why mine?"

"I care about every pony's feelings. I don't want others to think badly of me."

"That's strange. My dad never cares much about what others think of him."

"Every pony else in Equestria cares about feelings. That's where you see just how different your hometown is from us."

Red thinks for a moment.

"What is it?" Igneous asks.

"So you're saying that ponies outside of Ebony Streets care about feelings so much, but ponies in my town don't really care about anything?"

"Well, you could take it that way. Yes."

"But that's not true about my mother. She loves me."

"She really does?" He asks, now intrigued.

"Yeah, she always helped me through hard times."

Pinkie then tells her father cheerfully, "And she bakes her cakes on her birthday!"

"Pinkie," Igneous firmly asks her, "what have I said about eavesdropping?"

"You said it's rude. I'm sorry." Pinkie goes back to slurping her soup.

"Anyways," he goes back to Red, "your mother must have come from somewhere else, then. I never encountered a polite and gentle mare or filly in Ebony Streets."

"Okay," Red replies, slightly confused.

"Just don't worry about it. Also, you will be staying in the girls' bedroom. You will be sleeping in a bed their mother made for you."

"Okay, thank you."