There is good news to the fiasco that has consumed Pinkie Pie. Trixie will not be stuck as being second best at everything, Rarity will be something more than a pretty face, and Applejack will not have to disappoint her family. All it took was for Pinkie Pie to be demoted and having her family threatened with a million bit fine while she is put in a state of limbo. Totally fair and worth it.

Now if only her tongue will work so she can tell APRT the good news.

“Why on earth did you cut your hair!?” says Rarity.

“Pinkie, can you talk to me?” says Applejack, her hands cupping Pinkie's cheeks and her eyes trying to find life in her cousin's dim blue pupils.

“You two have got to give her space. She literally destroyed a sink with her bare hands, so crowding her is not a good idea,” says Trixie from her safe space in the back of the room, flipping through her phone catalog again. This brings a harsh look from Rarity directed to her.

“At least we're doing something! You're just sitting there reading that catalog,” says Rarity.

“Trixie will have you know that Trixie has done more to help Pinkie than you two,” counters Trixie.

“Oh really? Do tell.”

Trixie flips the page of her catalog. “Trixie slugged the guy that put that stupid ugly hair thought in Pinkie's head. I also got a dance partner out of it.”

Applejack whips her head to Trixie, glaring at her.

“Are you serious?” says Applejack.

“Yes. Thorn is actually a swell guy if you get to know him,” says Trixie.

Applejack's frown deepens. “I'm talking about you slugging that pothead.”

“Oh... Yes. Completely, totally, one hundred percent true and worth it in every way. Though, now my hand hurts a little bit. He was really thick headed.”

Applejack hides her face in her hands, groaning, and Trixie leans against the wall, scanning her catalog again, and with a smile she bites off the cap of a marker she had tucked on her vest and circles a random spot.

“I think I'll go retro. Flip phones seem to be all the rage today,” says Trixie.

Applejack rolls her eyes. “Glad you're happy.”

“Thank you.”

“That was sarcasm.”

Rarity puts on a pair of rubber cleaning gloves that she pulled out from the wreckage of the sink and starts picking up clumps of the wet hair to put in the garbage can. But as Rarity cleans up the mess, Pinkie Pie remains still, watching her former subordinate grabbing the wads and feeling guilt settling in. Her arm is fixed and the first thing she uses it for is picking up hair. How great. Though, as much as Pinkie Pie wants to move, she cannot. She can only stare and shiver in her soaked clothes.

“We need to get her some fresh air,” said Rarity. “Perhaps a trip to the city will do her some good?”

“I guess we can do that. We got to tell maintenance about our... eh, faucet exploding, though,” says Applejack, looking at the mess of water. “There's gonna definitely be some water damage.”

“This high tech facility can survive a little water. But Pinkie needs air and I need to buy a new phone, so let's go to town and kill two birds with one stone,” says Trixie.

“Do you think of anybody other than yourself?” asks Rarity, frowning deeply.

“Trixie has quotas, okay? Trixie was already thoughtful once today so that fills that slot.”

Rarity narrows her eyes and Applejack gently pulls Pinkie Pie to her feet and escorts her out of the bathroom.

“C'mon, Pinks, let get you in some dry clothes,” says Applejack.

It is quick work to get Pinkie Pie in dry clothes, which puts her in a blue shirt with gold buttons and sleeves down to her elbows, a light blue button up plaid shirt below it, and a pink skirt with knee high socks. The rest of the young women also changed, putting Applejack in her jeans, her orange and red plaid shirt and a stetson; Trixie also had her jeans, plus her silver dress shirt and purple vest and cape; and Rarity wears a black skirt with a white frill, a black light jacket with white cuffs, and a white shirt and blue tie underneath it. Once they are all changed Applejack picks up the dorm phone and dials the maintenance number, which is high lighted and circled by stars made from glitter glue.

“What are you doing? We're burning daylight!” says Trixie.

“I gotta call in the sink,” says Applejack. The phone clicks, and like a string being pulled, Applejack looks away from the group. “Hello?”

A female voice with a disgustingly fake, cheerful tone speaks. “Thank you for calling the Royal Canterlot Academy of Supernatural Defense Maintenance Department. Our Department is currently closed, so after the beeps please leave your name, number, dorm number, and relation of call and we will return your call as soon as possible. Thank you and have a wonderful night!”

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP... Beep.

Applejack sighs and rubs her forehead. “Wow~”

One Hundred and Thirty Three Minutes Later...

Pinkie Pie is staring at a collection of thin phones, all with screens of alternating advertisements ranging from apps to features and random people faking smiles and laughter. With a frown, Pinkie Pie pokes one of the phones' screens and the fake smiling man disappears to show a display of cartoony icons. She quickly finds one with a book inside a speech bubble and after poking it, it opens a log in screen with Welcome To Chatbook, but rather than typing in her information she closes the program and goes to the window to watch the shuffling crowd and busy traffic. Across the street, a green building with balloon shaped lamps flanking its tree shaped doors stands out, and above the door in curvy orange letters is: Happy Tree House of Fun

It looks tempting to go into, especially with the kids coming out with stuffed Ursas and beady eyed spriggins the size of their bodies.

“That'll be sixty bits,” says a bored male.

Pinkie Pie looks over her shoulder and sees Trixie at the stall, pulling out her wallet while a zit faced guy with buck teeth stares at her with eyes weighed down from boredom. Nearby, Applejack is inspecting a phone case and Rarity is grabbing a card from a display of a small phone with a holographic projection displaying a ring of apps. After Trixie pays, Rarity goes to the counter and Trixie nearly skips away, tearing open her box and stuffing the extra components in her pocket.

She stops by Applejack and shows off her new phone: a simple flip phone with a purple case and a star on the front.

“Look at Trixie's new phone! Isn't it cool?” says Trixie, grinning broadly.

“Yeah, it looks... old,” says Applejack.

“Thanks. I like the retro look.” Trixie hops to Pinkie's side, her cape bouncing with her steps. “Look at Trixie's new phone! Isn't it cool?”

Pinkie Pie nods. “Neat. I didn't think you would go for something like that, though.”

“Puh-leeze, Trixie may be high status, but that doesn't stop Trixie from enjoying the more antique things in life... Now, how do I use the internet on this thing?”

Pinkie Pie holds up her finger, mouth open, but then closes her mouth, drops her hand and turns around shaking her head.

Several minutes later, APRT is going down the street of Canterlot, passing clean buildings of Victorian Era design and statues of winged unicorns. One such statue they pass is of a pair winged unicorns circling an orb comprised of sun and moon elements, with one of the mythical creatures ivory and the other obsidian, and gold and silver plates fused the orb. The statue is in an expansive courtyard made of cobblestone and is surrounded by towering buildings that do not hold the Victorian Era aesthetics, but are just large, featureless metal spires with large panes of glass.

The courtyard is occupied by a large crowd of people who are scrunched tight together, in awe of a raised platform and what occupies it. And when Pinkie Pie sees what they see, she cannot blame them for wanting to get closer to it.

On the platform is a machine that stands almost twenty feet tall; its legs are thick and hoofed like that of a bull, its arms are bulky thick fists, its head is large with a stocky snout and a pair of large horns made of Tesla coils with gems in their centers, and it has a pair of red eyes and speakers on its muzzle. Its colors consist of a silver base with red bands running along its limbs, and stamped on its chest is a red crescent moon, and flanking it are a dozen guards in full body heavy armor and fat rifles.

Standing on the stage, wearing a red long coat with a blue suit and gloves, plus polished black shoes and a golden scarf is a skinny man with blue hair and eyes. Next to him is a man with a black mohawk and nose piercing who is both much larger in muscle and height, where his gray suit is almost ripping from his build.

“With the power of cooperation, Iron Defense has worked tirelessly with the researchers of the Crystal Remnant, Bernese and Equestria to develop the best tools of defense in this unsafe world,” says the blue haired man. “All that work has paid off! We proudly present you: The Minotaur!”

The blue haired man steps back and crowd applauds as the larger man steps forward, purposefully flexing his arm as he shakes the skinny man's hand, ripping his sleeve in the process. Pinkie Pie's eyes widen at the site and some drool begins to pool in her mouth.

“Thank you, General Sparkle, and hello citizens of Equestria! I am Iron Will, CEO of Iron Defense!” booms the large man. “When my great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Jelly Will, founded Iron Defense he had a vision: To kill things in an epic way!”

A holographic projection appears behind Iron Will, showing an array of weapons and armor, varying from pistols and rifles, to vests and gauntlets, and even vehicles.

“We have proudly carried that tradition from our first product: the Gem BB Gun,” continues Iron Will. The hologram displays a kid holding a slender rifle. The kid fires it, and there is a colorful burst of smoke that kicks the kid off the screen and leaves the rifle twirling in the air. “To the Fire Fist.”

The display changes to a large man wearing a gem encrusted glove. He punches a stack of wood that bursts into flames, and he holds up his fist proudly... Only for the fire to spread. The last thing the audience sees before the footage cuts out is the man's eyes bulging.

“All of our weapons, our armor, our vehicles have been successful, and with the help of Bernese, Equestria and the Crystal Remnant we are proud to show off our greatest creation!” says Iron Will. “The Minotaur is a feat of science and love for peace. It is armed with this kick-ass energy cannon that can devastate the target with up two hundred milliamps of raw power!”

The crowd Ooh's and Aahh's, and APRT exchanges quizzical looks as Iron Will grins and pushes a few buttons on his pad to make the Minotaur flex its arms, bringing about a series of hisses and clicks.

“It can lift up to 80 short tons, and in its powerful arms is a 7.62 millimeter machine gun and a flamethrower with petrol mixed with tar for excellent range to rip apart and/or burn the demons of Tartarus!” says Iron Will.

The arms of the Minotaur pop open and on its left arm slides out a flamethrower, and on its right a machine gun. Seeing this, Pinkie Pie whistles and the crowd applauds.

“I want one,” says Pinkie Pie.

“The gun or the flamethrower?” asks Applejack.

“The robot. I want the robot.”

“I believe it may be a bit out of your price range, darling,” says Rarity.

“How expensive could it possibly be?” asks Pinkie Pie. “I'll peg it fifty bits. Seventy five, tops.”

“You really have no idea how the real world works, do you?” asks Trixie.

Pinkie Pie looks at Trixie. “Of course I know how the real world works. I live in it!”

Trixie frowns. “You want to buy a robot for seventy five bits. That says a lot about your mind... That and basically everything you've done since we've met.”

Pinkie Pie pshaws and waves off Trixie as she walks ahead.

“Say what you want, but I'm going to see how much that robot cost,” says Pinkie Pie. “Maybe they'll have a payment plan.”

Applejack shakes her head and walks after her, as do the other two.

“Pinkie, ya ain't even employed,” says Applejack.

Pinkie Pie turns around to walk backwards, somehow managing to mostly avoid bumping into people in the crowd.

“I'm a Huntress in training. I get allowances,” says Pinkie Pie.

“That's for food and school supplies,” says Applejack.

“And bus tickets,” adds Trixie.

Pinkie Pie smirks at the group of her former subordinates and turns around, bumping right into the shoulder of a tall, stiff man. Pinkie Pie steps back, quickly apologizing, but stops herself from moving when she sees the familiar black cuffed, red tail coat with gold buttons, and the blue vest and pants. She looks up, her eyes growing wider as they go to meet his golden eyes and curled silver hair.

And in just a quick moment Pinkie Pie's brain clicks into action and she gasps with her hands clamped together in front of her chest.

“Pinprick, is that you?” asks Pinkie Pie.

“Yes, my designated name is Pinprick,” says Pinprick, his voice monotone and lifeless.

“I can't believe I ran into you here! What are the odds!” Pinkie Pie links her arm around Pinprick's and leans against him, smiling brightly at the other three young women, who are meeting her with surprise. Most notably Applejack and Rarity, who look like they have seen a ghost. “Girls, what are the odds of this happening?”

“Impossible,” says Applejack.

“You look... better,” says Rarity. She steps back and eyes Pinprick carefully. “Much better, actually.”

“I'm sorry, but I do not have any data on any of you,” says Pinprick.

Pinkie Pie's eye twitches and while her smile remains, her heart cracks and snaps with every heavy beat and her glowing hand twitches.

“Yeah, he's definitely back on the smack,” says Trixie.

“What is smack?” asks Pinprick.

Pinkie Pie grabs Pinprick's chin and pulls his head down so he is looking into her teary eyes.

“You remember me, right?” asks Pinkie Pie meekly with tears rolling down her cheeks.

“I'm sorry, I do not seem to have much data on you,” says Pinprick. “There is a reminder of a deficit in my account of seventy five cents that was triggered by your appearance, but that is all.”

Pinkie Pie pulls away, her sparking hands held tight together and with her vision clouded with tears, Pinprick stares back at her with a blank expression while the other three girls look at her with worry. Nobody else in the crowd seems to notice this, though. They are in their own little world; oblivious to the trouble near them.

“Pinkie, relax,” says Applejack, her hand carefully outstretched. “We don't need another episode.”

Pinkie Pie's eyes sporadically darting between Applejack, Rarity and Trixie, her chest heaving and her throat tight.

“I'm fine,” says Pinkie Pie. She smiles. “See? Happy. Smiles. I'm happy because I'm smiling. Nothing's wrong with me.”

“I am detecting unusual energy fluctuations and high stress vitals resonating from you,” says Pinprick. “Perhaps calming practices will alleviate the stress. I would recommend meditation and/or hot Earl Gray tea.”

“Earl Gray is gross. Meditation is boring. I'm not stressed. I'm not usual energy fluctuations. I am happy on every level plus the levels you don't see!” says Pinkie Pie.

“My sensors indicate that you are lying.”

“Well, my sensors indicate that you're a jerk! Gosh!”

And with that, Pinkie Pie turns sharply on her heels and storms off, moodily apologizing to a fairly young woman with thick curly hair of violet, rose and gold carrying a tray of four caramel apples. With her is a pair of blond men with white suits and padded gloves with computers on their wrists. But she does not care about them. Even if they look at her with puzzled looks. She just has to get away and breathe somewhere before she hurts someone. And if she is going to hurt anybody it is going to be Discord for killing her and hurting her team. And maybe the pair of weirdos from the Club if she runs into them. Possibly Celestia since she put her in this whole Academy mess. But Discord is definitely at the top of the list.

She doesn't even realize how long she has been walking, or what she walked through or who she passed or even if she jaywalked. What she does know is that she has left a pair of greasy palm prints on the tree shaped doors of the Happy Tree House of Fun and upon entering she is greeted with bright colors, obnoxious children laughing, and a band of animal-humanoid animatronics playing instruments on a stage.

The group consists of a brown bear with a bow tie and black bowler hat, a golden bear with the same outfit, a purple dog with a red bow tie, a yellow chicken holding a cupcake, and a fox with an eyepatch and hook. Their music is joyful, the lyrics are fun and made more so by their robotic voices, and kids crowd in front of them, eating their pizzas and drinking their carbonated drinks with their parents.

Pinkie Pie, however, does not pay much attention to the band or the music or the kids or the happiness she has been denied once again. Rather she approaches a woman wearing a green vest and brown pants and dress shirt standing behind a tree shaped podium. Said worker is roughly Pinkie's age, probably a few years older, with a fiery red and yellow hair that is curled in such a way that reminds Pinkie Pie of bacon. Or swirling flames. Or bacon cooking in swirling flames with ketchup and mustard!

“Can I help you?” asks the flaming bacon haired lady.

Pinkie Pie snaps out of her bacon trance and puts on her best smile as she rubs her hands, trying to massage away the sharp tingles coming from the blue aura that has thankfully began fading. She is surprised that nothing exploded around her, but she does not dwell on the lack of explosions because bacon hair's impatience is obvious from her baggy light blue eyes and rapid tapping on her podium.

“Table for four. The most private part of the place, please!” says Pinkie Pie.

The tired worker nods, grabs four menus, slides out from behind her podium and motions Pinkie Pie to follow her.

The two go to the second story in a the corner where a booth with bright red cushions, polished wood and a laminated table sits far away from the rest of the tables. After the server puts the menus down, Pinkie Pie slides into her spot and looks at the menu, thanking the server.

“Uh huh,” grumbles the server. “My name is Sunset. Just hit the leaf when you're ready to order. I got stuff to do.”

Pinkie Pie looks at a small leaf shaped lamp on hanging off the corner of her booth with a chain dangling from it, and she is about to thank Sunset, but said person has already left.

Shrugging, Pinkie Pie massages her hands and peers at the menu, taking in the information of the various pizzas, calzones, pastas, wings, burgers, salads, ice cream, cookies, and cake. So involved is she in her browsing that she barely notices her team come to her table.

“Do you have any idea how fast you walk?” asks Trixie as she slides next to her, with Applejack and Rarity taking the other side.

“Pretty fast,” says Pinkie Pie.

“At least ya didn't blow up anything this time,” says Applejack.

“That's because there was people around. And it hurt keeping it all in there,” says Pinkie Pie. “How much do you have on you, Rarity?”

“A hundred bits, currently,” replies Rarity.

Pinkie Pie eyes a meal of a triple-decker pizza with a side order of twelve chicken wings and garlic knots. “Good, because I'm hungry and the less I think about Pinprick the better. So, food it is!”

Trixie reclines in her seat and pulls out her new phone, immediately texting away. “I don't see what the big deal is with this Pinprick guy. He was hooked on smack and probably only took interest in you because you flung yourself at him like a desperate hussy.”

Pinkie Pie frowns at Trixie, but since her teammate is jabbing away on her phone she does not notice this.

“I just want to be happy. Is that too much to ask?” asks Pinkie Pie.

“Yes,” says Trixie. Applejack and Rarity join Pinkie Pie in glaring at her, and she looks at them, shrugging. “Its true. Are any of us genuinely happy? Nope. We think we are happy, but we are only distracted with all these fancy toys and shows so we don't think about the things beyond our walls.”

“That is probably the smartest thing you have ever said,” says Applejack after a pause and softening her face.

“Sarcasm?” asks Trixie.

“No.”

“Thanks.”

Trixie goes back to texting, and Rarity leans over so she can see Pinkie Pie past Applejack, offering a comforting smile.

“Pinkie, dear, this whole Pinprick ordeal is heartbreaking, but it may be for the best,” says Rarity. “You deserve better.”

Applejack nods. “Yeah, plus he's a peculiar fella, and we don't know much about him. Who he is, who his friends are, why he dresses like he got pulled out of a history book. He could be a timberwolf in sheep's cloth for all we know.”

“But I felt a connection with him. Like soul mates!” says Pinkie Pie, her eyes back on the menu, and her mind dwelling on Trixie's words while simultaneously contemplating on the combination she wants for her triple-decker pizza.

“He wasn't good for ya, Pinks,” says Applejack firmly.

“How do you know?” asks Pinkie Pie sourly. “Aside from him conveniently forgetting everything about me except for the seventy five cents that I owe him.”

“I've been around longer. I just know these things.”

“You're a year older than me.”

“Just let him go,” says Trixie.

“Easy for you to say. You never loved anybody.”

Trixie puts down her phone and stiffly looks at Pinkie Pie. “False. There was one guy one time, and I'm telling you the quicker you let go the easier it will be on you.”

“One guy one time is not a good answer.”

Trixie scoffs and goes back to her phone. “Just order the pizza. I'm getting hungry from smelling all the food.”

Close to thirty minutes have passed before APRT gets their meal; consisting of a triple-decker pizza with pepperoni, more pepperoni and even more pepperoni, hot wings and soft drinks. It fills up a large part of the table and the girls eat mostly in silence. Pinkie Pie does not really know what to say, though. Her mind is still on Pinprick's betrayal. And Celestia's betrayal.

How can Pinprick not remember her? After all they have been through with Discord and searching for Trixie, how can he scrub her from his memory like that?

And Celestia! Who does she think she is for booting Pinkie from her position when she is the only one who is actively looking for Discord? If anything, she should have given Pinkie Pie an allowance raise, some praise, maybe upgraded Team PART(ie)'s dorm to a suit with room service, servants and a chocolate fondue fountain big enough to take a bath in. Its not like Celestia knows where Discord is, nor did she ask for any information after she intercepted Pinkie's group at the Club.

It is this thought that brings Pinkie Pie to thinking about the location of Discord, and her sour attitude dissipates to hope from an idea that takes root. And from that idea comes a smile, and she looks at her team as they eat their pizza and wings, still somewhat quiet.

After swallowing what food she has, Pinkie Pie coolly wipes her lips with her napkin and leans back in her seat, stretching her arms high.

“Sooooo~ I think we need to explore this city some more,” says Pinkie Pie innocently. “This place is huge but we haven't really done any exploring.”

Trixie slows her chewing, her eyes narrowing on Pinkie Pie suspiciously, and Applejack and Rarity stare at their former leader.

“We got school tomorrow,” says Applejack.

“It is still afternoon. We got time. Plus, we need to click as a team again, like when we did the initial test in the forest. We haven't been able to do that very well.”

Applejack is silent, but Trixie leans forward, resting her elbow on the table and her cheek on her fist.

“Pinkie is right. We should explore Canterlot some more,” says Trixie. “We are the future defenders, after all, so it will help to know what we are defending.”

“We also have tests coming up,” says Pinkie Pie.

“That ya ain't studied for,” says Applejack.

“Which is why we squeeze what fun we can before we study,” says Pinkie Pie. “We get our minds cleared by seeing the sights, feeding pigeons, maybe go on romantic walks by the river.”

“Romantic walks? Pinkie, are you trying to tell us something?” says Rarity with a teasing smile.

“Friendshipping. Its magic! And we need to friendship hard if we are going to pass our tests and support each other for studying, and it all starts with exploring Canterlot! So, who's with me?”

Pinkie finishes with a slam on the table, knocking her drink over on to Trixie's lap, causing the Tsuinite to shriek and leap from her seat, thus accidentally knocking her drink to Pinkie's lap, causing the rock farmer to flinch and her hand to tip over Applejack's drink on to Rarity's pizza.

Applejack and Rarity both look at Rarity's pizza becoming a soggy mess from it soaking up the carbonated drink, and Rarity sighs and slouches in her seat.

“I guess that is a sign I should stop eating pizza,” says Rarity.

“My bad,” says Pinkie Pie. “But, Applejack, you're the leader now, so can we explore Canterlot? Can we? Can we can we can we can we can we, pleeeeeeeeeeaze?”

She finishes with a squee and an eager glimmer in her eyes, and Applejack sighs and rubs her forehead.

“Fine, but we got to be back at the dorms by eight and then we'll spend the rest of the night studying,” says Applejack.

“Fighting techniques?” suggest Pinkie Pie.

“No. Math.”

“Nooooooo!”

Author's Note

So that took too long. My bad.