"PINKIE PIE, WHAT THE HAY?" a female voice reverberated in the fifties-style diner.
The pink-haired waitress turned to the origin of of the call with a wide grin. "Oh, hey Sunset! What can I getcha?" Before her friend could answer, she held up a hand. "Wait, don't tell me. You want a double strawberry milkshake with whipped cream and a cherry on top."
Sunset Shimmer folded her arms. "No." She said simply. Though it was her favorite treat from the diner.
"A double veggie burger with extra cheese, avocado, and a pickle on the side?"
"No."
"Double veggie burger and strawberry shake?"
"No."
Pinkie took a moment to think. "Oh, you need comfort food. Strawberry milkshake with oats then."
"No! Pinkie!"
"What?"
"I don't want any of that!"
Pinkie was now confused. "Then what do you want?"
Sunset pointed to her empty messenger bag. "Journal?"
Pinkie scratched her head. "Journal?"
"Yes. My journal?"
"Oooohhh... Your journal."
Sunset's patience was wearing thin. She growled through her teeth. "Pinkie."
"It's right over here." She skated over to a booth at the end that was cluttered with items. Pinkie Pie pointed to a small white furball. "It's right here. She's been sleeping on it all afternoon."
Sunset's face turned bright red. "You gave your dog my journal for a bed?" She stopped when she hit a realization. "Wait, you don't have a dog."
"Of course not, silly. Gummy would be jealous." She held up the a small white miniature poodle. "This is WooYoo. She's Bulk Bicep's dog."
"WooYoo!" Muscular arms reached out to grab the small pooch. Bulk Biceps hugged her tightly. "I've been looking everywhere for you! Come on, we need to get you all pretty for your date with Tank."
Pinkie giggled as boy and dog ran off. "Oh, Tank! That tortoise is such a Romeo!"
Sunset's brain locked up. "So many questions..." She shook them off and returned to the initial issue at hand. She grabbed her journal from Pinkie's hands and began inspecting it for damage. "Pinkie, you just can't run off with other people's things!"
"You can't?"
"Especially this. Do you know how long I've been looking for this? What if we had an emergency? What if Princess Twilight had an emergency? Have you even considered what could happen if this book fell into the wrong hands?"
"Oohh, we're still trying to keep this whole pony parallel universe think a secret? Because I'm pretty sure the word is out by now. What with Equestria Land and all..."
"All the more so to keep it a secret! If anything, to keep the wrong people from trying to go there."
"Pfft, please. We've already stopped one invasion."
Sunset released a roar. "PINKIE PIE!" She waited a few minutes to calm herself. At the same time, she glanced at the other items still sitting on the table. "What were you doing with all this stuff anyway?"
"Oh, we had this lady earlier."
"...and...?"
"I wanted a good review."
"...and...?"
"Well, she first gave me four stars, but that is unacceptable. This is a five-star establishment all the way."
Sunset eyed the table again. "So..."
"So, I was trying to find ways to make her raise her rating."
"YOU GAVE A RANDOM STRANGER MY JOURNAL?"
"I wouldn't exactly say 'random'..."
"PINKIE!"
"Well," the girl teetered, "you reading your journal seems to put you into a good mood. Besides, Twilight was also there. So, it's not like your journal was left unattended."
At that time, the bespectacled girl in question was passing by. She waved to her friends inside the diner and displayed some confusion when Sunset motioned her to come inside.
"Pinkie says you were here earlier." Sunset said when Twilight had joined them.
"Oh, yes!" Twilight adjusted her glasses with a smile. "I was... Um... Pinkie, why was I here earlier?"
"To help me get five stars!" replied Pinkie.
"Oh... So that's what that was." She shrugged. "I thought you just wanted me to watch some old lady." She awkwardly played with her sidelocks as Sunset gave her a look of "What?"
"At any rate," Twilight continued, "the cupcake was good."
Sunset frowned. "Twilight, where were you before you came to the diner?"
"I was at the park with Spike and Fluttershy. A new dog park opened up and we'd thought we'd go check it out. Was really weird. One moment, I was there; next moment, I was here."
Sunset's Equestrian blood began to boil. "Pinkie, you kidnapped Twilight?"
Pinkie sheepishly shrugged. "Borrowed?"
Twilight sensed the rising tension. She slowly backed away. "Maybe I should go..."
"No!" Sunset barked, "You stay right there. I need you."
Twilight froze.
"Okay, Pinkie" Sunset tried to remain calm, "What happened next?"
"Well, turns out the lady wanted none of this stuff."
"Okay, what did she want?"
"Oh, just to be left alone." She smiled at the completion of her tale. It faded slightly when she saw her friend. "Hey, Sunny, you okay?"
Sunset her face buried deep into her palm. "No, Pinkie," she groaned, "I'm not okay."
"You sure you don't want that strawberry milkshake?"
Sunset seemed not to have heard her.
"Pinkie, Pinkie, Pinkie."
The energetic girl smiled brightly. "That's my name!"
"Boundaries, Pinkie," Sunset groaned, "they exist."
"But, boundaries mean walls and, to that I say: Tear down that wall!"
"Some people like their walls!"
The pink girl deflated slightly. "But, you don't have walls around me."
"Pinkie," Sunset said gently, "we're your friends. But, even so, there are certain things that are off limits." She waved her journal. "That includes kidnapping friends and Bulk Biceps's dog."
"So that's whose dog that was," Twilight said.
Sunset let out a long sigh. "Look, Pinkie, I know it's hard, but there are some people who just want to be left alone. And you need to learn to respect that."
"...And I guess I also need to learn not to borrow other people's things without asking?" Pinkie timidly added.
Twilight and Sunset nodded in unison.
Sunset wrapped a comforting arm around her friend. "Look, no actual harm was done. So, consider this a learning experience." She checked the time on her phone. "Hey, I have nothing to do. Why don't I stick around till you're done with your shift and then we can hang out? I could really go for that milkshake right now."
A smile crested Pinkie's lips. "That sounds good."
"I was just heading home," Twilight said, "So, I guess I'll join you, too."
Sunset and Twilight settled in one of the corner booths, where they could get a good view of the diner and Pinkie Pie. Given it was the early evening, the diner was quite empty. The staff were busy preparing everything for the dinner crowd.
Sunset was happily digging into her strawberry milkshake with rolled oats when the first evening customers arrived. Pinkie and her fellow waitresses were quick to tend to the newcomers.
"Good evening!" Pinkie smiled, handing the menu to a solo customer, "What can I start you with to drink?"
"Uhm," the customer replied timidly, fiddling with the menu for the drink list. "I guess I'll just have water."
Pinkie's smile broadened as she skated off to the kitchen. "You got it!"
The customer returned the menu; turning and pondering over it. Seemingly unaware of their surroundings, they jumped when Pinkie reappeared with a tall glass of ice water.
"Have you decided on anything?" she asked, pulling out her ordering pad.
"Uh," the customer fumbled with the menu, "What do you have in the way of burgers?"
"Oh, what you want is the double bacon blue cheese burger with all the trimmings, pickle and fries."
The customer handed Pinkie the menu. "Sure. That sounds good."
As quickly as she was gone, Pinkie returned with the plate of food. Sure that the customer had everything they needed, she smiled broadly. "Don't forget to give us a good Screech review!"
"I'm sorry?"
"A Screech review. You know, that rating app?"
"Oh, I don't do any of that."
"What? Why not?"
"I just don't." They shrunk away with Pinkie Pie made a loud gasp.
"But you must!"
"Ex-excuse me?"
From her seat, Sunset frowned. The customer was clearly becoming uncomfortable. "Pinkie..." she grumbled under her breath.
"...but you must!" Pinkie persisted.
The customer raised a finger. "Um, no."
"But you must leave a review! Hang on, I'll change your mind yet" She skated off towards the kitchen.
In the absence of the waitress, the customer took the moment to gather up their things and silently slip out the front door, just in time for Pinkie Pie to return with a very large slice of cake. Seeing the seat vacated, she looked around in confusion.
"Where'd you go?"
"PINKIE PIE!"