Another day in Canterlot High School had come and gone, and Pinkie Pie was among the students heading back home, though unlike her usual cheerful self, this time she was walking with an air of concern on her, and an expression of sadness.
She wasn't so sad that her hair deflated into a straight, grayed hime cut, but she still looked notably concerned about something.
Or perhaps, she was concerned about someone.
"Poor Flash Sentry, I completely forgot I was supposed to hand him those papers from the student council today."
The girl lowered her head.
"He looked pretty upset when he was being scolded by them, too. I'm glad the president and Flash managed to work things out, though, I wouldn't have wanted things to escalate like last time."
Pinkie Pie took a deep breath.
"If only Flash wasn't so forgettable, I would've remembered he was the one I was supposed to give the papers to..."
Then, realizing what she said, Pinkie slapped herself and shook her head.
"Wait, what am I talking about?! Blaming the victim isn't going to help anybody! I'm the reason Flash got scolded by the student council!"
And she promptly returned to being sad.
"And yet, why can't I help but feel that Flash's forgettability is to blame here? That him being so forgettable is precisely why things came out the way they did?"
And then she hit a lamppost, not only returning her to reality, but also causing something to come out of her hair.
But it wasn't some kind of candy, a party supply, a cannon able to shoot parties, or really anything else anybody would associate with the sweets and party-loving Pinkie Pie.
Instead, what came out was a book.
A book about baking sweets.
Okay, now it seemed more like something Pinkie would have.
"Oh right, I also forgot I needed to return this book to the library," Pinkie Pie said as she picked up and took a look at the cover. "What day is it today?"
Pinkie reached for her hair and took out a simple clock, showing not only the hour, but what day it was.
"Oh, today's the last day before it expires."
...
"Todays' the last day before it expires!"
Pinkie quickly handed the book back to the woman at the counter, who turned out to be...
"Vice-Principal Luna?!"
"Nice to see you too, Pinkie Pie," the woman replied. "You're here to return that book you borrowed, I presume?"
The girl glanced at her book, and nodded.
"However, I was expecting the librarian to be here to pick it up: What are you doing here?"
"The librarian was sick, and since her replacement was busy with something, Celestia asked me to replace her for the day," Luna answered as she verified the book. "As for who would deal with my share of the work, she said she'd do so herself, and since she kept insisting, I decided to do it."
Pinkie Pie hummed, and once the book had been verified, the girl put her arms behind her head and stretched.
"Well, better to look at the bright side: I remembered to hand back this book in time! If I had been late for even a second, it would've been the "Trixie Magical Party" fiasco all over again."
"Oh, Pinkie, don't lie to yourself," Luna responded with a chuckle. "We both know there are several other factors for why that event was so infamous."
Pinkie laughed nervously. "It's only human to make mistakes."
"Yeah, can't argue with that," Luna sighed. "Say, I need to check up the database to see if there's any other books that haven't been returned on time, could you take this cooking book and put it back where you got it?"
Pinkie raised an eyebrow.
"Why not ask one of the part-timers working here?"
The duo turned around and saw Snips and Snails cleaning one of the tables, only for the latter to somehow slip and hit the ground, hitting the table and moving it just forward enough so it'd hit the former as well.
"They got their hands full at the moment."
"Okay then, I'll do it."
Pinkie grabbed the book, and promptly strolled to the section it belonged, where she returned it just as she caught a glimpse of someone nearby, at the young adult section.
And this someone turned out to be none other than Flash Sentry himself.
"Wait a minute, Flash Sentry? In the library?! I thought he'd show up at a concert, or a wedding, or some other event that requires music! What's he doing in a quiet place like the library?!"
The boy briefly glimpsed at the corner Pinkie was spying from, and the girl quickly hid, before her Pinkie sense informed her Flash was heading there, forcing her to jump up on top of the bookshelf.
She then jumped from shelf to shelf until she jumped down one and landed on the ground, after making sure Flash hadn't seen her.
Once verified the coast was clear, Pinkie thought to herself... out loud.
"If Flash took a specific type of book, maybe that could help me get a better hint at his personality! But how am I supposed to find out what it's about? Should I go up to him and straight up ask him?"
After a second in thought, Pinkie burst out laughing.
"What am I thinking?! That's what normal people would do! Besides, even if I asked him, he could just lie about what the book's really about."
Pinkie gained a determined expression and clenched her fist.
"Clearly, there's only one way to do this! I must head to his room while he's asleep, and find the book
"Or you could just ask me what book he grabbed."
The pink-haired girl turned around and saw she was right next to Luna's counter.
"Flash went to ask for permission to borrow the book while you were monologuing out loud, and don't worry, he left before you got to the part of going to his room at night."
The pink-haired girl took a sigh of relief and walked to the counter as Luna put the book's information on the screen.
"You may not believe this, but I'm pretty excited to find out what kind of book Flash would-"
The girl quickly ate her words once she saw the information.
"Flash Sentry!!!"
The boy stopped on his tracks and turned around, only to be met with an upset look from Pinkie, who stomped her way towards him.
And needless to say, this caused a bit of murmuring around the hallways.
"Oh man, Pinkie Pie's angry with Flash?"
"What happened?"
"Whatever happened, it must've been pretty bad to make Pinkie angry."
"Yeah, especially since she's not someone who gets angry easily."
"Her hair is still poofy, though, so maybe it's not that bad?"
"Oh, hi, Pinkie Pie," Flash greeted, seemingly oblivious to the girl's anger. "You don't usually come up to me for anything. Is something the matter?"
Pinkie opened her mouth, but immediately realized everybody was looking at the pair, which was evident even after everyone averted their eyes.
Seeing this, Pinkie leaned closer to Flash's ear and whispered:
"Why did you grab the "Horny Entities" book?"
Hearing the book's name caused Flash to lower his eyelids.
"The book's for Twilight."
Pinkie blinked twice. "Huh?"
The duo sat on the schoolyard, Flash having explained the situation to Pinkie.
"I see, so you took the book to give it to Twilight, who wanted to ask if the book could be renamed. But she can pick up books on her own just fine, why did she ask for your help this time?"
"She had her arms full with something," Flash sighed. "And besides, you can't really read something like "Horny Entities" and expect it to be anything other than an R-18 adult book. So, Twilight has reason to worry."
Pinkie raised an eyebrow.
"The only thing I don't understand is, what was that book doing there in the first place?"
Flash rested his chin on his palm.
"It's supposedly an educational book about entities with horns from all sorts of mythologies, and the symbolism of horns in general. But again, the title doesn't give that impression, so, Twilight wants to request its name be changed."
Pinkie hummed, and looked away.
"I'm sorry for getting you into trouble with the student council, by the way."
Flash promptly brushed her hair.
"It's okay, Pinkie, the council is a bunch of persnickety buzzkills, I think I'd wind up being in trouble with them regardless of whether you handed me the papers or not."
Hearing the reassuring words of the boy, Pinkie Pie smiled, and promptly stood up.
"Well, besides that, one thing's for certain."
The pink girl pointed at the musician.
"You're still a cookie cutter nice guy!"
Flash frowned. "Should I be flattered or offended by that statement?"
"That's besides the point: You need to develop more personality beyond your musical interests!" Pinkie replied with a determined, energetic tone. "And if you don't want to do that, at least expand your focus to something beyond Twilight!"
Flash stood up and folded his arms.
"Pinkie, this feels like an issue that was solved a long time ago, and should be buried under the hatchet by now. I understand you're worried about me, but please, could you do something else instead of telling me I have to change?"
The guy walked away, but in the very few seconds Pinkie looked legitimately shocked and sad, she got an idea that completely cheered her up.
"I know! How about a cake!"
Flash smiled as Pinkie ran up to his side.
"That sounds good in my book."
"Great! I'll bake you a cake, and I'm not giving you anything until you develop more personality!"
"What?! Come on, Pinkie, don't be mean!"
"Nope! No development, no cake!"
"You monster!"
The duo exchanged a lighthearted laughter, and promptly walked to their rooms together, talking along the way.