Pinkie Pie looked out the window and gazed at the gray, barren landscape of which she called home. This would be the last day she would spend here because, in just a few hours, she would begin her long trek to Canterlot. The rock farm, being very isolated, was miles from the nearest town, so Pinkie had to wake up very early to get to a town with access to a train station. She said goodbye to her mother and sisters and walked away from her home with her father. They talked about how much they would miss each other, and Igneous emphasized the fact that they wouldn’t be able to contact each other for a while.

“Canterlot is extraordinarily far,” he said, “I’ll miss you, but I know you really want this.”

Pinkie hugged him, which caused her luggage, which previously rested on her father’s back to fall to the floor. Her tail switched violently for a couple of seconds, which caused Pinkie to groan.

“Why do you always do that?” Pinkie said under her breath, “Well, anyway I’ll miss you guys tons too! I’ll make sure to send tons of letters, even if it takes 15 years for them to get here!” she declared as she helped her father put the luggage back on.

“You may need to use some of that fancy magic to teleport the letters here. It would take 15 years for them to arrive,” he said with a smile tainted by sadness.

They talked the entire way, well Pinkie talked and Igneous listened. It took several hours, but they reached their desired town. Pinkie looked at the sun and estimated that it was about 11. She knew the trek would take hours, but she didn’t think it would take that long.

“Papa, what time did we leave?”

“Around 6, why?”

“Really? I know we live in the middle of nowhere but it took that long?! Man, no wonder we never came here or festivals or anything. I mean, can you imagine? We would have to wake up at like 3 a.m. to get ready, then we would have to walk and walk and walk...” Pinkie rambled.

Igneous smiled as they walked to the carriage that would take Pinkie to the train station. It didn’t take long, and they soon arrived; the pair exchanged a hug, Pinkie almost crying.

“Bye, Papa! I can’t wait to see you again. I’m gonna have a ton of fun in Canterlot, but I’ll try to see you guys again if I can visit. I’ll miss you, Mama, Inkie, Blinkie, and Maud.” Pinkie said, hopping on the carriage. “Bye Papa!”

It took 2 more hours for the carriage to reach the station, Pinkie paid the driver, bought a ticket, and boarded the train. Pinkie looked around at the nearly deserted train and sat in an empty seat. She relaxed and looked out the window, taking in the sights. She had never been outside of the rock farm, so she was excited to see how different the world was away from home. Pinkie couldn’t wait until she reached Canterlot. The future will be perfect, she thought with a smile.

Pinkie spent the next few hours gazing out the window, but she took notice of all the ponies that boarded the train. Slowly but surely, the train filled up. Pinkie noticed that all the rows had at least one pony in them, which would force strangers to sit next to each other. This slightly worried Pinkie. She was fine with strangers, but she knew others weren’t. Pinkie hoped to make at least one pony more comfortable in this cramped situation.

About half an hour later, at the next train stop, the only pony to come on was a white pegasus filly. She looked around, sighed, and sat on the floor. Pinkie waved her over and asked if she wanted to sit in her row.

“Hey, don’t sit on the floor, that’s dangerous. Wanna sit here?” Pinkie asked, scooting over.

“Okay, uh… thanks.”

The filly sat next to Pinkie, pulled out a notebook, and sketched a strange chicken-dragon hybrid. The drawing piqued Pinkie’s interest. She glanced at the filly’s flank and took note of her cutie mark. A compass with a paintbrush replacing the needle.

“What are you drawing?” Pinkie asked.

The filly looked up at her to see that the pink pony was genuinely interested.

“Oh, I’m drawing a cockatrice!” she exclaimed with newfound enthusiasm. “They’re native to the Everfree Forest near Ponyville. They can turn ponies to stone with just one look, I read about it in a book, and now I’m staying with my aunt so I can draw some other animals from the Everfree.”

“I’m Pinkie Pie, what’s your name?” Pinkie asked, wanting to get to know her new friend better.

“Mountain Hue. Nice to meet you. So where are you headed?” The filly said, enjoying Pinkie’s company.

“Canterlot, I guess you are heading to Ponyville. You said it’s next to the Everfree though, isn’t that dangerous?”

“Yup, I can’t wait!” Hue giggled.

By now the sun had set. The fillies spent the rest of the train ride chatting, drawing, and just having fun. Until the conductor announced the stop.

“Last stop, Ponyville!” the fillies heard him yell.

Hue’s ears folded back, and she began complaining.

“Nooooo, I liked handing out with you,” suddenly she perked up, “How long have you been on the train?”

Pinkie stopped. How long had it been? She got on about 1, but what time was it now?

“Um… I’m not sure I got on about 1.”

Hue’s eyes widened, and she quickly stood up and walked to the conductor. Pinkie couldn’t hear what Hue said, but she wore a confused smile when she walked back.

“It’s 10 now, you said you lived in the middle of nowhere, but you weren’t kidding.” Hue said, sitting back down. “It’s the last stop. Where are you going to stay?”

“I dunno, I’m just doing to stay in an inn, I guess. Then I’m gonna take the next train to Canterlot.” Pinkie said, starting to gather her stuff.

“Okay, you can go to the Golden Horseshoe. I heard it’s cheap.” Hue replied, also getting her things.

They talked until the stop came, although this chat was slightly sadder. When the train arrived at the Ponyville station, they said goodbye, and Pinkie made her way to the hotel.

Pinkie suddenly turned and shouted, “Bye, Hue! I’ll make sure to visit you later. You were super fun to talk to. I hope you get to do lots of good drawings and don’t get eaten while exploring the Everfree.”

Pinkie skipped around the town looking for the hotel. Her stomach growled just as she saw an adorable gingerbread house.

’Sugarcube Corner, huh?’ Pinkie thought. ’Gosh, it’s still open?’

Pinkie stepped inside and looked for an employee, but none could be found. She started to head out but stopped as she noticed her Pinkie Sense telling her something. It was a floppy ear, achy knee combo. She paused and thought. What did that thing mean? Her Pinkie Sense wasn’t exactly reliable, but it wasn’t meaningless. She paced in front of the display case, thinking. Trying to remember what it meant.

She noticed the sensation grew much stronger over a certain piece of floor. Which made Pinkie realize it was location based. She looked around, not seeing anything out of the ordinary, so she looked down at her hooves. The floor was covered in a rug. Pinkie glanced around, watching for any ponies, but the store remained empty. She picked up the rug and moved it away, hoping to discover something. Pinkie studied the now bare floor, but it seemed normal. Her Pinkie Sense said otherwise. She stared closely at the floor, her muzzle almost touching the ground. She noticed there was a slight indent in a floorboard. Her Pinkie Sense became much stronger, so she put the tip of her hoof inside. She pulled the floor up; it lifted with little resistance. Pinkie panicked, thinking she broke it, but her Pinkie Sense grew stronger still. She looked at the ground where the plank previously sat and found a small brown button, almost indistinguishable from the ground itself. Her Pinkie Sense, in an instant, stopped.

’So that’s what it wanted me to find, a button, welp I’m gonna die. Let’s push it!’ She thought with a smile.

Author's Note

This is a rewrite of an old story that I wrote when I was young. Except this one will actually be legible. The older story is still up if anyone wants to read it, but I would not recommend it. It was filled with errors and was just really bad overall. This story will be way better!

Edit: I've combined some of my smaller chapters to make them a decent length.