Arthur and Turner managed to make it to the inventor's house without too much trouble, aside from scaring and dispersing the "pinkie-fied" ponies who were eager to play with Turner's "Trash-Robot."

They both entered the house, quickly closing the curtains to keep out any unwanted guests who might want to casually join the party. Once Time Turner made sure the coast was clear, they both sighed in relief.

Much to Arthur’s surprise, the inventor’s house was actually pretty tidy. But not because Turner was particularly tidy; it was more because there wasn’t much cluttering it up. Arthur had expected an inventor’s house to be messy, filled with gadgets and half-finished projects strewn about. But the house was oddly empty… until he saw the basement. That was a different story.

“Not that I’m one to judge,” I said, trying to lighten the mood as I looked around the basement, which looked like it had lost a battle against a Monday morning. “But it looks like someone could use a little tidying up around here, don't you think?”

“Wow, I love how you get so playful when things get tough, Arthur!” The pink Alicorn laughed nonchalantly.

Turner gave a short, tired laugh. “This tragic state is the result of what I believe to be the same event that caused Ponyville’s radical transformation.”

“Ah, I should have listened to my mother about not going to Pinkie-Fest this year. There were rumors that it wouldn’t be as good as last year, and I just didn’t take the hint,” I joked, shrugging.

Turner, ignoring my joke, began to walk thoughtfully. “Now that we’re in a quiet place,” she said, “we can begin planning our course of action to solve this rather complicated puzzle.”

Finally, a moment of peace to process everything that had happened since I arrived in this strange town. Those hyperactive ponies and their constant noise had given me a tremendous headache. I’ve never been much of a social person, always looking for excuses to avoid the few parties I’d been invited to. So, being the center of attention here? Definitely not my thing.

It was supposed to be easy, finding someone to send me home. And now, I had to worry about saving an entire town. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not heartless, but let’s face it, I’m useless. I couldn’t even fall off that giant cake with dignity. How was I supposed to help Turner with this cotton candy mess?

As I sat there, my mind started to wander. The more I thought about it, the more familiar this whole situation seemed. Someone is sent to another world, barely finds anyone, and the ones they find are in serious trouble. It sounded like… a story. Yeah, I wasn’t good at thinking logically like Turner, but I did know about stories.

If I could think of this as a narrative, maybe I could figure out what the protagonist (you know, me) should do next. I mean, I had that mindset before I got here. The hero usually finds a way, right?

I sighed and looked at Turner, who was staring at a makeshift map of Ponyville, clearly deep in thought.

“Can’t we just, I don’t know, tell someone to clean up this mess and be done with it?” I asked, half-joking, but also hoping there was a shortcut.

“Well, now that you mention it,” Turner said, rubbing his chin, “we could talk to Pinkie Pie’s friends. That is, if they haven’t been ‘Pinkie-fied’ already.”

I pondered the answer for a moment. If he could even think for a moment with the idea of asking someone else to fix, well, all of this. Then it’s possible that not only this problem could be fixed with the right people but my own problem as well. But the last part he said stopped me from thinking about it any further.

I frowned. “What if they have been?”

Turner’s expression turned grim. "Then we could be looking at a much bigger problem."

"Why would it be a bigger problem if her friends were also 'Pinkie-fied'?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "And, first of all, what could they do that you can't?"

Turner looked away from the map for a moment and turned to me, his expression serious. "Pinkie Pie's friends aren't just any ordinary ponies, Arthur. They're the bearers of the Elements of Harmony."

I was left blank. "The what of the what?"

"The Elements of Harmony," Turner repeated, as if that cleared anything up. Seeing that my confusion was still intact, he sighed and sat down across from me. "They're powerful artifacts that represent different aspects of harmony. Each of her friends carries one of those elements: honesty, generosity, loyalty, kindness, laughter—which is Pinkie's—and magic, which is Twilight Sparkle's. Together, they've saved Equestria on more than one occasion."

I seem to have stumbled upon an important backstory to this world without realizing it. While I didn't understand most of what she said, I think it's best to pretend for the moment that I do so I can move on. After all, I can't be sure of anything right now, and I might just be exaggerating.

"I see..." I said, though half of that explanation sounded like pure fantasy to me. "And let me guess, they're basically the superponies of this place."

"More or less," Turner replied with a slight smile. "If they've been 'Pinkie-fied' as well, then we're losing not only the only hope of reversing all of this, but also a group of ponies with enough power to balance out any threat in Equestria."

I leaned forward, scratching my head. "So... how likely is it that those superponies are also caught up in this never-ending party madness?"

Turner hesitated before answering. "It's hard to say. If Pinkie Pie was affected, there's no reason to think her friends weren't as well. But until we confirm it, we can't rule it out."

“Great. So not only do we have to worry about the invasion of hyperactive clones, but also the fact that the only ones who could save us are already jumping on bouncy castles and throwing confetti around.” I sighed. “Great. Just what I needed: a bigger problem.”

Turner focused back on his map, clearly thinking through the possibilities, while I leaned back in my chair, letting my thoughts wander. So far, none of this seemed remotely manageable. Finding Pinkie’s friends was our only logical option, but we had no idea what state they were in. It was like wandering blindly through a maze.

As the movie continued to play, I settled down on the couch next to Pinkie, trying to look relaxed. But of course, all I could think about was how I had forgotten the snacks. “Ah, great… I forgot the popcorn.” I blurted out, a little nervously as I looked at Pinkie in hopes that she wouldn’t suspect my actions.

Pinkie, unfazed, smiled widely. “Don’t worry! We can just whip something up! Do you have cake? Cake is also great for watching movies! And don’t worry about the ‘Elements of Harmony’, I’ve never heard of that. It must be an inside joke or something!”

I looked at her, incredulous, but then remembered that this Pinkie knew nothing about the Elements. Great… another piece of the puzzle that didn’t fit. I simply nodded. “Sure, whatever you say, Pinkie… Let’s keep watching what made me get chased by everyone.”

Not only is it bad for our current situation, but for me. If it was possible that their ‘Elements of Harmony’ could help me in some way, they won’t be able to do so in a state of constant laughter. Practically forcing me to solve this crazy town case first to at least think about my own case.

"Well," I said finally, trying to clear my thoughts, "if we can't count on them completely, what's the next step in your plan? Because, frankly, I don't think we can keep dodging party ponies for much longer."

Turner frowned, pointing at something on his map. "I've been working on a theory. If we can find the exact origin of this phenomenon—where the 'Pinkie-fication' started—we might have a better idea of how to stop or reverse it."

"And how are we supposed to do that?"

Turner stood up and began searching through his tools, pulling out a strange metal device. "I have a magical anomaly detector. If we can track down the source of the magic that altered Ponyville, maybe we can undo what's been done."

How convenient, I guess, for a world of talking ponies, this would make sense.

I looked at him in disbelief. "Right, a magical anomaly detector. Of course you have one of those in your house. What, did you keep it by the coffee pot or something?"

"It's a prototype," Turner replied, ignoring my sarcasm. "But it should be functional enough to track down a source of magic of this magnitude."

With no other idea for solving this other than going with the flow (which has usually worked for me for many years) I think this is the best option for now. Besides it's better than doing nothing, I need to move if I want to make progress.

"Well," I said, standing up, "it's better than just hanging around doing nothing. Let's find that fountain before we end up covered in confetti forever."

Turner nodded, and with his detector in his hoof, we prepared to head out again. Meanwhile, in the back of my mind, I couldn't stop thinking about how I had ended up in the middle of all this. I wasn't cut out to be a hero, but if this was the kind of story I was in, I might as well start acting like one… or at least, pretending as best as I could, something that was becoming a regular occurrence in my life and in this new life, I guess it doesn't change.

As Arthur stood up to follow Turner out of the house. Pinkie and Arthur on the couch continued to watch intently, getting more and more into the plot unfolding in front of them.

"You know, I like your plan to pretend to be a hero! Although… you can always try it for real too!"

Sighing, I leaned back on the couch. “Faking it seems to work so far… but we’ll see how long it lasts.”

Among the bustling streets of Ponyville, Turner, the local inventor, trudged along with a detector-like contraption attached to his leg. Beside him, his “Trash-Robot”—a pile of trash on wheels that look like hooves—followed him clumsily, as if it were searching for something. Or at least, that’s what it told curious ponies who stopped to watch.

“BEEP. So we’re just going to wander around here until we find the source?” I asked, awkwardly imitating a robotic voice. “How hard can it be?”

Turner gave me a nervous smile. “Well… I wouldn’t want to discourage you.” He seemed to choose his words carefully. “But since the whole of Ponyville seems to be infected, the energy we’re looking for is everywhere. Finding the exact source is going to be tricky.”

I raised an eyebrow, skeptical. “So, it’s going to be a ‘lot’?”

“I’m afraid so,” Turner sighed in resignation.

...

And so it was. We wandered all over Pinkie Pie’s Kingdom of Laughter.

We took advantage of this to put two plans into action: find the source of the anomaly and find Pinkie’s friends who are also carriers of these ‘Elements of Harmony’ with the slight hope that they are okay.

The inventor led the way, even though it was an altered Ponyville, it was still Ponyville and he knew how to wander through its streets.

We passed a tree in the middle of an intersection. Turner told me it was the best place to investigate, it was a library after all. We knocked on the door, but after about twenty minutes of waiting, nothing happened and we decided to either leave my costume aside for a second and go in through the window. With no other option, the inventor pony followed me.

He told me it was also where one of the pink alicorn's friends, 'Twilight Sparkle', lived but what we saw when we entered was clearly a simple hollow tree with doors and windows. There are empty holes in the walls, no furniture, even less than Turner's house. There was no sign that anyone lived here or had ever lived inside.

Disappointed at not finding the pony in question and no signal on the detector, we left.

We stopped in front of a carousel the size of a house. Unlike the tree, this carousel, despite its size, had no doors or windows, just a colorful carousel with hanging streamers, constantly moving with cheerful music playing.

The inventor mentioned that it was supposed to be the home and business of another of Pinkie's friends. Whatever upset Ponyville and its inhabitants, it affected more than Turner initially thought.

Eventually, we reached a point where the detector began to beep more rapidly. However, just then, we heard a high-pitched, frustrated scream that made us jump. We quickly hid behind a bunch of balloons, trying to figure out what had caused the ruckus.

This scream had nothing to do with the laughter or the merriment around us. No, it was a scream of pure frustration. A feeling Turner and I knew well by now.

On the other side of the park, we saw a grumpy pony arguing with the newly crowned alicorn Pinkie Pie. Pony no, it was actually a donkey. And from the look on his face, he was clearly fed up with the situation.

“Cranky Doodle?” Turner muttered, surprised. He knew him.

Intrigued by the scene, we leaned our ears in as close as we could, trying to catch what they were saying.

Cranky was arguing—no, scolding—with Pinkie Pie, who, in her usual carefree style, seemed to think it was all just another joke. This, of course, only made Cranky angrier.

That’s when Turner and I shared a quick glance. Cranky was unaffected by the “Pinkie-fication,” just like us.

As we crouched behind the colorful balloons, I watched as Cranky tried, without much success, to get Pinkie to take him seriously. His cries echoed through the festive atmosphere, like an off-key note in a catchy song.

“I don’t want any more balloons! No more confetti, no more giant smiles!” “Can you stop laughing like a maniac for a second?!” Cranky looked on the verge of a breakdown, waving his paws in the air to emphasize each word. Which, by the way, was hard to take seriously with that party hat on his head.

Pinkie, who was floating above him, inflating more balloons with her magic, looked up at him with a dazzling smile. “Oh, Cranky! Always such a joker! It’s impossible not to smile in Ponyville, the Kingdom of Laughter!” She then tossed him a handful of streamers that tangled around his ears. Cranky didn’t flinch; rather, he looked like he was about to explode.

“I’m not a joker! I’m a donkey! And I’d like someone to listen to me for once!” His raspy voice echoed with pure frustration.

I glanced at Turner from the corner of my eye. “Should we do something?”

He shrugged. “That would be ideal, but look,” he nodded at the detector. “It seems we found the center of the whole event. When I pointed the device at Pinkie, the detector went off to its maximum capacity.”

“Well, yeah,” I exclaimed, rolling my eyes, “we already knew Pinkie became super powerful, so is she the epicenter of all this?”

Turner, with his other hoof on his chin, said, “I recalibrated the detector so it will detect the magic that infected Ponyville… we should wait to find more data. If it is Pinkie, we will have to face a powerful being, I just hope it is something else.”

The smiling pony seemed to not even pick up on Cranky’s displeasure. In fact, he wrapped him up in a sort of giant balloon, making it bounce slightly as he continued to talk about how wonderful the new Ponyville was.

“It’s the happiest place in Equestria! And everyone should be smiling all the time!” she said, her alicorn wings flashing as she inflated more balloons. “Look, you even have your own balloon now! It’s like being on a cloud of fun!”

Cranky, trapped inside the balloon, was pounding on the inside with an expression of utter bewilderment. “Let me out of here right now, Pinkie Pie, or I swear I’ll do something I’ll regret!”

“Oh, Cranky! If you can’t say something nice, you better not say anything at all!” Pinkie bounced the balloon once more, completely ignoring the donkey’s pleas.

“That Pinkie Pie sure knows how to have fun!” said the innocent-looking alicorn sitting next to me.

I grimaced at her reaction.

The donkey continued to struggle in vain. “Pinkie, seriously, stop it! This isn’t fun anymore! I want everything to go back to normal!”

That last sentence seemed to make Pinkie pause for a second, her smile faltering. But she instantly covered it up with more laughter. “Back to normal! But, Cranky, this is normal! It was always like this! Don’t you remember?”

“NO, IT’S NOT!” Cranky finally managed to pop the balloon with one of his long ears and fell to the ground with a thud, covered in streamers and frustration. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but you weren’t like this before. Nothing was like this before!”

Something about that statement affected Pinkie in an unsettling way. She stood completely still, and all the other festive ponies did the same. In an instant, the laughter died down. A deathly silence fell over the place, more disturbing than any resonant laughter. Not a sound, not a whisper, could be heard.

I could see Turner's expression. The fear in his eyes was a clear indication that what was about to happen would not be good.

Suddenly, the smile returned to Pinkie's face, but the atmosphere was still permeated with an oppressive silence. He took a step towards the donkey, who instinctively backed away, a mix of confusion and fear evident on his face. He looked around, feeling the pressure of the now eerie and silent scene.

The closer the alicorn came, the further Cranky backed away, until he collided with a round table covered in cupcakes. Pinkie continued forward, her smile widening unnaturally, while a faint pink glow began to emanate from her body.

In a blinding flash, something shone between the curls of Pinkie's fluffy mane. I blinked, puzzled. What was that?

Looking closer, I realized: there was something embedded in his hair. No, it wasn't a simple rock. It was a brilliant gem, glistening with an eerie light. I turned to see Turner's reaction, and our eyes met briefly. We had both noticed the same thing, and the situation was growing more and more sinister.

The fearful donkey tried to speak, but no words came out. He was paralyzed with fear, completely terrified.

Suddenly, the silence was broken by Pinkie's voice, speaking to Cranky with chilling calm: “Don't worry, Cranky! I've figured out what's wrong with you,” she exclaimed cheerfully, though her tone seemed more threatening than comforting. “It's sadness... and it's keeping you from thinking clearly. I know how to fix that, you just need to laugh!”

Before Cranky could process what she had said, Pinkie activated her horn with a blinding flash. In the blink of an eye, the donkey was gone.

The pink flash that had enveloped Cranky disappeared as quickly as it had arrived, leaving behind an overwhelming void. There was no trace of him, no clue as to where he had gone. Only a light breeze moved the remains of the cupcakes he had knocked over when he tripped.

It took a couple of seconds for my mind to process what had just happened. I looked at Turner, hoping he had some answer, but his expression was just as stunned.

“Turner… did you see the same thing I did?” I asked quietly, my words heavy with disbelief.

He nodded slowly, his mouth slightly open. “I saw him… but… what did he do? Where did he send him?”

“I don’t know, but I have a feeling he’s not right. And something tells me we could be next if we don’t act fast.”

Pinkie Pie, still wearing that sinister smile, turned her head toward us. She didn’t seem to notice us, but her attitude gave me the creeps. The pink glow emanating from her body intensified for a brief moment, and I felt the air grow thicker. Everypony around her froze, as if they couldn’t move without her permission.

Turner gulped and gave me a gentle push. “Arthur, we have to go. Now.”

I didn’t need any more persuasion. We snuck around the balloons and colorful decorations, trying not to draw Pinkie’s attention. My thoughts were racing. What had that gem been? And why Cranky? This was all beyond anything I had imagined.

As we ran through the empty streets of what used to be Ponyville, I heard a distant echo. A laugh. But not a joyful or contagious laugh, but a broken laugh, as if happiness itself had been twisted and deformed. I paused for a second to shed the dead weight of my costume and to listen better, but Turner grabbed my arm—or rather, my paw—and dragged me forward.

“Don’t stop! It’s not safe here.”

“What do we do, Turner?” I asked as we continued to run. “Pinkie’s not the only one who’s wrong. This whole place is… distorted. And that gem… what was it?!”

Turner looked at the device in her paw, which continued to emit irregular little beeps. "Whatever is affecting Pinkie, it's coming from that gem. Something is amplifying her power, and not in a good way. We need to find out more... and fast. If Cranky disappeared like that, I don't want to imagine what will happen to the others."

As we walked away from the center, the landscape began to change. The bright lights and festive decorations faded, being replaced by an ever-present shadow. What was once a joyful kingdom of laughter now had a sinister tinge, as if the world itself was losing its shine.

We arrived at the outskirts of Pinkie's kingdom, where the garish colors no longer dominated the view. The air was cooler, but the tension was still present.

I looked around, trying to calm my nerves. It seems like it's getting late and the sun is about to set, the pink environment changing to an orange one. "So, what do we do now?"

Turner looked out into the dark horizon and, with a determined tone, said, "We're going to look for answers. But we can't confront Pinkie directly... at least not until we understand how to break the control of that gem."

Before we could process anything else, Turner's detector began to sound like an alarm, a high-pitched beep echoing through the still air. The light on the device flickered brightly, and I felt my heart pounding.

"Something big is coming!" I shouted, just as Pinkie Pie appeared from a confetti-filled smoke bomb, beside us, as if she'd been there the whole time.

"Hey, guys! Ready for the party? I've been looking for you two!" Pinkie exclaimed with her usual enthusiasm. But there was something in her tone that sounded off, as if the words were void of their usual joy.

Turner, trying to remain calm, stepped forward. "Pinkie, what's happening isn't normal. The energy in Ponyville is distorted, and we need to understand what's going on."

She frowned, her expression changing from happiness to disappointment. "Distorted? But... everything is so... fun! Why would you want to run away from such a cheerful welcome?" Her voice deepened, and the air around us became oppressive.

"Pinkie, it's not that we don't want to be here," I interrupted, trying to calm the situation. "It's just that—"

"You don't want to be here?" she said, interrupting me with a tone that made my skin crawl. "It's really disappointing. You should be enjoying all of this." The atmosphere became tense, and before we could react, Pinkie lit her horn with a blinding flash.

Everything turned pink.

Once I regained my vision, I looked to the side for direction. We were inside a padded room with only one fully closed metal door, everything was so bright that I had to squint to even get an idea of what was in the room. Ornaments hung in the corners, balloons floated everywhere, streamers fell from the ceiling, a mountain of pillows and confetti was scattered across the floor as if someone had had a never-ending party.

But besides that, I could see Turner on the other side of the room, also disoriented like me, trying to regain his composure. Next to me, Cranky was sitting on the floor, rocking up and down as he curled into a ball, as if trying to convince himself that this was all just a bad dream. His expression was a mix of confusion and frustration.

“What the hell just happened?” I asked, feeling completely lost.

“Why does it always happen to me!?” Cranky bellowed, his voice echoing in the padded room. “First, all of Ponyville is partying and now this. I can’t take any more craziness!”

Turner approached us, adjusting his scarf. “It seems like Pinkie has created some kind of… extreme party? This is too controlled an environment, as if she’s trying to encapsulate us in her world of happiness.”

“Encapsulating us, that sounds nice!” Cranky interrupted, his sarcastic tone barely hiding his disdain. “So what do we do now?” “Shall we dance and laugh until our lungs explode?”

“For heaven’s sake, I don’t think this is the time for that,” I replied, trying not to lose my cool. “We need to find a way out, and fast. We need to figure out what’s going on here before Pinkie decides to make this an even crazier spectacle.”

“Oh, please! Don’t you see what’s going on?” Cranky stammered, waving his paws in frustration. “We’re trapped in a place where happiness feels like a prison.”

“Yeah, I know,” Turner said, looking around with a determined expression. “But it might also be our chance to find the source of this energy. If we can undo what Pinkie did, maybe we can restore balance to Ponyville.”

“And how are you going to do that inside the clown room we’re trapped in? Genius,” Cranky said, frustration showing in veins forming on his forehead.

Just as the inventor was preparing to answer, a sudden burst of festive music filled the room, shaking the walls and making the decorations tremble. “Welcome to the Laughter Party!” a voice rang out, clear and jubilant. It was Pinkie, appearing out of nowhere with a big smile and a surprising amount of balloons.

“There’s no time to waste! Let’s have some fun!” she exclaimed, with an energy that seemed capable of lighting up the place. However, her gaze had an eerie glint that made me feel like it wasn’t the same cheerful glow as always.

“Pinkie, wait,” I said, raising a paw. “We can’t have fun if we don’t understand what’s going on. Why are we here?”

“Oh, that’s simple,” she replied, spinning in circles as she threw confetti into the air. “I want everyone to feel happy, and the best way is to share the laughter. Cranky needs some joy in his life, and so do you!”

“How about you just let us out of here?” I suggested, trying to be diplomatic.

She stopped dead in her tracks, her smile still present, but her eyes held a flicker of confusion. “Get out? Why would you want to get out when you can all stay here?”

It was at that moment that I realized Pinkie wasn’t simply trying to throw a party. There was something darker behind her unwavering joy. We needed to get out of here, but we had to get to the bottom of what was happening to her first.

I could only give a bewildered look as I watched the events again, sitting on the couch as if it was no big deal. After all, I’m doing what I can to handle this situation. I glance over at Pinkie Pie sitting there choking on popcorn and cupcake. She seemed to be quiet for a long time, but looking into her eyes, it seems like she’s loving this part where we’re staying at her party and she’s happy about it. Not fully understanding or comprehending it.

Once Pinkie suddenly left with a flash of confetti, leaving cheerful music echoing through the room on loop, it left us some time alone to try and sort out the situation.

I woke up in the middle of the forest early in the morning, and my situation was desperate. I had turned into a colorful animal and was alone in the middle of nowhere; it couldn't be worse. But now, everything had quickly gotten out of hand. In fact, I don’t even think I ever had anything under control at any point, whether in the forest or here in the kingdom of a pink crazy pony.

I was able to make progress for a while on a relatively good path, but it was only thanks to Time Turner. I don’t want to imagine what would have happened if I hadn’t found him or if he had also transformed into… whatever ponies turned into. If it weren’t for him, I’d probably still be stuck on top of a giant birthday cake.

I lay defeated on the ground, my gaze downcast. I glanced quickly at the others: Turner was sitting with his eyes closed, clearly deep in thought, while Cranky had hidden himself in a corner, muttering something in an annoyed and frustrated tone.

“Great,” I thought, “this is exactly what I needed. A grumpy donkey and an inventor who looks like he’s about to have a nervous breakdown. Nothing screams ‘crisis situation’ more than this.”

I began to monologue to myself, as if my mind needed some company. “Anyone else would be better qualified to be in this situation than me. Who needs an average human when you have a bunch of ponies who could do this job so much better? I’m sure anyone else who would take my place could handle this with their eyes closed. Maybe even a cactus with legs would be more helpful than me.”

“This sucks,” I told myself, feeling reality hit me. “I don’t know what to do. And to top it off, I’m under a time pressure. Pinkie’s probably already coming up with a plan that involves balloons and fireworks, and here I am, unable to even understand how the magic of this place works. Where are the Elements of Harmony when you need them?”

I could feel frustration starting to build up inside me. “Why the hell did I get myself into this? I’m not a hero. I don’t have the heart of a pony, and I definitely don’t have the energy of one. I just want to go home and forget about this madness”

The cheerful music continued to echo through the room, a constant reminder that we were trapped in Pinkie Pie’s madness. I turned to Turner and Cranky, determined that we could at least exchange some ideas. “Well, how about we start thinking about how to get out of here? Maybe we can find a way out, or something”

Turner, with an air of concentration, nodded. “We could try to follow some trail. It seems the room is completely sealed, the only door is blocked but maybe we can force it.”

“And how do you think we would do that?” Cranky interrupted, his skeptical tone evident. “All we have is confetti and we are two earth stallions and a donkey, I'm not sure this will work if there is no one capable of using magic.”

Turner was stunned by the reality and although he wanted to respond, he couldn't find the words to do so. He just sat on the floor.

“It should be nighttime by now.” said the inventor with a dejected voice “we should rest and think better about the morning, it was a… hectic day for everyone.”

In response to his comment, the lights in the room dimmed to a slightly dark blue and the cheerful music died down and although still present, it became quieter. We each took a pillow and separated ourselves in different corners to rest.

Leaving us to our own thoughts.

…

Who am I kidding. I just went with the flow hoping something would happen, it was always like that even before I got here.

Breathe, Arthur.

Just breathe, everything will be okay.

Things can be really bad no doubt. But you're still breathing, that's okay. You may be locked up, in a new body, in an unknown world… but you're still breathing and that's good.

Breathe

As long as you're still breathing you'll be okay. Things can get worse but as long as you're still breathing, everything will be okay. Just focus on your own breathing and don't give in to nervousness, pressure and frustration. Focus.

It's funny, ever since I got here I've somehow been avoiding thinking about my situation or myself. I know that whoever is in my situation would have the same goals, finding a way back home, which I instinctively set as my own goal for lack of one. But it was just a way to cope, taking on a mission to think about without even reflecting on what I really want.

After all, it's something most people would do, so I should do it too, right?... but if I just focus on what I really think for a second, the reality can be disconcerting.

My life wasn't that bad but it wasn't a paradise either, it was a monotony, one that over time I simply lived on autopilot. What I studied, the friends I made, my family, even in my own hobbies.

Now that I think about it, I haven't done anything. Or at least nothing that I really wanted to do in my past life.

I studied what I could, I couldn't go to a school that was half a day away from my house because it would be a waste of time that would cost me the whole day, other schools that caught my attention and weren't that far away, their tuition cost too much, I couldn't ask my parents for the money and I couldn't work enough to earn what I needed, plus what caught my attention wasn't really profitable in the end, I would have trouble finding a job in the end; I had to resign myself to studying something I didn't want just for the sake of having a school nearby, low cost and a more comfortable future. But it wasn't what I wanted.

I only interacted with my classmates because I had to, after all there was always teamwork to do which would be very problematic if there was tension between the members. I had classmates that more or less got along well, but in reality we didn't go beyond just being classmates who had lunch together. However, I hated every time I was always chosen in the end, or I wasn't even chosen and I had to join the team that was unlucky enough to have me. God, how I hate teamwork.

I only interacted with others for the benefits like getting some materials I might have forgotten or was in a hurry with homework, but it seems I dug myself into a hole by trying to be friendly with them; after all, they actually took more advantage of me than I could get from them by constantly lending them my things and notes.

With my family it was no different, being the youngest of four children. Contrary to what you might think, being the youngest had no benefit beyond inheriting worn out and shabby items. When you have three people who made their way splendidly, it only leaves you with a bigger shadow to try to climb out of.

My parents didn't get along, fights, arguments and outbursts from both sides. For most it would be a problem that would cause them emotional problems or trauma if they witnessed something like that for as long as they can remember, but for me, it was the bread and butter. I got to a point where I simply decided it was better not to care about it, I had already spent enough time of my life thinking about it and I didn't want to waste it anymore. I just didn't care anymore and tried to move on while continuing to not pay attention to it.

The only thing I had were my hobbies, but even in that I couldn't do what I really wanted. Or at least I didn't feel like I could do what I wanted.

Family problems were something that was discussed daily, whether it was because of a fight between my parents or some of their relatives. Every day they filled the environment with uneasiness and discomfort, but all the time they reminded me of the same situation that I couldn't help but hear about, leaving me with a bad taste in my mouth. Always.

Studies, I went down a path that any parent would wish for their children for a better future, but I hated it. I followed the path of one of my brothers so every day I went to school and saw the blackboard, I was only reminded of the poor attempt at a clone that I tried to copy from another, something that discouraged me and only made me feel like a fake and that I couldn't move forward. Unfortunately, there came a time when I had to close my mind and pretend as much as I could, but that only made it worse. I continued studying something that I hated for years.

Friends or rather classmates, I only had them for the benefit and because it was something that one was supposed to have. I tend to be very uncomfortable when talking to someone, I start to stutter or end up saying something that didn't make sense, was stupid or simply couldn't be understood what I was saying. A habit that ended with my reputation on the ground.

I tried to have decent conversations with others, I tried to think of my words, but it was only detrimental. By thinking too much about what to say, you end up getting nervous trying to find words that don't seem to offend the other person, not rambling unnecessarily and trying not to say complicated words so as not to stutter or seem pretentious. All this only filled me with nerves which only got worse the more I thought about it. All this in a casual conversation.

There came a time when it broke, all those points of my life. Only stress, frustration, anxiety and nerves that attacked me when I woke up, they only made me feel useless and that I didn't deserve or simply couldn't do more. I didn't deserve to take a break while my family was having problems, I had to study, I had to make friends; I shouldn't waste my time with what I wanted, after all it was something silly that wouldn't serve me anything in the future.

I got to a point where I didn't care about anything and I kept pretending until I got it. I didn't care about the problems of my parents and family, but I still had to pretend that I cared. I didn't care and I even hated what I studied, but I had to continue to have a future, so I didn't care about what I wanted and I continued. I didn't care about the relationships with my classmates and it was even annoying to have to put up with it while I pretended a forced smile for everything they said.

I didn't care and I didn't care about my life.

But despite all this.

Somehow, I always ended up in the same place. With all the problems that only piled up, grew and gave me more anxiety, I always ended up in the same place again and again.

Television, programs, movies, stories and tales.

It was a form of entertainment that could reflect society in a less distressing way. You could relate to a character and not feel alone, you could live adventures that take you out of the monotony, you could have hope without being judged or looked down upon for what you really wanted.

You could do what you really wanted.

I started to wander off during class, on my walk or on the bus, while my family started another show. I just started thinking of stories, dozens, hundreds of them.

I started looking around, especially up. After a lifetime of just looking at the ground, I finally managed to take a look above me. And what I saw was such that for the first time after so much time of biting my tongue and holding on... I was finally able to shed a genuine tear. It was beautiful. The sky was something incomparable.

The blue night sky that stretched as far as I could see, the clouds moving lightly and in a harmonious, seamless way. And in the middle of all the dark night sky, there was something that was atomically powerful but distant. Stars.

I live near a city, one that is very illuminated at night, so when looking at the night sky, I couldn't see much. But despite the problems it gave me to see at least something. There it was, a single, lonely and simple star that despite all the odds against it, managed to shine bright enough to be seen.

It was the only star I could see at night, but that didn't stop me from marveling at it every time. I started to have another habit, one that I really liked doing.

Looking at the sky.

I fell asleep hoping that the next day I would be able to see the sky again.

Author's Note

Our heroes began to have a plan to save Ponyville.

In their search for the origin of the change, they explored Ponyville and visited some familiar places, it's a shame that apparently the event changed more than they imagined and they didn't meet those who lived in those places.

They found another pony... or rather donkey that wasn't affected. Besides the origin of the change.

It's a shame that like Cranky, our two heroes were also caught and were transported to a prison of joy and laughter by Pinkie Pie.

Arthur managed to have a moment of peace to reflect.

Twilight will be present but a little later. In fact, Arthur's arrival in Ponyville was going to be much faster but as he developed it, it extended more than he had thought.